The publication of this issue of Ozwords coincides with two other important publications from Oxford University Press. A new edition of The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary is discussed on p. 5, and Simon Winchester's book about the history of The Oxford English Dictionary is discussed on p. 6.
Early in 2004 Oxford University Press will publish the latest in the Australian National Dictionary Centre's lexical monograph series. Bardi Grubs and Frog Cakes: South Australian Words, by Dorothy Jauncey, is the third of the Centre's books on regionalisms in Australian English, following Words from the West and Tassie Terms . The five hundred South Australian words in the book are based on the evidence of quotations from books, newspapers, magazines, and other similar sources. The quotations span written records from 1835 to 2003, and the words have been grouped thematically into chapters. The order of these chapters follows a rough chronological spread from the first inhabitants of what became 'South Australia', through the settlement of British and other cultures in the colony, and agricultural and industrial development through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to the lifestyle of the present day.
There are seven chapters: (1) 'The People Before: Words from Aboriginal languages'; (2) ' "No Convict Taint": The early days of the colony'; (3) ' "The Copper Kingdom": The Cornish and the copper mines'; (4) ' "A Paradise of Dissent": The German Lutheran influence'; (5) 'Wealth from the Land: Wheat, wool, and wine'; (6) 'The Outback: Opals, camels, and Woomera'; (7) 'The "Lifestyle State": The Festival, Grange, and stobie poles'. We look forward to the publication of this book.
Frederick Ludowyk
Editor, Ozwords