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Dictionary Review Peter A. Gergay Pgergay@Aol.Com Compiled by Dictionary Review Peter A. Gergay [email protected] Macquarie Australian The fourth edition of the aries like the Macquarie Australian Encyclopedic Dictionary, Macquarie Australian Encyclopedic Encyclopedic Dictionary are making Fourth Edition Dictionary is an impressive book. It is Australians feel like they have their a robustly bound, hardcover volume, own standard of English that is not Publisher: and the paper quality is quite good. It governed by U.K. or U.S. usage. The Macquarie Library Pty, Ltd. contains 1,472 pages, with over Australians are now more relaxed 55,000 headwords and 12,000 defini- about their own particular style of Publication date: tions covering English as it is used in English, and this dictionary presents a 2006 Australia. Weighing in at more than wonderful account of just what that five pounds, it is also a brick on any style of English is. ISBN: translator’s desk, and thus not easily The dictionary’s appendices are 978-187-642-9447 transportable. However, in an age filled with guidelines on grammar and where we all probably spend too punctuation, foreign words and Price: much time looking at a computer phrases, signs and symbols, weights AUD 79.95 ($72.00) screen and searching through online and measures. Also included at the dictionaries, having an old-fashioned back are the somewhat doubtfully Available from: paper dictionary in hand feels nice. It useful pages listing past prime minis- www.panmacmillan.com.au also allows you to read some of the ters of Australia and the mottos for very interesting articles and sections Australian states, territories, and cap- Type of work: of the dictionary, which you would ital cities. I found out that the motto Encyclopedic dictionary of Australian English probably not read if you were just for my hometown of Sydney is “I take looking up a term online. but I surrender,” and the motto for Reviewed by: New South Wales is Orta recens quam Charlotte Brasler General Content pura nites (“Newly risen, how The dictionary contains a wonder- brightly you shine.”). I am not sure fully written foreword by Jana Wendt, how these two mottos relate to who was a well-known television Sydney and New South Wales, but journalist in Australia. This is fol- they are interesting. lowed by an interesting article on the development of Australian English, Convenience of Look-up covering its origins as the language of The dictionary’s introductory sec- British sailors, marines, and convicts, tion contains the explanatory notes, characterized by a style of English abbreviations, and structure of entries, similar to that spoken in the south- all of which can be referenced quickly eastern region of England. However, when looking up a term. All entries as with any language, Australian are organized conveniently, with English evolves continually, with bolded headwords followed by infor- words like “kangaroo,” “boomerang,” mation about spelling, pronunciation, and “dingo” being added through meanings, and etymologies. There are the influence of the indigenous also bolded run-on headwords, that is, Aboriginal people, words like latte, derivatives of the headword, at the falafel, and sushi through various end of each entry. Everything is pre- waves of immigrants, and “cookies,” sented in a two-column format with “fries,” and the collective “guys” illustrative phrases in italics and ety- coming from the U.S. From being a mology in brackets. language that was looked down upon even by the Australian media in the Grammatical Information and 1940s and 1950s, Australian English Pronunciation has come into its own, and diction- The 24-page grammar guide in the 40 The ATA Chronicle n April 2010 appendices is organized alphabeti- Contextual and Encyclopedic to appreciate a dictionary like the cally with concise definitions and Information Macquarie Australian Encyclopedic many illustrative phrases. Since In addition to the headwords, the Dictionary. It is a truly excellent formal written English shows very dictionary contains a wide range of account of the style of English spoken little variation around the world, it international and Australian encyclo- on the biggest and most sparsely popu- could be argued that the grammatical pedic notes giving summaries about lated desert island in the world. In the rules represented in the Macquarie such things as people, places, and past, the inhabitants have been made to Australian Encyclopedic Dictionary events. What I found most interesting feel that their English was second-class apply to the vast majority of English- here is the information on the lan- to that of the mother country, England. speaking countries. For a native guages and cultures of the Aboriginal However, this dictionary is tangible English speaker, the grammatical people. For example, entries like the proof of the opposite, and Australians guide is excellent as a quick refer- one about the Wiradjuri, the largest today can feel very proud of their lan- ence, and provides the student of Aboriginal group in inland New guage. Jana Wendt puts it eloquently: English with a nice compact list of South Wales, provide fascinating “In the case of the Macquarie rules to remember. information about the meaning and Australian Encyclopedic Dictionary, a Another helpful feature is the origin of Australian English words bridge is built between our need for a usage notes at the end of some words. like billabong and woomera. There record of the constantly expanding The dictionary is not intended to be a are also entries about more contempo- scope of modern communication and style guide, but does provide guidance rary and famous Australians like Paul the essential knowledge required as on the use of some words. Since Hogan and Nicole Kidman, famous we, who continue to forge a culture in Australian English generally follows places like Uluru, or curiously the Antipodes, forage through the the U.K. English spelling conven- sounding places like Ulladulla or Woy information forest of the twenty-first tions, such as theatre, honour, and Woy. century.” Overall, I would say that this colour, one would naturally assume Another amusing and interesting is an excellent dictionary. that a word like “program” would be feature of this dictionary is the many spelled “programme.” The usage note examples of regionalisms and slang for this particular term tells you that from around Australia. Terms like Charlotte Brasler is an ATA-certified until recently, the U.K. spelling was rego (car registration) and garbo Danish→English translator. She is also used for everything except when (garbage collector) are very useful to certified by the National Accreditation referring to computers. However, the know about when talking to your Authority for Translators and Interpreters U.S. spelling is now accepted as the mechanic or your neighbor, and refer- Ltd (English→Danish). She lives and correct form in all cases. This is ring to outback Australia as “out in works in Sydney, Australia. Contact: handy information to know. Woop Woop” definitely makes you [email protected]. Also, at the bottom of each page is sound like you are from Down Under. a small list with examples of how a particular sound is pronounced in Overall Evaluation Australian English. So, if you are Even though the relevance of a looking up the word “warm,” tran- behemoth of a book like this is ques- scribed as “wc m” in Australian tionable in an age where we all English, you can quickly look at the increasingly use the Internet, the dic- www.star-group.net bottom of the page to see that the “ ”c tionary does have its merits. If you take should sound like the “o” in “port,” your time to appreciate the interesting which is very handy information extra information provided in the arti- indeed. cles at the beginning and the appen- dices at the back, you will really begin Computer assisted Miss last year’s ATA Annual Conference? Order the DVD-ROM! translation www.atanet.org/conf/2009/dvdrom.htm Transit with Translation Memory The ATA Chronicle n April 2010 41.
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