Amanda Laugesen

Bugger, rooted, bloody oath... What is it about Australians and swearing? We've got an international reputation for using bad language and letting rip with a choice swear word or two. From the defiant curses of the convicts to the humour of Kath & Kim, Amanda Laugesen, Chief Editor of the Australian National Dictionary, takes us on an engrossing journey through the tumultuous history of Australia's bad language. Bad language has been used in all sort of ways in our history: to defy authority, as a form of liberation and subversion, and as a source of humour and creativity. It has also been used to oppress and punish, notably Indigenous Australians and women. Revealing the fundamental tensions, conflicts, preoccupations and anxieties that have shaped our past and continue to shape our present, the story of bad language is a story about what it means to be Australian. 'This is an engrossing social history - a bloody beauty - from one of our leading experts on Australian English.' -- Frank Bongiorno 'Australia is built on blood, sweat and swears. Digging up the dirt, Amanda Laugesen finds out why, with flair, ferocity and other f-words.' -- David Astle 'Laugesen's history of "bad language" in Australia, provides a new and instructive gateway to understanding Australian culture and identity.' -- Bruce Moore 'In Rooted, Amanda Laugesen proves that so-called "bad language" makes for some of the most inventive, descriptive and even character-defining in the world.' -- Jonathon Green

An Australian History of Bad Language

Rooted

Julia Robinson

Mark Gwynn

First published in 1976, the Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary has remained Australia's best-selling dictionary. The seventh edition retains the popular features of previous editions and adds many new Australian and international words and meanings. All Australian words and meanings are labelled with an Aust. regional marker. The seventh edition of the Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary is an indispensable guide to English as it is written and spoken in Australia.

Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary

War is often characterised as one percent terror, 99 per cent boredom. Whilst much ink has been spilt on the one per cent, relatively little work has been directed toward the other 99 per cent of a soldier's time. As such, this book will be welcomed by those seeking a fuller understanding of what makes soldiers endure war, and how they cope with prolonged periods of inaction. It explores the issue of military boredom and investigates how soldiers spent their time when not engaged in battle, work or training through a study of their creative, imaginative and intellectual lives. It examines the efforts of military authorities to provide solutions to military boredom (and the problem of discipline and morale) through the provisioning of entertainment and education, but more importantly explores the ways in which soldiers responded to such efforts, arguing that soldiers used entertainment and education in ways that suited them. The focus in the book is on Australians and their experiences, primarily during the First World War, but with subsequent chapters taking the story through the Second World War to the Vietnam War. This focus on a single national group allows questions to be raised about what might (or might not) be exceptional about the experiences of a particular national group, and the ways national identity can shape an individual's relationship and engagement with education and entertainment. It can also suggest the continuities and changes in these experiences through the course of three wars. The story of Australians at war illuminates a much broader story of the experience of war and people's responses to war in the twentieth century.

The Intellectual and Imaginative Lives of Australian Soldiers in the Great War and Beyond

'Boredom is the Enemy'

This popular lexical monograph is presented in the form of a dictionary with supporting quotations from contemporary texts, including newspapers, government reports and documents, and novels. Convict Words explores the distinct and colourful language of the Australian convict era, and is an essential reference tool for all interested in this period of Australian history.

Language in Early Colonial Australia

Convict Words

Catherine Fisher

This edited book includes chapters that explore the impact of war and its aftermath in language and official discourse. It covers a broad chronological range from the First World War to very recent experiences of war, with a focus on Australia and the Pacific region. It examines three main themes in relation to language: the impact of war and trauma on language, the language of war remembrance, and the language of official communications of war and the military. An innovative work that takes an interdisciplinary approach to the themes of war and language, the collection will be of interest to students and scholars across linguistics, literary studies, history and conflict studies.

Language, Trauma, Memory, and Official Discourse

Expressions of War in Australia and the Pacific

Books for a new war -- Book diplomacy in the Middle East -- A world of books, an empire of books -- Book work as modernization -- Book modernization in Africa and Latin America -- The decline and end of Franklin Book Programs

Amanda Laugesen

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