Penry Williams - Folklinguistics and social meaning in Australian English

Over the duration of this project and the writing of this book, I have received support from so many people. I hope that I have shown them each my appreciation for their kindness and time.

I would like to more formally acknowledge Jean Mulder, my PhD supervisor, for her encouragement in that role and ongoing engagement in the years since. My thanks also my colleagues at La Trobe University and now at the University of Derby for their support and the staff at the University of Melbourne, School of Languages and Linguistics, before this.

I am also very grateful to all of those who assisted directly in the preparation and production of this book, including the series editor Ee Ling Low, Routledge editor Katie Peace, senior editorial assistant Samantha Phua, project manager Chris Mathews and all the others who were anonymous or who I did not communicate with directly. Thank you all for your efforts and contributions.

When the English language first arrived in Australia, the invaders brought with them diverse regional varieties and histories. For a long time, perhaps until well into the twentieth century for some speakers, English in Australia was used to express Englishness or at least Britishness. The transported varieties did, however, lose their foreignness, converging and changing to create a new variety of English: Australian English.

The first discussions of Australian English being a variety were met with outrage from many Australians (Damousi, 2010; Delbridge, 2001; Schneider, 2007). Differing from motherland English varieties was seen as error; in fact, divergence from Received Pronunciation (henceforth RP) was seen as an abomination and perversion. Delbridge (2001) suggests that the first changes in this opinion were due to the work of A. G. Mitchell. Mitchell advocated for Australian English from 1940, although his ideas were frequently met with hostility and the campaign was a lifetimes work (Damousi, 2010, p. 237; Delbridge, 2001).

Schneider (2007) links changes to much greater historical events. Although some aspects of the formation and recognition of Australian English are unique in their specific historical, social and political details, the general experience parallels those of other countries in similar positions. Schneider has proposed the Dynamic Model, which describes the processes through which postcolonial societies transform English from a borrowed language into their own established varieties: becoming New Englishes. The transplanted English moves through five phases: foundation, exonormative stablisation, nativisation, endonormative stablisation and differentiation. Transition from phase 3, nativisation, to the next is often the result of Event X . This event is an extraordinary happening which calls into question the relationship with the mother country. Specifically, it reveals that the esteem held for the mother country is not reciprocated. Event X is a catalyst with the linguistic consequence of starting a movement from the English just incorporating local elements, to a phase where new norms are accepted. Schneider proposes that for Australia, Event X was during the Second World War, when under threat of an attack from the Japanese air force in 1942, after the Fall of Singapore, Australian troops fighting overseas were not permitted to return and defend Australia. The Australian government had to ask the United States of America (US) for assistance. The view that this was a defining moment in national history is supported by Blainey in the classic historical work The Tyranny of Distance (1966). Blainey points out that these events marked not only the cessation of the previous type of relationship with the United Kingdom of Britain (UK) but the beginning of a reconceptualisation of Australia, with an awareness of its geographical position. The accompanying desire for greater self-sufficiency and local identity was, according to Schneider, also evidenced in the position of Australian English.

In accord with Schneider (2007), Horvath (1985) states that it was in the 1940s and 1950s that it began to be permissible to sound Australian. However, B. Moore (2008) argues that the UKs ambition to join the European Economic Community in the early 1960s, suggesting a change in trade and political alliances, was the key event that fundamentally changed the mother country relationship and understandings of Australia, with linguistic changes following. Clyne (1997) and Blair (1993) see movement to acceptance of local norms as occurring later again, in the early 1970s. Leitner (2004b) views real acceptance of Australian English as beginning in the 1970s, starting with the accent and flowing on to other linguistic systems. Contrary to all these authors, Eagleson (1982) suggests that complaints about Australian English from the general public were as common in 1982 as they had ever been. Few other authors note continuing disapproval of Australian English. Such unhappiness with local forms of speech and feelings of linguistic insecurity though are commonplace in postcolonial societies.

Another major event, which scholars agree on the significance of, occurred at the height of nationalist pride around the bicentenary (in 1988): the recently elevated status and increased acceptance of the new variety was encapsulated in dictionaries of Australian English. The Macquarie Dictionary was a dictionary that aimed to codify a national standard rather than listing slang and colloquialisms as earlier dictionaries had. First published in 1981, it was emblematic of a new period, and the Australian National Dictionary was published soon after (Delbridge, 2001).

It seems likely, bringing these accounts together, that the rumblings of change regarding acceptance of local norms began in the early 1940s and that such views were mainstream by the 1970s. The celebration of Australian English led to codification in the 1980s, but there remained, and continues to be, diversity in opinion on its legitimacy and merit, especially when compared to (the ideals of) British English (BrE).

From a contemporary perspective, Australian English can be considered as a variety of English spoken by many people in Australia, potentially along with other languages and varieties of English (for a discussion of other varieties of English in Australia, see Leitner, 2004a). It is the English taught in schools, used in the media and frequently heard on the street as well as codified in dictionaries and style guides. Australian English may be used by people from diverse backgrounds, including Indigenous Australians, long-term migrants and more recent migrants who have studied in the Australian education system. My definition does not include the problematic notion standard and hence exclude commonly used forms (Lippi-Green, 1997; Milroy & Milroy, 1985/2012). Furthermore, I do not want to equate Australian English with being Australian; someone could speak Australian English and not identify as Australian or indeed identify as Australian but not speak Australian English. The definition of Australian English outlined here is henceforth AusE.

The endeavour described in this book is an empirical exploration of social meanings of variation via the analysis of linguistic practices and folklinguistic evaluation. It is a contemporary sociolinguistic study and contributes to the field by placing centre stage data which are often dismissed or only mentioned fleetingly to support analysis rather than being the object of analysis themselves. The study adds to what is known about variation in AusE and sheds light on some of the important language ideologies and local identities in Australian society. The insights have potential implications for studies elsewhere in theoretical and methodological approach but also the language ideologies and identities in English and even other languages. The incorporation of mechanisms for the evaluation of language, mention and voicing , allow new insights into the achievement of folklinguistic accounts. This book therefore contributes to the literature on Australian English and World Englishes but also the study of folklinguistics and sociolinguistics.