''The Australian National Dictionary: Australian Words and Their Origins'' is a

historical dictionary A historical dictionary or dictionary on historical principles is a dictionary which deals not only with the latterday meanings of words but also the historical development of their forms and meanings. It may also describe the vocabulary of an earl ...

Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Eng ...

, recording 16,000 words, phrases, and meanings of Australian origin and use. The first edition of the dictionary, edited by W.S. Ramson, was published in 1988 by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

; the second edition was edited by Bruce Moore at the

Australian National Dictionary Centre The Australian National Dictionary Centre (ANDC) at the Australian National University in Canberra is a major centre for lexicographical research in Australia. It is jointly funded by the Australian National University and Oxford University Pres ...

and published in 2016.

History

The first

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

to attempt systematic documentation of Australian English words was E. E. Morris, whose ''Austral English'' was published in 1898. The next significant works on Australian words were Sidney Baker's ''The Australian Language'' (1945) and G.A. Wilkes' ''Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms'' (1978).

First edition

Work on the Australian National Dictionary Project was undertaken from the late 1970s by W.S. (Bill) Ramson (1933–2011) at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

. Ramson was motivated by a lack of lexicographic work on Australian English on historical principles, in the tradition of the

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

. The project gained funding from Oxford University Press and the first edition of the ''Australian National Dictionary'' was published by Oxford in 1988, coinciding with the bicentenary of Australia's settlement. It was the first comprehensive, historically based record of the words and phrases that make up the Australian contribution to the English language. It records the historical development of Australian words, phrases and meanings from their earliest use to the present day, providing evidence of this history in dated and referenced quotations drawn from over 9,000 Australian sources. The trials and tribulations of this process are outlined in Ramson's book ''Lexical Images'' (OUP, 2005). The first edition of the dictionary is available online.

Australian National Dictionary Centre

The Australian National Dictionary Project became the Australian National Dictionary Centre in 1988, with the signing of a contract between Oxford University Press and the Australian National University. W.S. Ramson was the Centre's first Director (1988–1994).

Second edition

The second edition of the ''Australian National Dictionary'' (2016) was edited by Bruce Moore, Director of the Centre 1994–2011. It is an expanded work in two volumes, recording the history of 16,000 Australian words, phrases and meanings. Greater emphasis is given in this edition to many new terms deriving from Aboriginal languages and culture to colloquial idioms and phrases, to regionalisms, and to Aboriginal English.

Online edition

The dictionary is now available online.

Publications

*First edition (1988, ): includes 10,000 Australian terms, with 57,000 dated and referenced quotations. *Second edition (2016, ): includes 16,000 Australian terms, with 123,000 dated and referenced quotations. :*1st impression (2016-12-06)

References

Citations

Sources

External links

*Oxford University Press pages
''The Australian National Dictionary'', 2nd edition
*Australian National University pages
''The Australian National Dictionary''''Australian National Dictionary'' Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian National Dictionary, The Australian books Australian English English dictionaries