Australian English Reimagined

"Australian English is a dynamic epi-centre of global English, the third one next to British and American English. This book edited by Willoughby and Manns assesses the rich current state of research and suggests future avenues to increase knowledge of Australia’s mainstream, ethnic and regional Englishes, the theories that develop under its influence in sociolinguistics and educational politics, and shows how Australian identitites are being recast." - Gerhard Leitner, Institute of English Language and Literature, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

"Australian English Reimagined is a comprehensive account of Englishes in Australia. It synthesizes a rich body of historic and contemporary research to interrogate our commonly-held beliefs about our language and how it is changing. This volume explores the intersection of language and social factors such as gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, age and attitudes. It considers the origins of Australian English, the colloquialisation of its syntax, the influence of other regional varieties and the uniqueness of Aboriginal and migrant varieties. Peppered with delightfully illustrative details, this makes for a wonderfully absorbing read." - Rebecca Swain, Project Coordinator at Digital Learning Design & Teacher of English, Carey Baptist Grammar School, Australia

"As an update on the state of knowledge on Australian English, this edited volume would be hard to beat. It surveys the major research in a digestible fashion, providing extensive bibliographies to the chapters. It charts the movement across time from English in Australia to Australian English, its origins and development, and national acceptance as its own standard. The book ranges across distinctive structures and features, discourse stand-outs like yeah no and final but, and the gamut of vowel and consonant forms. It covers regional and ethnic variation, including Aboriginal Englishes, the influence of americanization, and the greater impetus towards informality that marks AusEng off from other Englishes. The authors are a who’s-who of the research community, skilfully brought together by the editors, Willoughby and Manns. This is a book to relish." – Allan Bell, Emeritus Professor of Language & Communication, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand