EDITORIAL

Bill Ramson was the editor of the first edition of The Australian National Dictionary (1988) and the first director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre (1988–94). Since his retirement he has been working on a book that explores the development of The Australian National Dictionary and the historical development of Australian English.

In the introduction, Bill explains: ‘This book is about the making of a historical dictionary of Australianisms, an enterprise which took the ten years prior to the Bicentenary to complete, and about the “lexical images” which can be created from an examination of certain combinations of those Australianisms. It seeks to demonstrate that the English language, as it has been used by Australians of European origin in the first two hundred years of their occupation of this country, and in particular the Australian additions to the vocabulary of English, as these are recorded in The Australian National Dictionary, provide a unique insight into the lives and history of Australians, and create a kaleidoscope of images and parts of images that may in their turn offer interpretations of Australian attitudes and the Australian way of life.’

It should also be said that the book provides a lively account of the events that led to Oxford University Press being appointed as publisher of the dictionary. Lexical Images will be published by OUP in August.

Frederick Ludowyk

Editor, Ozwords