Austral English

Morris, Edward Ellis, 1843-1901Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 1.8M words
Chapters: 184

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Austral English by Edward Ellis MorrisAuthor: Morris, Edward Ellis, 1843-1901,Language: English, Class: PE: Language and Literatures: English, Release Date: Feb 3, 2009

Editor's review

Austral English is a specialized work devoted to the vocabulary of Australian English, recording a wealth of words coined or altered in the Australian environment and spanning flora and fauna, geography, social life, and more. Its core value lies in preserving local linguistic knowledge: many entries not only give definitions but also reveal how a settler society used language to respond to unfamiliar natural and lived experience. For those interested in the history of English vocabulary, dialectology, Australian studies, and the history of lexicography, this book is a valuable primary source. It can be read as a lexicon to be dipped into entry by entry rather than read straight through. Note that it was completed in the late nineteenth century, and its selection and definitions reflect the limitations of its time; some words are now rare or have shifted in meaning, so readers should consult it alongside modern dictionaries and research in language history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Language learners interested in the history of English vocabulary and dialect research
Readers engaged in Australian studies who need to understand local vocabulary
Enthusiasts who enjoy browsing dictionary-style works and dipping in by entry
Scholars studying nineteenth-century lexicography and modes of linguistic recording

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking systematic study of contemporary spoken Australian English
General English learners who need Chinese definitions and modern usage
Casual readers expecting a continuous narrative or popular-science storytelling

Reading tips

Read the preface or introduction first to understand the scope and editorial principles, then choose entries by interest.
Keep a modern dictionary at hand to check whether rare words survive today and how their meanings have changed.
Excerpt entries by theme—flora and fauna, place names, everyday usage—to build your own vocabulary notes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can this book be used to learn contemporary Australian English?

It cannot be used directly as a textbook for contemporary spoken English. It records Australian English vocabulary from the late nineteenth century, and many entries are now rare or have changed meaning. To learn contemporary usage, you should use modern Australian English dictionaries and corpora; it is more suitable as historical comparative material.

Do the entries in the book have Chinese explanations?

This book is an original English work; the entries and definitions are all in English, with no Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some English reading ability, or dictionary tools to assist comprehension. Its value lies in the original vocabulary record, not in bilingual learning convenience.

Must it be read from beginning to end?

Not necessarily. It is closer to a dictionary-style work, suitable for browsing by entry or reading by theme. You can first skim the introduction to grasp the compilation background, then select entries on flora and fauna, place names, or social life according to interest, gradually building an understanding of the local features of Australian English.

Comments

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About the author

Morris, Edward Ellis, 1843-1901 Author · Australian · 1843–1901

Edward Ellis Morris (1843–1901) was an Australian educator and scholar who was born in Britain. Public information about his life is limited; he is known to have worked for many years in education and scholarship in Australia and to be remembered for compiling Austral English. The book focuses on Australian English as a distinctive variety of the language, systematically collecting and recording its vocabulary, usage and modes of expression, and stands as one of the important early documents for studying the history and character of Australian English. As a compiler, Morris showed a solid ability to organize and describe linguistic material, and his work provided a foundation that later Australian English lexicography and related language research could draw on. The library currently holds one work by him, Austral English.