Abstract

W.S. Ramson. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Bill Ramson, former Director of The Australian National Dictionary Centre relates in detail the fascinating and sometimes controversial story behind the making of an Australian icon, the Australian National Dictionary, the first historical dictionary of Australianisms. The book brings to life different aspects of Australia’s history by discussing words included in the dictionary, and shows how these words have become part of a distinctively Australian branch of English.