JSA secretary Bryan Reid takes a look at...
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Modern Australian Usage, by Nicholas Hudson; |
Anyone who has heard Nick Hudson deliver a paper to the JSA will recognise
the unmistakeably witty, concise and erudite style of his most recent publication,
the revised edition of his much-valued Modern Australian Usage (OUP),
first published in 1993.
Nick, a publisher and lexicographer who, by his own declaration, has had
a lifelong "love affair with words", not only gets to grips with
the vagaries of spelling and pronunciation, grammar, punctuation and etymology
, but also offers very practical explanations and recommendations for those
who choose to write and publish for a living,
But the work is much more than a guide and mentor. It's great for dipping
into, not just for information but also for Nick's wry assessments of what
is "right" and what is "wrong" and whether, in particular
instances, it matters one way or the other.
For instance, discussing the merits or otherwise of back-formations --the
tendency to create new verbs from existing nouns (burgle from burglar
is an example; others listed are liaise, diagnose and scavenge)
-- Nick writes:
"Given that the invention of new derivatives by adding bits on is an accepted part of language development, and results in even longer words, back-formation (which fulfils the same need, but results in shorter words) should be encouraged. But for some reason, people find taking bits off more shocking than adding bits on, and write anxious letters to the press suggesting imminent collapse of civilisation-as-we-know-it whenever a new one comes in view."
This commonsense, non-prescriptive view of language informs the work
as a whole, the author coming down heavily on the side of simplicity and
brevity, although he makes no bones about condemning outright solecisms
or palpable lapses of logic.
Whatever your interest in the Australian language, you will find Modern
Australian Usage a very entertaining read.