The Australian citizenship test has been with us since 2007, but is it doing more than just quizzing future Aussies on their knowledge of our form of government, our sporting legends and our public holidays? Linguistics student Ben Purser asks some questions of his own.
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Popularity of “Canberra bashing” lands it in the dictionary
Although the city of Canberra is coming of age and celebrating its centenary this year, Canberra bashing remains a popular national pastime. So much so that the Australian National Dictionary Centre is adding it to the Oxford’s Australian National Dictionary. Oxford University Press reveals the story behind the latest addition.
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Abbott voices his opinion on accents and politics
Tony Abbott claims that the Liberal and National parties will always have a ‘strong Australian accent’. Can he be serious? Aidan Wilson sounds things out.
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Australia Votes: The 2012 Word of the Year
As the nation prepares for the longest election campaign in Australian history, another election needs our attention first. Aidan Wilson looks at some of the contenders for Macquarie Dictionary’s 2012 Word of the Year competition.
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Are we talking Aussie?
The Australian dialect is a recurring topic here at Fully (sic). Guest blogger Nenagh Kemp from the University of Tasmania tells us about her recent research into one of its most distinctive features, hypocoristics.
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Is “Stevo” not Aussie enough for the new Macca’s ad?
The tennis and Australia Day both have the capacity to drive people nuts every January. McDonald’s new ad campaign, with its plethora of ockerisms is doing just that, writes Greg Dickson. But spare a thought for “Stevo” who seems to have been written out of the ad to make way for a couple of white guys.
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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:
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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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