Language has certainly been in the news. In response to the debate over Ebonics in the United States, and fired by the Oakland School Board’s 1996 decision to recognise the language spoken by many Afro-Americans, the Linguistic Society of America resolved: ‘The variety known as "Ebonics," "African American Vernacular English" (AAVE), and "Vernacular Black English" and by other names is systematic and rule-governed like all natural speech varieties. In fact, all human linguistic systems — spoken, signed, and written — are fundamentally regular. The systematic and expressive nature of the grammar and pronunciation patterns of the African American vernacular has been established by numerous scientific studies over the past thirty years. Characterisations of Ebonics as "slang," "mutant," "lazy," "defective," "ungrammatical," or "broken English" are incorrect and demeaning’. In Australia, the debate over Aboriginal English has not received the media attention that Ebonics has attracted in the US, but debate has taken place in educational circles. Jay Arthur’s Aboriginal English: A Cultural Study(see ‘From the Centre’) should do much to increase our understanding of the role of Aboriginal English in Australian society. Also in Australia, the NSW Geographical Names Board has recommended that Mt Kosciusko should now be spelt ‘Mt Kosciuszko’ and pronounced ‘kosh-choosh-ko’ (in keeping with its Polish origins). The shift from Ayers Rock to Uluru was successful. Many a Germantown lost its name during World War II. Yet the Ballarat City Council has not been successful in gaining acceptance for the earlier spelling ‘Ballaarat’. Perhaps ‘Kosciusko’ is now as firmly established as ‘Ballarat’?

Frederick Ludowyk
Editor