The Australian National Dictionary Centre recently made ranga its word of the month and added it to the Oxford Australia Dictionary. The story of how it came to prominence is an interesting one – not hard when Jonah Takalua plays a role. Oxford University Press writes:
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That’s so gay
What’s the harm in casually using the phrase ‘that’s so gay’? Nothing particularly sinister is meant by it and no offence is usually intended. 1,500,000 tweets give a different impression. Greg Dickson writes that homophobic language negatively affects gay people regardless of speaker’s intentions:
READ MOREHow to make friends and influence people: Know your audience!
In the wake of the Asian Century white paper, some have complained that our own English language standards are dropping, and that the Prime Minister is getting lax with her Ps and Qs. Are they right? Dr Simon Musgrave looks at some of the complaints.
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Maintaining Indigenous languages: revering a distant past or contributing to a better future?
Special guest Dr. Bill Fogarty argues that Indigenous language maintenance and education is not about reverence for some distant past for esoteric reasons. Rather it is an important asset that can play a role both in developing a future for Indigenous communities and in benefiting the socio-economic fabric of the Australian Nation.
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Australia’s Asian Literacy in the Asian Century
The Australia in the Asian Century whitepaper is, on the surface, a bold statement in several areas, including literacy in Asian languages and cultures. It targets all Australian students being exposed to Asian cultures throughout their schooling and having access to classes in Asian languages. Does it mean that your children will all be learning Chinese at school next year? William Steed looks more closely at the pathways outlined to achieve this goal.
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Anderson and CLP at odds on Bilingual Education
NT Minister for Indigenous Advancement Alison Anderson says traditional languages should not be taught at school, but Chief Minister Terry Mills has reasserting that the government is still firmly in favour of Bilingual Education. Aidan Wilson remains cautiously optimistic.
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Misogyny – a conspiracy theory
Bernard Keane this morning noted that as far as conspiracy theories go, this example is rather lame. The story goes that the chardonnay swilling lefties at Macquarie Dictionary partook in a spot of linguistic engineering by changing the definition of misogyny, just to indemnify the Prime Minister against calls of hyperbole. What’s behind this is [...]
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Macquarie, Misogyny and Men who hate women
Julia Gillard has been criticised for changing the definition of misogynist to suit her attack on Tony Abbott. Now, Macquarie Dictionary have updated their entry for ‘misogyny’, seemingly to reflect Gillard’s usage. But is it as simple as that? Can a Prime Minister drive such language change? Will Steed and Aidan Wilson think not.
READ MOREOur Land, Our Languages and Preserving Our Heritage
It’s pretty rare that Indigenous languages (IL) get a day in the sun in such a spectacular way. The bread and butter of IL reporting most months is along the lines of “here’s a new phone app that’s going to save a language.” Sorry to rain on anyone’s parade, but phone apps don’t save languages, people do. Specifically, speakers do: the only way to “save a language” is to make it easier for people to learn and speak it, and that requires actions which are integrated through a community.
READ MOREPolyglot pollies where you least expect them: Gold Coast’s multilingual mayor
…perhaps Queensland’s reputation for slightly loopy politicians is a tad unfair. Kevin Rudd is nothing if not impressive in the way he can scuttle off to China and chinwag in the local lingo. I couldn’t think of any other Australian pollies capable of such professional displays of bilingualism. Until I discovered this…
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