An updated 2015 glossary of Australian slang. Languages are alive and constantly changing. After the Malaysian airways fight MH17 was shot down in Ukraine in 2014, Australia's Prime Minister threatened to "shirtfront" Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the November G20 meeting of government heads in Brisbane, Australia. Not many people except for ardent Australian Rules Football followers had any idea of what a "shirtfront" is. It is explained along with hundreds of other slang terms in this comprehensive up to date glossary of Australian colloquialisms.
Australian English like all other languages being used is a living entity and is constantly changing. Many slang terms used by my parent's generation are infrequently used now. Likewise, the language used by Aussie teenagers today is different from the language I feel comfortable using. With the internet, television and the globalisation of almost everything, cultures are being influenced by other cultures and many slang terms are now almost universal. However, we do need to take care when we use language in different cultures, because even the same slang terms can mean different things. Two examples which come to mind are the words "thong" and "fanny". These words have very different meanings in the United States of America and in Australia. In Australia, the context in which various words are used can totally change the meanings of those words. An example is the word "bastard". The dictionary meaning is "a person born from an unmarried mother". It is used in a derogatory sence in most cultures and can be used that way in Australia also. However, in Australia it can also be used in an almost affectionate way between good friends.
Aussie Slang is a richly-textured, often ribald world of understatement and laconic humour. This guide aims to do three things; (a) to help the traveller decipher what they hear around them in everyday Australian life, (b) give the causal reader some insight into informal Australian culture, and (c) make a record of some old Australian expressions that are slipping into disuse now that English has become a global language. Readers will recognize both British and American terms in this list. Australian English has absorbed much from these two great languages. For depth of knowledge of their own language, no-body beats the British. Its their language after all. A thousand years in the making, the English language is embedded deep in the DNA of the British. No-one uses their language more skilfully than they do. On the other hand, American English has a creative power that recognizes no boundaries. Americans have taken a very good all-purpose language and extended it in all kinds of directions with new words describing the world as it is today. They do not generally cling to old forms out of respect for tradition. As Winston Churchill observed, Britain and America … two great nations divided by the same language. Australian English sits comfortably in the space between the two. Australian English began in the early days of settlement as English English with a healthy dash of Celtic influence from the many Scots, Irish and Welsh settlers who came to Australia. Large numbers of German settlers also came in the 1800's,and their influence on the language is also clearly evident. For over a hundred years, Australia developed in splendid isolation its unique blend of English, tempered by the hardships of heat and cold, deluge and drought, bushfires and cyclones. The harsh environment united people in a common struggle to survive. People helped each other. Strong communitarian loyalties were engendered. It is from this that the egalitarian character of Australia evolved. There is a strong emphasis on building a feeling of solidarity with others. Strangers will call each other "mate" or "luv" in a tone of voice ordinarily reserved for close friends and family in other parts of the world. Everyone was from somewhere else, and no-one was better than anyone else. A strong anti-authoritarian attitude became deeply embedded in Australian English. This was mainly directed towards their British overlords who still ran the country as a profitable colony. The Australian sense of humour is generally understated, delivered with a straight-face, and is often self-deprecating in nature. No-one wants to appear to be “up themselves”. Harsh or otherwise adverse conditions had to be met without complaint, so when discussing such conditions, it was necessary to do so with laconic, understated humour. Anyone not doing so was deemed a “whinger” (win-jer).Following World War II the American influence came increasingly to influence Australian culture and therefore the language. No-one is better at selling their popular culture to the world than the United States of America. Their pop culture is a beguiling instrument of foreign policy, so pervasive and persuasive it is. Young Australians enthusiastically embraced American culture, and since the 1940's the old established British language and customs have become blended with the American. If Australian English has a remarkable quality, it is the absence of regional dialects. It is spoken with relative uniformity across the entire nation. Brisbane on the East coast is a 4,300 kilometre (2,700 mile) drive from Perth on the West coast, yet there is little discernible linguistic difference between the two places compared with the difference, for example between Boston and San Francisco in the US. Nowhere else in the world do we see such linguistic uniformity across large distances.
The Essential Lingo Dictionary is a warts-and-all look at the notoriously hilarious (and occasionally a little bit naughty) canon of Australian slang words and phrases, casting light on the quirky, intriguing and often bizarre Australian Aussie language. A must-have for every bookshelf!If you have wondered why his girlfriend is a 'Sheila' even though her name is Sophia, or why your colleagues in Melbourne's suburbs are said to live 'beyond the black stump', then this book is for you.The author, John Miller, has been a journalist for over thirty-five years and is passionate about Australia's history and heritage. As well as making extensive use of written references to compile this book, John interviewed Australians from all walks of life - from outback characters to school kids - to ensure he captured every nuance of Australia's unique language as it is spoken today.
Booklist Top of the List Reference Source The heir and successor to Eric Partridge's brilliant magnum opus, The Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, this two-volume New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English is the definitive record of post WWII slang. Containing over 60,000 entries, this new edition of the authoritative work on slang details the slang and unconventional English of the English-speaking world since 1945, and through the first decade of the new millennium, with the same thorough, intense, and lively scholarship that characterized Partridge's own work. Unique, exciting and, at times, hilariously shocking, key features include: unprecedented coverage of World English, with equal prominence given to American and British English slang, and entries included from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, South Africa, Ireland, and the Caribbean emphasis on post-World War II slang and unconventional English published sources given for each entry, often including an early or significant example of the term’s use in print. hundreds of thousands of citations from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, and songs illustrating usage of the headwords dating information for each headword in the tradition of Partridge, commentary on the term’s origins and meaning New to this edition: A new preface noting slang trends of the last five years Over 1,000 new entries from the US, UK and Australia New terms from the language of social networking Many entries now revised to include new dating, new citations from written sources and new glosses The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English is a spectacular resource infused with humour and learning – it’s rude, it’s delightful, and it’s a prize for anyone with a love of language.
What does sound, whether preserved or lost, tell us about nineteenth-century wartime? Hearing the Crimean War: Wartime Sound and the Unmaking of Sense pursues this question through the many territories affected by the Crimean War, including Britain, France, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Dagestan, Chechnya, and Crimea. Examining the experience of listeners and the politics of archiving sound, it reveals the close interplay between nineteenth-century geographies of empire and the media through which wartime sounds became audible--or failed to do so. The volume explores the dynamics of sound both in violent encounters on the battlefield and in the experience of listeners far-removed from theaters of war, each essay interrogating the Crimean War's sonic archive in order to address a broad set of issues in musicology, ethnomusicology, literary studies, the history of the senses and sound studies.
From life coach Kate Gladdin, this easy-to-follow, three-step plan for how to bravely face life’s unexpected challenges is the foolproof solution to developing resilience. When motivational speaker Kate Gladdin was twenty years old, she woke up in the middle of the night to find out her older sister had died in a tragic road accident. Suddenly, everything she knew about her life, her future, and her family shattered in a heartbeat. Just like Gladdin, we all face loss in different ways every day, because adversity is a part of life. There’s no getting around it–only through it–and the most vital tool we need to overcome the unexpected is resilience. It was this realization that led Gladdin to become a resilience expert, life coach, and motivational speaker. Through her own proven three-step strategy using the three Rs–to recognize, reflect, and redirect–she now has the skills to use anytime she feels helpless and wants to take back control over any circumstance she faces. It’s this incredible method that Gladdin teaches in Okay, Now What? She shows readers how to: recognize what’s really causing them to struggle the most, reflect on the impact of that struggle, and finally—the most important step—how to redirect toward finding the resilience they need to grow through what they go through and create good from even the worst moments in life. Resilience isn’t a fixed trait that you are born with, like your eye color or the shape of your toes. Resilience is a skill that any of us can grow and develop with practice, and in Okay, Now What?, you will learn exactly how to do so.
Second edition of this popular Handbook bringing together stimulating discussions of core English linguistics topics in a single, authoritative volume—includes numerous new and thoroughly updated chapters The second edition of the popular Handbook of English Linguistics brings together stimulating discussions of the core topics in English linguistics in a single, authoritative volume. Written by an international team of experts, the chapters cover syntax, methodology, phonetics and phonology, lexis and morphology, variation, stylistics, and discourse, and also provide discussions of theoretical and descriptive research in the field. The revised edition includes new and updated chapters on English Corpus Linguistics, experimental approaches, complements and adjuncts, English phonology and morphology, lexicography, and more. In-depth yet accessible chapters introduce key areas of English linguistics, discuss relevant research, and suggest future research directions. An important academic contribution to the field, this book: Presents thirty-two in-depth, yet accessible, chapters that discuss new research findings across the field, written by both established and emerging scholars from around the world Builds upon the very successful first edition, published in 2006 Incorporates new trends in English linguistics, including digital research methods and theoretical advances in all subfields Suggests future research directions The Handbook of English Linguistics, 2nd Edition is an essential reference work for researchers and students working in the field of English language and linguistics.
Seventy-three thousand convicts were transported to the British penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land in the first half of the nineteenth century. They played a vital role in the building of the settlements, as well as the running of the newly established colony. Simon Barnard’s A–Z of Convicts in Van Diemen’s Land is a rich and compelling account of the lives of the men, women and children who were transported to Tasmania for crimes ranging from stealing bread to poisoning family members. Their sentences, punishments, achievements and suffering make for fascinating reading. And the spectacular illustrations, each one carefully drawn in meticulous detail from contemporary records, bring this extraordinary history to life.
