Issue1 All Papers

Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and
Intercultural Communication
Volume 1, Issue 1
May 2008
Michael Haugh and Susana Eisenchlas

Introduction
iv
Troy Vinson
Some lexical variations of Australian Aboriginal English
Volume 1, Issue 1
Kay Frances Bartolo
Bogan: Polite or not? Cultural implications of a term in Australian slang
Noriko Sekiya
Aussie battler as a cultural keyword in Australian English
21
Minha Hong
Where the bloody hell are you?: Bloody hell and (im)politeness
in Australian English
33
Zachariah Dominello
Keepin it real, mate: A study of identity in Australian Hip Hop
40
Alina Sullivan
Foreign-trained versus British-trained: exploring the identity of non-Australian
trained medical professionals in the Australian print media
48
School of Languages and Linguistics

Griffith University
Special issue:
The Ethnopragmatics of Australian English
Edited by Michael Haugh and Susana Eisenchlas

Griffith University
ii
SchoolofLanguagesandLinguistics
GriffithUniversity
Nathan,QLD4111
Australia
www.griffith.edu.au/artslanguagescriminology/schoollanguageslinguistics/working
papers/
MichaelHaugh,SusanaEisenchlasandcontributors2008
iii
ContentsofVolume1,Issue1
MichaelHaughandSusanaEisenchlas
Introduction
TroyVinson
SomelexicalvariationsofAustralianAboriginalEnglish
KayFrancesBartolo
Bogan:Politeornot?CulturalimplicationsofaterminAustralianslang
NorikoSekiya
Aussie`battlerasaculturalkeywordinAustralianEnglish
MinhaHong
Wherethebloodyhellareyou?:Bloodyhelland(im)politeness
inAustralianEnglish
ZachariahDominello
Keepinitreal,mate:AstudyofidentityinAustralianHipHop
AlinaSullivan
ForeigntrainedversusBritishtrained:exploringtheidentityofnonAustralian
trainedmedicalprofessionalsintheAustralianprintmedia
iv
21
33
40
48
iv
Introduction
MICHAELHAUGHANDSUSANAEISENCHLAS*
We are delighted to introduce the first issue of Griffith Working Papers in

Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication. This publication features select work
byundergraduateandHonoursstudentsintheSchoolofLanguagesandLinguistics
at Griffith University enrolled in courses on pragmatics and intercultural
communication.Webelievethatthisworkdeservesawideraudienceasitinvolves
original data collection and analysis. Indeed, many of these topics have received
scantattentionintheliteraturesofar.
Inthisissue,thefocusisontheethnopragmaticsofAustralianEnglish,inparticular,
culturalkeywords,speechpatternsandnormsofinteraction.AlthoughEnglishisthe
mostwidelystudiedsecond/foreignlanguageintheworldandisregularlyusedby
morethanabillionspeakers,thestudyofdifferencesinthewaysvarietiesofEnglish
are used is only just emerging. This issue makes a modest contribution in that
direction.
We hope this issue will stimulate further work in these emerging areas of inquiry
andwillalsomarkthedevelopmentofthisnewareaofresearchstrengthatGriffith.
MichaelHaughandSusanaEisenchlas
April2008
*Editornotes
Michael Haugh is a Lecturer convening the International English program in the School of
Languages and linguistics at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. His main research
interestsincludepragmaticsandinterculturalcommunication.Hehaspublishedworkinthe
Journal of Pragmatics, Intercultural Pragmatics, Pragmatics, Multilingua, Journal of Politeness
Research,and Discourse, and is coediting a forthcoming book Face,CommunicationandSocial
Interaction (Equinox), as well as editing a special issue on Intention in pragmatics for
InterculturalPragmatics(2008).
Contactemail:m.haugh@griffith.edu.au
Susana Eisenchlas is a Senior Lecturer convening the Linguistics program in the School of
Languages and Linguistics at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Her Doctoral
Dissertation was in the area of syntactic theory and first language acquisition. She also
conductsresearchandpublishesintheareaofinternationalisationofthecurriculumandthe
teachingofinterculturalcommunicationfromalinguisticperspective.Sheiscoeditorofthe
bookAustralianPerspectivesonInternationalisingEducation(2003)
Contactemail:S.Eisenchlas@griffith.edu.au
TroyVinson:SomelexicalvariationsofAustralianAboriginalEnglish
SomelexicalvariationsofAustralianAboriginalEnglish
TROYVINSON*
Abstract
This report explores the variety of English known as Australian Aboriginal

English. It analyses some lexical variations uncovered through studying
realistic Aboriginal English language usage from two films; Blackfellas and
Rabbit Proof Fence. It confirms that Aboriginal English has its own
grammaticalandsemanticsystemsenablingitsuserstoexpressthingsthatcan
beexpressedwithStandardEnglishalongsidethingsthatcannotbeexpressed
with Standard English. The report points out that for many Aboriginal
Australians,AboriginalEnglishisalinktotraditionandcommunityandthatit
isoftenusedasasolidaritymarkerandanexpressionofAboriginalidentity.It
shows that almost all lexical variations in Aboriginal English mark solidarity
and that Aboriginal English is a symbol of cultural maintenance. It explains
that for many Aboriginal people, gestures and vocal articulations are
interchangeablewithinAboriginalEnglish.ThereportdescribeshowAboriginal
English has arisen. It posits that, due to either linguistic imperialism or the
unwillingness of the British colonisers to adopt any of the 250 Aboriginal
languagesorapproximately600dialectsasacommonlanguage,theindigenous
population over generations grafted their grammatical and semantic systems
ontoBritishStandardEnglish.
1.Introduction
This paper focuses on the variety of English known as Australian Aboriginal

English. Aboriginal Englishes are the varieties, or more technically, dialects of
English spoken by Aboriginal people throughout Australia (Eades 1995).
AlthoughAboriginalEnglishistosomedegreesimilartovarietiesofAustralian
English, there are clear differences, as this paper shows. The analysis in this
reportcoverssomeofthelexicalvariationsofAboriginalEnglishfromthefilms,
Blackfellas (1993: Ricketson: Australia) and Rabbit Proof Fence (2002: Noyce:
Australia).BothfilmsadequatelyrepresentrealisticAboriginalEnglishlanguage
usageandwerechosenastheelicitationofsubstantialnaturallanguageexamples
were beyond the time constraints and the scope of this project. According to
Williams (1988), Aboriginal English varies across the [country] due to the
people, their culture and communities. Hawkins (cf. Groome 1995) states that
Aboriginal English has its own distinctive grammatical and semantic systems
[and]enablesitsspeakerstoexpressanythingthatcanbeexpressedinStandard
English. Its speakers also use it to express ideas that are not often expressed in
StandardEnglish[andmust]beseenasdifferent[but]notdeficient(p.79).This
GriffithWorkingPapersinPragmaticsandInterculturalCommunication1,1(2008),16
analysis of lexical variation indicates that, for many, Aboriginal English is a

connectiontotraditionorisusedtomarksolidaritywithinaparticularlinguistic
community. It can be a subtle but powerful medium for the expression of
Aboriginalidentity(Eades1995).
PriortotheBritishinvasionofAustraliatheAboriginalpeoplehadsome250
different languages (e.g., Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Jaggarra) with
approximately 600 dialects. As the British were unwilling to learn any of the
Aboriginal languages, as is often the case when an invading force takes over a
country(i.e.,linguisticimperialism),itwaslefttotheAboriginalpeopletobridge
thecommunicationgap,firstwithabasicPidginEnglishandlaterwithwhatis
nowknownasAboriginalEnglish(Eades1995).
Aboriginal English developed over a few generations when the Pidgin
EnglishthatwasusedtocommunicatewiththeBritishwasusedtocommunicate
across the various Aboriginal language groups in Australia. This linguistic
development gave rise to Aboriginal dialects of English, hence Aboriginal
English,throughoutmostofAustralia,includingtwoCreolelanguagesinthefar
north of Australia (Eades: 1995). In other regions where no Pidgin languages
were used, Aboriginal people turned Standard English into Aboriginal English
by overlaying their accents, grammar and ways of speaking and their lexical
selections on the language. The next section examines some of the lexical
variationsofAboriginalEnglish.
2.Unnaasasolidaritymarker
In example (1), the lexical variation focus is on the word blackfellas (from the
titleofthefilm)andthewordunnainlines2,4,and8.Blackfellasisthetitleof
afilmportrayingcontemporaryAboriginallife.Thefunctionofafilmtitleisthat
of a headline, to attract attention and to inform. The Aboriginal English title
Blackfellas varies from Standard English in three ways: (i) spelling; (ii)
structure; and (iii) phonetics. Blackfellas in Aboriginal English is spelt
Blackfellas and in Standard English is spelt Black fellows. The Aboriginal
EnglishformisonewordwhiletheStandardEnglishistwowords.Phonetically,
the Aboriginal English version requires less effort in term of articulation.
Therefore,forthesereasons,Blackfellasisalexicalvariation,notonlyusedfor
the title of a film but also used by Aboriginal people as an Aboriginal word to
refertooneanotherandtomarksolidarity.
(1)ExcerptfromBlackfellas
1 PrettyBoy: Imsorrybro
2 Dougy:
yesterdayshistory(pause)unna
3 PrettyBoy: IwasgunnagetyasomerosesbrobutI
4

decidedtogetyathewholefuckenbushunnahahaha.
5 Dougy:
fuckyouBoy.
7 Dougy:
8 PrettyBoy:
[Briefphysicalexchange]
foreverandever.
brothersforeverandeverunna
Inexample(1),unnaisrepeatedthreetimesbythespeakers,whoareengaged
in a discourse that is basically an apology and the acceptance of that apology.
Theutterancesareproducedattheendofsentenceswithoutdelayorhesitation.
Inthisexample,unnaappearstoactasagrammaticaltag,andthereforeasmall
unitoftalktaggedontotheendofasentencetoelicitagreementfromthelistener.
While it may not be possible to arrive at a precise meaning or synonym of this
lexicalvariation,onemightarguethatunnaroughlytranslates,someofthetime,
as isnt it so? or isntthat right?Further, inExample (1), unna performs the
role of a marker of solidarity, which Bales (1950: 7880) claims is a basic
dimensionofsocialrelationswithinagroup.
3.Lexicalvariation
Inline8ofexample(2)andline6ofexample(3)thelexicalvariationfocusison
thewordsdeadliest(thesuperlativeformofdeadly)anddeadlyrespectively.
Inline8below,deadliestisusedtoshowthatsomethingisveryimpressiveor
verygood.Inthisexample,PrettyBoyisanextremelygoodmarker(afootball
termforonewhocatchestheballonthefull),andbeingthesuperlativeformof
deadlyitimpliesthatPrettyBoyisthebestmarker.Afurtherexampleofthis
variationoccursinline6fromexample(3),whenPollyexpressesthatadressshe
is wearing is deadly. Note also the previously described use of unna, here
directlyafterdeadly.Inthisexampleunnaisusedtomeanisntitso?orisnt
that right? It also adds weight to the deadlyness of Pollys dress. Some
meaningsorsynonymsfordeadlyinStandardEnglishincludelethal,toxicand
fataletc.Therefore,itsusageinAboriginalEnglishhasdifferentmeaningsforthe
word deadly from those of Standard English. However, according to Eades
(1995),itappearsthatthisisawordwhichisspreadingfromAboriginalEnglish
intogeneralAustralianusage,especiallyamongyoungpeople.
1 PrettyBoy: andanotherthingifitsaboycallinghimafteryou
2
FloydDouglass
3
Davyunna
4 Dougy:
whatareyagunnadoaboutmoney.
5 PrettyBoy: welliftheworstcomestotheworst,Illgo
6
andplayfootball,thatcoachesbeenonmybackfor18
7
monthsnowtogoandplayforhisteam,reackons
8
Imthelongestkickerandthedeadliestmarkerhesever
9
seenay.
1 Polly:
yasaidwewasgointothemovies
2 Dougy:
sorryPolly,Floydpickedmeupbut
3 Polly:
ohfuckFloydandfuckyoutoDoug,youand
4
hemightaswellbeboyfriendsforyuzbothcareabout
5
yawomens(pause)(softly)Igotdressedupaeverything
6
forya(pause)Valgotmethisdress,deadlyunna
7 Dougy:
deadly(pause)wellgotothepictureanothernightok
8 Polly:
(nodshead)
Inexample(4)(line3)thelexicalvariationfocusisonthewordcharge.Inthe
context of inviting Dougy to come and have a discussion, Pretty Boy states,
weregonnahaveabitofacharge,andatalk.InAboriginalEnglishacharge
referstodrinkingalcohol.ItisonlyrelatedtotheStandardEnglishdefinitionin
thesenseoftochargelikeabattery,literallytokeepfillingitupuntilitsfull,as
thisiswhatyoudowhenyouchargeon:youkeepdrinkinguntilyouarefull.
Some nonrelated meanings and synonyms in Standard English include accuse,
incriminateandtolaytheblameonsomeone.
1 PrettyBoy: RightoDougrightoletsgohomeandtalkaboutit,
2
ValsupplayingcardstonightwithNana.Soweregunna
3
haveabitofacharge,andatalk.
4 Dougy:
(shakeshead).
In example (5) (line 5) the lexical variation focus is on the word digga. In this
example Dougy is explaining to Pretty Boy the Standard English animal
husbandryexpressionpertainingtothematingoflivestocktoputtoortoput
over.WhilediggahasdifferentmeaningsinStandardEnglishandinparticular
StandardAustralianEnglish(e.g.,asolder,possiblyanANZAC),theAboriginal
English meaning here refers to sexual intercourse. Therefore, this Aboriginal
English expression, not used in Standard English, is definitely a form of lexical
variation.
1 Dougy:
yaknowwhatPrettyboy,TonyFowleysgunnagivemea
2
coupleofoldmareswithgoodbloodlines,Icanputemto
3
SerenityBill.
4 Prettyboy: putemto?
5 Dougy:
yehyaknow(razesarmat45%angleandjigglesfist)digga
6 Prettyboy: oooah,youmeanthatSerenityBillgetsto
7
putittothemoldmaresunna.(laughter)
4.Gestureandlexicalvariation
In example (6), the lexical variation focus is on the word, or in this example,
gestures, in lines 4, 6, 8 and 17. In this example gesture will be treated as an
utterance.ThisisduetotheuseofgestureinmanyAboriginallanguagesandits
transfer to Aboriginal English. According to Caruso (1997), Aboriginal English
featuresaspectsincludingtheuseofsilence,eyecontactandbodylanguage.In
the film Rabbit Proof Fence (line 3), Molly gestures with a hand, to two
approaching Aboriginal Men can you give us some food. A short exchange of
gesturesfollowsbetweenMollyandoneoftheMen,resultingintheexchangeof
foodtoMollyandhersisters.ThisisalexicalvariationofAboriginalEnglishnot
seen,atleasttothisdegree,inStandard(Australian)English.
In line 12 the lexical variation focus is on the word country. According to
Eades (1995), the word country which refers to land generally, [] also has a
morespecificmeaningofplaceofbelonging(italicsadded).TheStandardEnglish
equivalent refers to state, nation state and realm etc. The use of country in
Aboriginal English can also mean a person from your country and can be
exchangedwithbrotherwhengreetingapersonfromonesplaceoforigin.Itis
anotherexampleofasolidaritymarker.
(6)ExcerptfromRabbitProofFence
1
(girlshidingseetwomenwithrooovershoulder
2
approach)
3 Dasiy:
askemaskemMollyaskemforsomethingtoeat.
4 Molly:
(stepsoutfromhidingandgestureswithhandtothemen)
5
Canyougiveussomefood.
6 Man:
(themancarryingtheroogesturesbackwithhishand)
7
Whoelseisthere.
8 Molly:
(gesturestotheothertwogirlsinhiding)comeoutand
9
showyourselves.
10Man:
heyyourefromthatMoreRiverplaceay.
11Youngestgirl:wegoinhome.
12Man:
whereyourcountry.
13Molly:
Jigalong.
14Man:
Jigalong,properlongway
15
(handsMollyapacketofmatches)
16
youknowwhatyourdoin.
17Molly:
(nodshead)yes.
5.Conclusion
Anexhaustiveanalysisofthistopicwouldrequireaholisticapproachbeyondthe
scopeofthisreport.However,theexplorationofotherlevelsofvariationsuchas
spelling,structure,phoneticsandbodylanguage/gesturehavebeenemployedto
gainadeeperinsightoflexicalvariationinAboriginalEnglish.Inall,thelexical
variations of eight items have been analysed and explained. It has been shown
that Aboriginal English is technically a dialect of English spoken by Aboriginal
people throughout Australia. That said, Eades (1995) observes that it would be
an oversimplification to speak of one dialect of Aboriginal English, just as it
wouldbetospeakofonedialectofBritishEnglish.Further,ithasbeenshown
that almost all lexical variations in Aboriginal English mark solidarity and,
according to Malcolm (2001 p.217), Aboriginal English is a symbol of cultural
maintenance,[andis]theadoptedcodeofasurvivingculture.
*Authornotes
Troy Vinson is of Australian Aboriginal and Anglo Australian descent. He is a mature
age student currently studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Applied
Linguistics at Griffith University Brisbane. His academic interests include Australian
Aboriginal languages, the Chinese language, pragmatics and intercultural
communication,andgenerallinguistics.
Contactemail:Troy.Vinson@student.griffith.edu.au
References
Bales,R1950.InteractionProcessAnalysis:AMethodfortheStudyofSmallGroups.Reading,
MA:AddisonWesley.
Caruso,J.1997.AboriginalEnglishisbadstandardAustralianEnglishNOT!Practically
Primary2,4:1920.
Eades,D.1995.AboriginalEnglish.Availableat
http://www.une.edu.au/langnet/definitions/aboriginal.html.
Groome,H.1995.WorkingpurposefullywithAboriginalstudents.Katoomba,NSW:
SocialSciencePress.Availableathttp://www.tesol.org.au/esl/whatis.htm.
Harkins,Jean.2000.StructureandmeaninginAustralianAboriginalEnglish.Asian
Englishes3,2:6081.
Malcolm, I.2000.AboriginalEnglishresearch:anoverview.AsianEnglishes3,2.
Williams,M.ed.2007.TheNungaCode.Adelaide:EducationDepartmentofSouth
Australia.Availableathttp://www.tesol.org.au/esl/whatis.htm.
KayFrancesBartolo:Bogan:politeornot?
Bogan:Politeornot?
CulturalimplicationsofaterminAustralianslang
KAYFRANCESBARTOLO*
Abstract
Although changes in the usage of words in English are emerging through

globalisationandtravel,AustralianslanghaskeptitsstrongtiestoAustralian
culture.Themainaimofthisresearchwastolookatthetermbogan,whetherit
isusedinaderogatorywayinAustralianEnglish,andwhateffectsculturecan
have on its use and acceptance. Research was conducted using a small corpus
builtofAustralianslanganddatatakenfromethnopragmaticinterviewswith
AustralianbornnativespeakersofEnglish.Itwasconcludedfromtheresearch
that the term can be used both negatively, as a negative comment or impolite
projection of a social identity onto a person who does not identify themselves
within that classification by the older generation, and positively, as a sign of
solidarity or a compliment amongst members of the same ingroup by the
youngergeneration.Thefactorsfoundtoaffecttheresultoftheuseofthisterm
aretheculturalstereotypethattheuserattachestothemeaningandthecultural
understandingofthelistener.
1.Introduction
Australian slang is distinct from that used in many other varieties of English
(withtheexceptionofNewZealandslang,withwhichitsharesmanyofthesame
slangterms).Althoughwiththeexpansionofinternationalismandinternational
traveltheslangofmanyotherEnglishcultureshasinfluencedtheslangusedby
the Australian population, strong ties still remain to Australian colloquialisms.
Slangcanbeusedasawaytobuildpersonal,socialornationalidentityandto
create solidarity within an ingroup, which is evident in the use of Australian
slangamongstitsusers(Laugesen2003).
TheuseofAustralianslanginothercountriesandthereforewithpeopleof
other cultures can be either completely unrecognisable or strongly
misinterpreted as being insults or even swearing (Menner 1946: 120). For
example, a woman was recently questioned by the American police after she
usedthetermfairdinkumonanAmericanairline,thetermbeingassumedto
be swearing (Rolfe 2007). This misunderstanding is an excellent example of the
ways in which slang can carry strong cultural values which influence the
meaningunderstoodbythelistener.
During World War I, a glossary of slanguage used by the Australian
soldiers was created to take a snapshot in history of Australian language and
slang(Laugesen2003).Thewordsusedbysoldierswerewrittendownwithvery
brief definitions and attimes possible origins. One entry that is relevant to this
research is the term bastard. This term originated as a derogatory title for a
child born to unmarried parents, whereas the entry in the slanguage glossary
describesitasatermofendearment(Laugesen2007).Itcanthereforebeseen
thatawordwithoriginallynegativeconnotationscanbeusedinapositivewayif
usedasatypeofslang.
2.Methodology:Ethnopragmaticanalysis
A small corpus was built of Australian English slang from internet resources,
mainly online newspapers and comments made about these articles from
archivesofthepastfiveyears,thensamplesofapproximatelyonesentencewere
taken that included the term bogan. A sample of sentences that contained the
wordboganwasselectedfromthecorpus(seeAppendix1).
In addition, three ethno pragmatic interviews were conducted with Australian
English speakers to support the written data. These interviews were recorded
and then transcribed by the researcher. The ethnopragmatic interviews were
conducted with four AngloSaxon Australianborn people of varying ages from
1852 years old who were asked a number of questions regarding their
understanding and personal use of the word bogan (see full transcriptions of
theinterviewsinAppendix2).
The Natural Semantic Metalanguage was then used to create a semantic
explicationofboganinAusE.Thestudyfocusedmainlyonlookingatwhether
thistermisusedinaderogatorywayandwhateffectstheculturalvaluesofthe
termhaveon(im)politeness.
Theanalysisofeachsectionofthedatawasconductedseparatelyinorderto
appreciate the different uses and implications of the term in its separate
environments.
3.Discussionofprintdata
Bylookingatthedatacollectedfromtheinterviewsandonlinedictionaryentries,
thetermdescribesapersonofunspecifiedgenderwhocanbeassociatedwiththe
following list of personal qualities: enthusiasmfor cars and hooning;drinking
alcohol(specificallyacheapbeerlikeVictorianBitter);alackofeducation;dirty
personalhygienehabits;andlowdressstandardssuchasthongs,flannelshirts,
wifebeaters(singlets);smoking;lackofmoney;loudrockorheavymetalmusic;
the mullet hair style; petty crime; freeloading; reckless behaviour; and
Australia.
From the analysis carried out on the corpus and sample, it has been
concludedthatthetermboganispredominantlyusedasagenderneutralnoun
(www.bogan.com.au).Theuseofthetermboganinanyotherlinguisticformis
rareandpossiblyduetolinguisticandsocialevolution.Boganhascirculatedin
mainstreamsocietysincethe1980sandsomebelievethatithasitsoriginsonthe
Bogan River District of Western NSW, though this link can not be confirmed
(www.bogan.com.au). The current understanding of the term has evolved only
slightlyfromitsoriginalmeaning,derivedintheeighties,possiblyduetobeing
stronglyembeddedinAustraliansociety.
Regarding the question of whether the term is used to cause offence, the
majority of the printed data seems to lean towards the use of the word as an
insult. Most of the written data focused on the offensive side of the use of the
wordboganandhowthetermcanbeassociatedwithderogatorytauntsabout
Australian culture being that of unintelligent people with little to no personal
pride.However,thisnegativeusecannotbeconcludedasbeingtheonlyversion,
sincethereareafewexamplesinthewrittentextsthatindicateapositiveattitude
towards those who are stereotyped as being bogans. This is shown by the
discussion of pride being associated with the term and supporting the
traditional Aussie culture in articles like that by Michelle Griffin in The
Australianof15July2002.Griffindiscussesthefactthatboganisnolongerjust
beingusedasaninsult,butisinfactawaytoidentifywiththeAussieculture
thatmanyAngloSaxonAustraliancitizensaresoproudof.
This opinion conflicts with the embarrassment of the bogan persona as
described by Campbell (2006). She suggests that the celebrities described in the
media as bogansare a reason behind the negative assertion of the term rather
than the common/public use of the word. This is supported by the use of the
termbogantodescribecelebritiessuchasShaneWarnewhohavebeenshamed
publiclyfortheirinfidelityandphilandering,excessivealcoholconsumptionand
otherundesiredhabits(Symons2005).
The term bogan is associated with translations into NorthAmerican
English of trailer trash and British English CHAVS (Huynh 2007). This
translationintotheNorthAmericanEnglishtrailertrashisinterestingsinceone
ofthearticlesrelatesthenegativeoutlookofthiswordtoasimilarperspectiveon
the term bogan. Another of the articles insists that Australians have an
affection for bogans that is not reflected in North Americas loathing of trailer
trash(Huynh2007).Therefore,itcannotbedefinitivelysaidwhetherthisword
invokesapositiveoranegativestereotypefromanalysisofthewrittendata.
4.Discussionofinterviewdata
The general understanding of the term bogan, as described by the interview

participants,isthatofapersonwithalackofpridefortheirpersonalappearance,
whoisuntidyandpoorlydressed.Thetwoolderparticipantsincludedhavinga
lowerthannormalintellectuallevelasbeinganimportantmentalcharacteristic
ofbeingabogan,whereastheyoungerparticipantdisagreedwiththisidea.She
describedaboganasbeingsomeonewhoplaysdumbbutwhoisnotactually
unintelligent.However,thiscouldbeabiasedopinionsinceshecontinuesafter
10
this comment to classify herself as a bogan and therefore attempts to create a

positiveimageofhernowselfproclaimedingroup.Sincetheolderparticipants
have either explicitly or implicitly excluded themselves from the bogan in
group,theydistancethemselvesfromthenegativestereotypeofthisidentity.
Alloftheparticipantssupportedtheideathatthetermisgenerallyusedbya
younger speaker rather than a middleaged or older speaker. However, once
again,theyoungestspeakerhadmoretoaddonthispoint,sayingthatshewould
usethetermwithfamilyandfriendsincludingwithhermaternalgrandmother.
She justifies this by saying that her grandma is completely different though,
indicatingthatshedoesnotclassifyhergrandmotherasatypicalgrandmother.
Thisshowsthatalthoughshemayusethetermwithherowngrandmother,this
is an exception to thesocial norm for the use of the term.This could indicate a
meaning shift from one generation to the next. Since both of the older
participants commented on the fact that they do not use it, and the younger
participantdoes,thissituationmightarisewithatermorphrasethatwasatone
timederogatory butisinthepresentneutralorcomplimentary,asdiscussedin
theintroductiontothisessay.
All interview participants had the same opinion that the word is generally
not offensive. However, the oldermale participant saidthat hewould question
whyapersonwouldcallhimthat,indicatingslightoffenceofthewordwhenthe
termisbeingdirectedtowardshim.Thisoffenceiscreatedbythedisagreement
between the projection of the stereotype onto a person who does not identify
withthatstereotype.Itisnotthatthestereotypeitselfisanoffensivedescription;
rather that the person who is being publicly classified as a bogan does not
appreciatebeingidentifiedinawaythattheydonotclassifythemselves.
The youngest participant made the interesting comment that it is mainly
offensive for females to be called a bogan but that it can be taken as a
complimentifitisdirectedtowardsamale.Thiscanbeunderstoodbylookingat
the social ideology of men, that is that the term supports the tough or strong
aspectofmalepsychologyalongwiththebeliefthatmalesshouldnotcareabout
their personal appearance. For a female to be identified with a term that has
strong masculine connotations would be offensive if she did not see herself in
thatway.
5.Semanticexplicationofbogan
FromtheprecedinganalysiswecandefinetheuseofboganinAustralianEnglish
inthefollowingmannerusingtheNaturalSemanticMetalanguage:
thisisakindofperson
thispersonisnotlikeme
itisnotbadifthispersonthinksIdontlikethem
thispersoncanthinklikethis:
Ithinkitisnotbadifsomeonethinksofmeinabadway
11
Idonthavetodoanythingtobegoodatthis
Ifeelgoodbecauseofthis
6.Conclusion
Bogan is described as a subculture or an abstract idea that is expressed

through culture so the word can be assumed to be explicitly linked to culture
(Campbell2006).The(im)politenessthatcanbeincurredisthereforeassociated
totheculturaltiesthateachindividualuserattachestothetermnotthemeaning
oftheworditself.
Therefore,itcanbeconcludedfromanalysisofthedataofthisresearchthat
the term bogan can be used as either a derogatory term or a compliment to
create solidarity. The factor that determines this decision is whether the person
whoisbeingcalledaboganidentifieswiththeculturalstereotypeornot.Ifthe
persondoesnotclassifyhimorherselfasapartofthisingroupthanoffencecan
betakenwhereasifthepersonseeshimorherselfaspartoftheingroupthenthe
commentwillbeseenmorelikeacompliment.
The term is most commonly used by the younger generation in todays
society.Thiscanbeattributedtothefactthattheunderstandingorconnotations
ofthewordhaschangedsinceitsoriginalmeaning.Apersonwhobelongstoan
oldergenerationviewsthiswordasanimpoliteprojectionofanidentityontoa
person who does not agree with the classification. However, a person of a
youngergenerationismorelikelytoaccepttheuseofthisaddressascompliment
tocreatesolidarityamongstthemembersofthesameingroup.
Research should be continued into the area of (im)politeness in Australian
slangandsimplyAustralianslangonitsownsincethereisverylittleliterature
onthesetopics.Thechangingnatureofthespokenlanguage,inparticularslang,
means that if research is not continually conducted in this area, much of the
informationwillbelost.
*Authornotes
KayFrancesBartolohasrecentlycompletedaBachelorofArtsinLanguagesandApplied
LinguisticsatGriffithUniversityinBrisbane,Australia.Kayisfurtheringherstudiesthis
year at The Australian National University in Canberra, where she hopes to attain a
MasterofTranslationStudies.
Contactemail:i_skayte@optusnet.com.au
References
Campbell,Mel.2006.Perhapstheresalittleboganineveryone,TheSydneyMorning
Herald,8June.Availableathttp://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/perhapstheresa
littleboganineveryone/2006/06/07/1149359814143.html.
Governmentgivesgrantforboganstudy,TheAustralian,30March2007.Availableat
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,214742351702,00.html.
12
Griffin,Michelle2007.Bogansville:meetthenewincrowd,TheAge,16June.Availableat
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/15/1026185158244.html.
Huynh,Kim2007.Willbogansdecidethenextelection?,TheDailyTelegraph,21Aug.
Availableathttp://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,222773425007146,00.html.
Laugesen,Amanda2003.AustralianFirstWorldWarslanguage,JournaloftheAustralian
WarMemorial,vol.38.
Laugesen,Amanda2007.GlossaryofSlangandPeculiarTermsinUseintheAIF19211924.
ResearchSchoolofHumanities,ANU,Canberra.Availableat
http://www.anu.edu.au/ANDC/res/aus_words/wwi/index.php.
Menner,RobertJ.1946.TheAustralianLanguage,AmericanSpeech,120122.
Rolfe,John2007.FairdinkumAussiefearsban,TheDailyTelegraph,14Aug.Availableat
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,2224197213762,00.html.
Symons,EmmaKate2005.Spinningoutofcontrol,TheAustralian,2July.Availableat
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,1579013228737,00.html.
UrbanDictionary.Availableathttp://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bogan.
13
Appendix1:SamplesofboganinAustralianEnglish
InNewZealandasinAustralia,boganisaninsultingslang,termforan
unsophisticatedlowerclassyobifthestudyispublishedintheUnitedStatesitmay
havetoincludethetranslationtrailertrash.(TheAustralian2007)
ButMrSnellishappytodescribehimselfasabogan,sayinghelovesheavymetal
musicdistinctiveforitsthick,loud,guitaranddrumssound.(TheAustralian2007)
Thestereotypeofaboganistightblackjeans,aMetallicaTshirt,amullet12ora
shavedheadandaloveofbeerandcars.Idveryproudlycallmyselfabogan,he
saidonRadioNewZealandtoday.(TheAustralian2007)
GDAY,keepyourtrackieson,chuckasickieandjumpintheute,youbogan.
(Conway2006)
AussiesmightstillregardMicrosoftbillionaireBillGatesasageek,butsurelyhesno
bogan.(Conway,Nov13,2006)
OverheretheyareeitherboganCrowssupportersorboganPortsupporters.
(PearceinQuartermaine2006)
Imightget30,000dirtylooksfromthebogansheretoday,butIgotonehighfive
fromanotherFreofansothatmadeitworthwhile.(PearceinQuartermaine2006)
WarnereceivesregularribbingsfromtheAustralianmediaforhisboganpersona.
Hisstruggleswithweightlossandcigarettes,theunsophisticateddietaryhabits,are
allfodderforcommentatorswhorecoilathisuncouthhabits.ButWarneyisthe
ultimateAussiebloke:allbrawnandfewbrainswhenitcomestocontrollinghis
appetites,plusablindingaddictiontoblondeswhoaretypicallyclonesofhis
attractivewife.(Symons2005)
TheyrethesameonesinEnglishreally,arentthey?hesays.Iknowtheword
bogan,butitsnotreallyaswearword.Therewasboganandtherewasanotherone
.Bevan?Bevan!Yeah,thatstheotherone.(TheSunday38 Mail2007)
JeffofQldyoudontgetthepoint.Youreanignoramus.Geteducated
becauseyousoundlikebogan.(Whittaker2007)
Perhapstheresalittleboganineveryone(Campbell2006)
ManyAustraliansthinktheyknowexactlywhataboganis.Somesayitsasocio
economicclass.Somesaybogansareasubculture.Andotherssaythattastesorpop
culturalreferencesmakesomeoneabogan.(Campbell2006)
14
Ultimately,bogansarenoneofthesethings.Ratherthanbeinggroundedinreality,
boganisanabstractideathatisexpressedthroughculture.Andwhenwetalkabout
bogans,werereallytalkingaboutnationalidentity.(Campbell2006)
Boganspopupinthemediaandinthepublicimaginationasfiguresthatareboth
embarrassingandunAustralian,andinstantly,recognisablyhyperAustralian.
(Campbell2006)
Itsuitsthepoliticalideologyofthebogantodeclarecertaintastesandpeople
lowerclass,becausethatmakesittheirfaultandnotours.(Campbell2006)
Bogansdontgivearatsarseaboutstyleorsubstance.Toolazytoreadreviews,yet
tooignoranttoappreciatestyle,ifyouseeaBoganwithadecentphoneitsbecause
theyjustmuggedaTechnosexual.Ifyoukeepwatching,youllseethemthrowitin
thebinbecausetheycantfigureoutthekeylock.Bogansphoneofchoice;
whateversonspecialatCashConverters.(Turner2007)
Willbogansdecidethenextelection?(Huynh2007)
AustralianshaveanaffectionforbogansthatisnotreflectedinNorthAmericas
loathingoftrailertrashorthePommierepugnancetowardsCHAVs(Council
HousingandViolent).(Huynh2007)
Archconservativesbemoanthefactthatpeoplenolongerknowtheirplaceand
equatetheboganascendancewiththedemiseofcivilisationandtheerosionofold
fashionedvalues.(Huynh2007)
Atthesametime,boganshaveonlyscornfortheoutoftouchintellectualswhothey
viewasbeingbereftoftheANZACspiritandobsessedwiththeesotericartsof
others.(Huynh2007)
ThankGodforthat!HalfthetimeIdontknowwhatthesehalfliteratebogan,bush
pigexpressionsmean.Theymakeussoundsocheapanduneducated.(Ferrer2006)
IcannotstandAustraliansayingsandboganaccents,Nothingworse,itdoenottake
muchmoretospeakcorrectlydoesit?leaveittotheboganstocarryonthe
tradition(MarkM2006)
NothingissacredwithBoganDazandhismateMaccaencouragingpunterstocross
offKeystotheTorana,18oraIthoughtshewaslegal,15ontheirwaytobingo
glory.(ThePenrithPress2007)
Allnationshavetheirequivalentofthebogan,andEuropeforallitssuave
sophistication,isnoexception.(Kent2007)
15
LookinglikeNoddyinhislittleredcar,theEuroBogantakesenormousprideinhis
badassSmartCarandtakesumbridgeifyoupointandlaughbecausehisspeakers
arebiggerthanhisengine.(Kent2007)
Althoughthemoccasinshodsuburbanherohasbeenofftheculturalradarforthe
pastdecadewhileAustraliansflirtedwithimportedsubcultures,theboganisBIT
backintownandthistime,peopleareembracingtheirinnerbogan.(Griffin2002)
FromRussellCrowedemandingVBtinniesaftertheOscars,tohairdressersreviving
theminimullet,theboganiscommandingnewfoundrespect.(Griffin2002)
Butinthepastcoupleofyears,shesseenarealresurgenceinboganpride.(Griffin
2002)
Thewordboganfirstappearedinsurfingmagazinesintheearly80sasa
derogatorytermfortheinlandsuburbanoutsiderswhoinvadedthesurferspatch.
(Griffin2002)
Butitsnotalwaysaninsultanymore.BothTripleMandTripleJorganisednational
bogancompetitionsinthepastsixmonths,andtheyvebeenfloodedwithentries
frompeopleproudtowavetheflanneletteflag.(Griffin121 2002)
Sources
Campbell,Mel2006.Perhapstheresalittleboganineveryone,TheSydneyMorning
Herald,8June.http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/perhapstheresalittle
boganineveryone/2006/06/07/1149359814143.html
Conway,Doug2006.Bonza!MicrosoftlikesourAussieisms,TheAustralian,13Nov.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,207488081702,00.html
FancySomeboganbingo,ThePenrithPress,15Oct2007.
http://www.penrithpress.com.au/article/2007/10/15/3303_stepping_out.html
Ferrer,Jeanne2006.ReadersCommenttoChesterton,TheDailyTelegraph,9Oct.
http://www.news.com.au/comments/0,23600,205475445007146,00.html
Governmentgivesgrantforboganstudy,TheAustralian,30March2007.
Griffin,Michelle2007.Bogansville:meetthenewincrowd,TheAge,16June.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/15/1026185158244.html
Huynh,Kim2007.Willbogansdecidethenextelection?,TheDailyTelegraph,21Aug.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,222773425007146,00.html
Kent,Melissa2007.TheEurobogan,TheWestAustralianOnline,2Aug.
http://blogs.thewest.com.au/lifestyle/melissakent/melissakenttheeurobogan/
M,Mark2006.ReadersCommenttoChesterton,TheDailyTelegraph,9Oct.
http://www.news.com.au/comments/0,23600,205475445007146,00.html
PearceinQuartermaine,Braden2006.Fansirateover$1600fares,TheAustralian,11
Sept.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,20390116
5006789,00.html
16
Radcliffereadyforlonghaul,TheSundayMail,15Sept2007.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,224174835003420,00.html
Rolfe,John2007.FairdinkumAussiefearsban,TheDailyTelegraph,14Aug.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,2224197213762,00.html
Symons,EmmaKate2005.Spinningoutofcontrol,TheAustralian,2July
Turner,Adam2007.Fashionsenseversuscommonsensebuyingaphone,The
SydneyMorningHerald,3Oct.
http://blogs.smh.com.au/gadgetsonthego/archives/2007/10/fashion_sense_versus
_common_se.html
Whittaker,Roy2007.ReadersCommenttoAboriginesareowedbillions,The
CourierMail,6Sept.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,223671843102,00.html
17
Appendix2:Transcriptionsofethnopragmaticinterviews
InterviewwithAustralianfemale(45yearsold),21October2007
I=Interviewer
G=interviewee
I:
Pleasedescribetomethemeaningofthetermboganinyourownwords
G:
Aboga:::ni:::sa:::(3.0)flanneletteshirtwearinguggboot(2.0)aaah::usually
youngerguysortofunder(2.0)fromaboutoh18to30yearsold,um::usedto
livein,someonewhousedtoliveintheWesternsuburbsofSydney.Um::
Theyre(3sec)Theyown(2.0)Holdensand::oldHoldensandFords(1.0)
FalconUtesortofthingsand:::
Arethereanymentalcharacteristicsyouassociatewithbogan?
I:
G:
(2.0)IassociatealowerIQthannormal(laughter)um::lowsocioeconomic
sortof(1.0)upbringing(2.0)um::
I:
[Okay]
G:
[Thats]probablyall.
I:
Doyouusethetermyourself?
G:
(1.0)Notalot,nonotveryoftenatall
I:
Um:::isthat,doyouthinkthatsbecauseofyourage.
G:
[No,Ijustthinkthatsjust]
I:
[Ordoyouthinkthatsjust]
G:
ItsjustmeandIdontusethatterm(1.0)alot
I:
(2.0)Um:::isthistermoffensive?
G:
(3.0)NoIdontthinkitcan,itis,itdependsonwho,who::likewhenits
used.Likeanyterm.Um,sometimestheyreoffensiveiftheyreusedinthe
wrongway.But(1.0)somanypeoplerefertobogansin::Australiathatits
almosta::um::(3.0)complimenttosomepeople.
I:
So(1.0)um::woulditbeseenasoffensiveoutsideAustralia?Ordoyouthink
itcouldbeseenasoffensive?
G:
(2.0)Theymightntknowwhatitmeans(1.0)ifthey,iftheyknewwhatitsort
ofreferredtothenpossiblypeoplecouldthinkthatitcouldbeoffensive.
I:
Ah(1.0)Um::Canyoudescribetomeasituationwhenthistermcouldbe
seenasimpolite.
G:
(3.0)Ohgodum:::(3.0)Ifyouuseditin::(3.0)uppersocietytheydprobably
takeitasaninsult(1.0)[Atthe]=
[so::]
I:
G:
=AttheyouknowSpringCarnivalracesorsomethingand,andyouspoke
aboutLadyorLordSoandSobeingaboganthenyesmaybethey,they
wouldtakeitasoffensive.
I:
Soinlikegeneralsocioeconomicareas,innormal,wellinaveragesocio
economicareasitdbeoktouseitor?
G:
Ithinkmostplacestheydtheydacceptityesapartfromthe(2.0)the::
snobbyerpeopleIdsay.
I:
Ok,thatsit.
18
NB.Discussedlater:thereisnofemalebogan,justthegirlthatiswiththebogan.
InterviewwithAustralianmale(52yearsold),21October2007
I=Interviewer
M=interviewee
I:
Pleasedescribetomethetermboganinyourownwords.(2.0)orthe
characteristicsthebogan,thataboganhas.
M:
(3.0)My::thoughtsofwhataboganis,is::thatitsapersonwho::isperhaps
ah::alittlebituntidy,unkept.Um::notnecessarilyaneducatedperson,and
perhapsalittlebit(1.0)ohmaybewearsdaggyclothesandandstuff.
I:
(2.0)[um::]
M:
[Thatsit]
I:
Anyspecificphysicalormentalcharacteristicsapartfrombeinguneducated?
Isthereanyplaceswheretheytypicallycomefrom?
M:
(2.0)Mm::Icouldntreallyanswerthat.Idontreallyknow.Theypossibly
come,Idontknow.Theyprobablycomefromnormalhomes.Youknowjust
(2.0)unkeptpeoplewholookalittlebituntidy.
I:
Yep.Um::Isthereanydifferencebetweenamaleboganandafemalebogan?
M:
Ireallywouldntknowthedifferenceapartfromgender.
I:
(unintelligible)
M:
Notreally
I:
Justthestereotypeofthetypeofperson?
M:
Mm
Ok.Doyouusethistermyourself?
I:
M:
No,notreally
I:
Ok.Wouldyouthinkthistermisoffensive?(3.0)Andifso,whowoulditbe
offensiveto?
M:
No,Idontthinkitsoffensive.Um:::Maybeifyoucalledapersonaboganto
theirfacetheymaytakeoffencebecauseyoumaybeum::stereotypingthem
intoacategorythattheydontfeeltheyare.
I:
Um::Do,Wouldyoubeoffendedifsomeonecalledyouabogan?
M:
(2.0)Notreally,knowingthemeaningofwhataboganis.IdontthinkI
wouldbeoffended.Iwouldquestionwhytheydcallmethat.
I:
Youdontthinkyoureabogan?
M:
IdontthinkImabogan.
I:
Ok.Um::Canyoudescribeasituationthatthistermcouldbeseenas
impolite.
M:
(3.0)Um::Perhapsatasocialgreet,ah,socialmeetingwhereah::youreout
havingafewdrinksandsomeonedoesntnecessarilyappealtoyouandyou
callthemabogantotheirfaceandmaybetheyrenot.Theymaybejusta(1.0)
youknowastyleofdressor::perhapsmaybeanunshavenlookor::or
whateverbutyeahjustcallingapersonabogan,aboganwhentheyrenot
really.
I:
M:
I:
M:
19
Doyouthinkthatit,um::thetermisusedbyaparticularageortypeof
person.
(1.0)Um::Ithinkthatperhapsyoungerpeoplethanmyselfwouldusethe
wordmoreoften.Ithinkah::thatmaybeteenagetoearlytwentiesmightuse
(1.0)the,thetermmoreoftenthanperhapsmyagegroup.
Um:isthereanysocialsituationwhereyouthinkthatitwouldbecompletely
okto(unintelligible)
Perhapsinaum::environmentlikeFortitudeValleywhereyouhaveaah::a
different(2.0)lifestyleortypeofpeoplethere.Um::youknowinDeagonfor
exampleyouvegotaanolderagegroupahwhereasthe::theValleyyou
havea,acrosssectionofdifferentahlifestylesandwhathaveyou.Perhaps
thereismightbemoreacceptabletousetheterm.
Ok.Thatsoundsprettygood.Thankyou.
I:
InterviewwithAustralianfemale(18yearsold),21October2007
I=Interviewer
R=interviewee
I:
Pleasedescribetomethemeaningofthetermboganinyourownwords.
R:
Um.Boganisa::common(1.0)termusedinAustraliafor::arough(1.0)kidI
guess.
I:
[Ah::]
R:
[Someone]whosabitofa:::(laughter)(unintelligible)
[Pauseinrecordingtorecompose]
I:
Ok.Describethewordbogan.
R:
Slob.Thatsprettymuchit.
I:
Isthereanyotherphysicalormentalcharacteristicsthatyoucanassociate
withthewordbogan?Orwithabogan?
Bogan.(2.0)
R:
I:
Aretheyclean?
R:
No.No,theylookabitrougharoundtheedges,abittrashy,but,(2.0)
sometimestheycanbefunnyand,itsnotait,it.Boganisntaperson.
Bogansjustatermusedwhensomeonesbeingabogan.
I:
Soitsastyle.Itsastyleofclothing.[Isitastyleofclothingorisita
personality?]
R:
[Itsastyle,itsawordusedto](4.0)Itsnotapersonality,ohitcanbea
personality.Itsastyle.No,notgenerally.=
I:
=Whatdoesaboganwear?
R:
Itdoesntmatterwhattheywear,abogan(0.5)isjustaslob.Itslikeits
trackiesandashirtorsomething.=
I:
=Trackiesandashirt.Ok.Um,whatdobogansdo?Isthereanythingyou=
R:
=boganishum::=
I:
Isit,whatisboganish?
R:
Boganish?Mm::whenpeoplejustsloparoundandtheydontreallycare.
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
I:
R:
20
Sotheydont(0.5)reallycareabouttheirpersonalopinion,ahappearanceor
whatpeoplethinkofthem.Are[theysmart?]
Theyredowntoearth!Thatswhataboganis!Downtoearth.
Aretheysmart?Oraretheydumb?Or.
(2.0)Um::Bitofboth.Theyplaydumb,butIreckonbogansareusuallysmart
becauseImboganmyself.
Um.Sodoyouusethetermyourselfthen?Obviously.
Yes.Iuseitforhilarity.Likeifagirlgetsdressedupandgoesoutfora
nightonthetownandshesallglammedup,Imlike,Youlooklikeabogan
and(1.0)itreallylike(0.5)insultsbutIdoitfor(0.5)humourratherthen
Offence.
Offence.Thatsright.
Ok.Whodoyouusethetermwith?Isitwithfriends?(1.0)Family?
Ohfriends:::family.[Occas]
[Doyouuseit]atwork?
Atwork?
Yep.
Definitelynot.(laughter)[Um::]
Soitssomethingyouwouldusewithpeopleyourownageorolder.
(1.0)Socially.
Ok.WouldyouuseitwithGrandma?
Um:::Yes,becauseourGrandmascompletelydifferentthough.
Ok.Canyoudescribetomeasituationwhenthistermcouldbeseenas
impolite.
Um::(2.0)No,Icant,cantthinkofonesorry.
So,itsalwaysok?
Forme,yes.Iwouldntbeabletosayitwasoffens..
So,youwouldntbeoffendedbyit=
=No=
=ifsomeonecallsyouabogan.
No
So,thetermisnotoffensiveinanyway(0.5)toyou(0.5)orcanyouseehow
peoplewouldseeitasoffensive.
Imsurepeoplegetoffended.Likegirls.
Butmainlygirlswouldgetoffendedbutboyswouldtakeitasacompliment?
Possibly,yeah.
Ok.Anythingelseyoudliketosayaboutthewordbogan?
(Unintelligible)
(END OF TRANSCRIPTS)
NorikoSekiya:AussiebattlerasaculturalkeywordinAustralianEnglish
21
Aussie`battlerasaculturalkeywordinAustralianEnglish
NORIKOSEKIYA*
Abstract
Thepurposeofthisresearchprojectwastoexaminetheculturaltermbattler
in Australian English. During the development of this paper, it was
discovered that the use of this term is reflective of culture. Despite there
beingmanymeaningchoicesfortheword,Australiansusethetermbattler
with particular meaning related to their cultural attitudes, such as
toughness,informality,modestyandegalitarianism.Itisvitaltounderstand
what people mean by particular words in their culture, and the values
behindtheword,inordertoaccuratelyunderstandtheirculture.Toexpand
theanalysis,acorpuswasmadetotargetthewordbattlerinwrittentexts.
The fiftyfour data entries collected through the newspaper article database
were analysed according to their usage tendency. The paper also compares
thedifferentAustralianusagesofbattlerinwiththoseinAmericanEnglish
andBritishEnglish.Thispapersupportstheviewthattheentrenchmentof
specific meanings of battler is reflective of the Australian identity
manifestedthroughAustraliansuseoftheword.
1.Introduction
AstheEnglishlanguagehasbecomeauniversallinguafrancaanunderstanding
of the connotations of English words in international situations has become
essential to avoid cultural misunderstandings. This report analyses the cultural
term battler in Australian English. It examines how the term battler is used
differently in modern newspaper texts, and how the meanings have shifted in
terms of the Australian identity. It also proposes an intercultural English
perspective,bymakingcomparisonswiththeusageoftheterminAmericanand
British English. This paper firstly explores the definition of battler, and the
meaningshiftfromtheeighteenthcenturytomoderntimes.Secondly,itpresents
themethodology,thefindingsofthecorpusandinterviewanalyses.Thirdly,the
papercomparesculturalperspectivesbetweenAmerican,BritishandAustralian
Englishspeakers,arguingthatlanguageuseisstronglyconnectedtoculture,as
seen with the cultural term battler, which typically symbolises the Australian
identity.
2.LiteratureReview
In Australian society, the term battler has been used to describe ordinary or
working class individuals who persevere through their commitments despite
22
adversity. Typically, this adversity comprises the challenges of low payment,

familycommitments,environmentalhardshipsandlackofpersonalrecognition.
AccordingtotheMacquarieDictionary(2005),abattlerisaconscientiousworker,
especiallyonelivingatsubsistencelevel,whiletheOxfordDictionaryofEnglish
(2005)suggestsapersonwhorefusestoadmitdefeatinthefaceofdifficulty.It
isnotonlyusedtorefertohardworkerswhohaveneverearnedtheirdue,butis
alsorecognisedasatermofrespectandendearmentintendedtoempowerorat
least acknowledge those who feelas though they exist at the bottom of society.
However, the meaning of the term seems to have changed since the eighteenth
century.
Ludowyk (2004) illustrated that for a long time in Australian English the
term battler has coexisted with both a pejorative sense of prostitute, and the
wellknown positive sense of a person who works doggedly and with little
reward, and who struggles for his or her livelihood. Earlier works further
indicatethenegativeconnotationsofthetermbattler.Firstly,abattlerisdefined
asabludger[which]isaboutthelowestformofhumanthing,andisabrothel
bullyA battler is the feminine, quoted from the Bulletin (December 1898).
Secondly,themeaningbattlerwasappliedin1956asabattlerisSydneyesefor
prostitute,quotedfromTheDrumsGoBang(Ludowyk2004).Athirddefinition,
abattlerwasalsothenamegivenawomanwhoearnedafewextraquidforher
old man by sleeping around, was quoted from Green Bans in 1978 (Ludowyk
2004). The completely negative connotations of battler, however, seem to have
fadedawayinmoderntexts.
Thetermbattlerhasalsobeenusedinaslightlydifferentsense,beingusedto
describe an unemployed person, such as a swagman or itinerant worker
seeking to subsist while looking for employment, or an unemployed person
livingbyopportunismandhiswit(Ludwyk2004).Thesebattlersimplymoral
superiority to the morally inferior meaning of prostitute; however, there is no
admiration of the usage in this sense. In contrast, battler can also represent in
modern texts, a person who has few natural advantages, but works doggedly
and with little reward, struggles hard for livelihood, and displays enormous
courage in doing so. In all these usages, the core iconic sense remains that the
struggleisforlivelihood,showinggreatcourageindoingso.Followingthisbasic
overview of the term battler, the next section presents the methodology and
resultsofthecorpus.
3.Methodology
Asmallcorpuswasmadetotargetthewordbattlerinthewrittentexts.Thefifty
four data entries collected through the newspaper article database Factivawere
analysed according to their usage tendency. The analytical material focused on
daily Australian newspapers from 2006 until 2007. The language variety was
Australian English (see Appendix 1 for sample corpus). Interviews were also
23
carried out with a female American lecturer and a welleducated male British
office worker, both over twenty years of age. The interviews consisted of semi
scripted questions and were recorded and transcribed (see Appendix 2 for
questionnaireandsampleanswers).
4.Results
The corpus research discovered three regular patterns among the meanings:
these were categorised as positive, negative and neutral. In regards its positive
connotations, a battler was basically a person who comes up against hard
workingconditionsandatoughenvironment,whoperseveresdespitetheodds
beingstackedagainsthimorherespeciallyinregardstofinance,healthandsport.
Forinstance:
(1)AnAussiebattlerlosthis$23Mwinningticket.Whoisthemega
millionaire?Themysterywinnerisayoungbattler,ahardworkingfamily
manfromthenorthofBrisbane.(21May2007,FederalGovernment
BroadcastAlerts)
(2)WorkingbattlersBudgetwinners:ThelittleAussiebattlerissettobethe
bigwinnerintonightsFederalBudgetastheGovernmentmovestoentice
morepeopleintotheworkforce,especiallymothers.(8May2007,The
CourierMail)
Thesecasesindicatedthatthebattlersarehardworkingmenandmotherswho
arestrugglingfinancially.ThiswasextendedmetaphoricallytoAustralian
businessandfinanceasseeninthefollowingexamples.
(3)ThegoodoldAussiebattlerhasconqueredtheUS80levelinthepast
coupleofmonthsandnowsitsatitsbestlevelinjustover10years.(9June
2007,HeraldSun)
(4)ItisnicetoseeLeightonsbanneronadevelopmentandseethatitisbuilt
byacompanythatisanAussiebattler.(27May2007,AustralianAssociated
PressFinancialNewsWire)
Theusageofbattlerinexample(3)torepresenttheAustraliandollar,whichhad
beenstrugglingagainsttheAmericandollarforalongtime,isreflectiveofthe
highstatusassociatedwithabattler.Thispositiveconnotationcouldbeseenfrom
thechoiceofthewordconqueredinthisexample.Example(4)issimilarinit
referstoacompanythatcamefromthebottomrungofsociety,buthadmadeit
tothetop.
Othercasesfocusedonthedifficultyofachievingatoppositioninsport.
24
(5)AussiebattlerPeterLuczakpulledoffoneofthefinestwinsofhiscareer,
rollingtournamentNo.5seedDominikHrbatyinstraightsetsattheNext
GenerationAdelaideInternationalatMemorialDrivethenlookedtobigger
thingsyesterday.(2January2007,TheAdvertiser)
(6)LongwaytothetopHowanAussiebattlerfinallykickedagoal.(24
December2006,SundayMail)
(7)Evenindefeat,theunheraldedAussiebattlerdrewwidepraiseinhisfirst
grandslamoutsideAustralia.(31August2007,HeraldSun)
Thesecasesillustratedthatbattlersaresportsplayerswhoarepraisedfortheir
effortstoachievethetoppositionortowin,eventhoughtheywerethe
underdogs.Thepraisecouldbeseenthroughthewordssuchasfinallykickeda
goalandevenindefeat.
Otherinstancesrelatetothestruggleofseriousillness,orahard
environmentduetotheirdisablement.Thisconnotationincludesnotonlythe
personsuffering,butalsothepartnersandfamilymemberswholookafterthose
suffering,asbattlers.Forinstance:
(8)MikaylashowshercourageinfightwithcancerAussiebattler.(4
December2006,TownsvilleBulletin)
(9)LongcardiactreatmentforbabyTinyAimeehastheheartofabattler.(26
September2006,TheAdvertiser)
(10)Burnsbattlerbackintotheswingoflife.(29March2007,TheNewcastle
Herald)
Intheseexamplesabattlerissomeonethatjustkeepstryingnomatterhowhard
thingsare.Theyarealwayspreparedtohaveagoorjustkeepgoing.Asseen
fromtheseexamplessofar,thepositiveconnotationsassociatedwithbattlersare
notrestrictedtopeople;theycanbeattributedtoanything,forexample,currency
status.Thispositivemeaningwasreflectedinmostoftheexamplescollectedin
thissmallcorpus.
However,someoftheinstancesofbattlercanbecharacterisedashaving
moreneutralconnotationsinthatthereisnotnecessarilyrespectoradmiration
implied.Inthismoreneutralsenseitisusedasaclassterm.Battlersareordinary
orlowerclassindividualswhoperseverethroughtheircommitmentsdespite
adversity.Forinstance:
(11)KevinRuddhasmadehisfirstpitchtowinbackHowardsbattlers,
promisingfreedentalcareforapotential1.5millionAustralians.(14
December2006,DailyTelegraph)
(12)RisingfoodpricesarechangingattitudesamongHowardsbattlers.(21
December2006,TheAge)
25
Theseinstancesareneutralintermsofadmiration.Here,battlerisusedasaclass
termtodescribethemasordinarymiddletolowerclassworkers.Incomparison,
someinstances,althoughlessfrequent,couldbeinterpretednegatively.For
instance:
(13)ForkliftdriverKevinLeishmanshedhislittleAussiebattlertag
yesterdaytobecomeaninstantpropertymillionaire.(7September2007,The
CourierMail)
(14)ThelittleAussiebattler,itseems,wouldbebettercalledthelittleAussie
whinger.Australianconsumers,toobusycryingpoor,havefailedtorealise
thatalmosteverythingfromfoodandalcoholtocars,andevenpetrolis
becomingmoreaffordable.(7July2007,TheAge)
(15)TheAussiebattlermentalityisanegativeidealthatcouldhold
Australiabackfromdevelopingitsfullpotential.(25October2006,The
Australian)
Theseinstancesemphasiseobviousnegativeconnotations,throughthe
terminologiestag,whingerandthephrasetheAussiebattlermentalityis
anegativeideal.
However,thecompletelynegativemeaningofprostitutefoundintheliterature
review,didnotappearintheseresearchresults.
Fromthesefindings,itcanbeconcludedthatbattlerismorecommonlyused
withpositiveconnotationsofrespect,friendlinessandsolidarity,orasaclass
termtodescribeordinarypeople,ratherthanhavingnegativeconnotations
whichrefertothosewhoimmorallygothroughthehardshipswithcomplaints
andnegativeattitudessuchaswhinging.Withregardtothemeaningofthe
Australianbattler,thereisanargumentthattheuseofsometermscloselyreflects
culture(Wierzbicka1986).Thenextsectionwillreflectontheinfluenceofculture
uponlanguageusage.
5.Discussion
Wierzbicka(1986)arguesthatlanguageasaguidetosocialrealityhelpsusto
understand intercultural linguistic differences (p.349). In other words, lexical
choicesandmeaningscanbelinkedwithparticularculturalvaluesinaparticular
varietyofEnglish.AccordingtoGoddard(2006)andWierzbicka(1986),Australia
is a toughness culture and Australians also have a strong preference for
informality.Itseemsthatthisissometimesabletobetakenasrudenessdueto
the lack of social knowledge; however, it also displays respect (p.69, p.355).
Wierzbicka (1991) emphasised that informality as an Australian social attitude,
namely,thepurposefulrejectionofanyovertshowofrespect,withimplications
of familiarity, friendliness and equality: (p.150). Hence, battler could be an
Australian indirect way of displaying familiarity, friendliness and equality for
26
people who are battling. From the toughness cultural perspective, Australians
admirebattlersbecauseAustraliansencouragepeoplenottobeoverwhelmedby
the harsh life which may face them but rather to bear up and try to do
something for themselves. Therefore, the fighting spirit is highly respected in
Australian culture. In its essence; the term battler expresses the value system of
theAustralianidentity.
Another Australian cultural attitude combination, modesty and
egalitarianism, could also support the idea ofadmirationfor battlers(Goddard
2004: 66). As a desirable attitude, Australians have to actively play down and
hidetheirsuccessandintelligence.Thereisacharacteristicculturalexpression
tallpoppysyndrome.Australiansseemmostproudofanachievementwhena
tallpoppyhasbeenloppedoranunderdoghaswon.Asapopularinstance,an
cricketplayer,DonaldBradman,wasabletodefeattheEnglishteameventhough
hewasanunderdog.AnotherinstanceisPharLap,ahorsethathadpreviously
lostandthenbecameachampion.AfinalinstanceistheinfamousNedKelly,an
underdog who saved people and became a hero. All of these characters are
admired as heroes who used to be underdogs then defeated the tall poppies.
From the viewpoint of egalitarianism, battlers are thus ordinary and fellows of
everybody. The termbattler draws upon the inherent ordinariness of groups of
people who struggle for their livelihoods. It can thus be argued that the
respectful and affectionate expression battler might be rooted in the emphasis
placedontoughnessandegalitarianismbyAustralianEnglishspeakers.
However, the cultural meaning of battler does not seem to exist in other
Englishvarieties,asbattlerhasonlyaliteralmeaninginothervarietiesofEnglish
suchasAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglish.Fromtheinterviews,itcanbeseen
thatAmericanandBritishEnglishspeakersalsoadmiretheunderdog,andvalue
theprocessandefforttofightinthesamewayAustralianculturedoes.However,
inthesevarietiesofEnglish,thisadmirationisnotlexicalisedinthesamewayas
battler with its particularly Australian connotations. It is used only literally, to
meanwhensomeoneisbattlingagainstorforsomething,andistoalargeextent
interchangeablewiththetermworker.Thus,battlerhasnotbeenlexicalisedinthis
wayinothervarietiesofEnglisheventhoughthesecultureshavesimilarvalues
foragroupofpeoplewhonevergiveup.
6.Conclusion
BasedonthisinitialresearchitcanbeconcludedthatbattlerisusedinAustralian
Englishwiththefollowingunderlyingculturalpresuppositions:
Isaysomeoneisanunderdog
Ifeelempathytowardsthem
Iwantthemtowin
Ithinktheyareheroes
Ithinktheyarejustordinary
27
In conclusion, battler is a culturally symbolic term describing the Australian

identity,eventhoughthedefinitionofbattlercanbeinterpretedindifferentways
dependingonthecontext.Ithasanegativeconnotationofsomeonewhoispoor
and struggling to survive; it also has a positive connotation of being a hero,
someonewhoisovercomingadversitythroughhardworkandperseverance.In
addition, battler is also commonly used as a class term to describe ordinary
peopleincontemporarynewspaperandmediatexts.However,eventhoughthe
wordbattlerhasdifferentinterpretations,itisworthnotingthatwordchoicesare
always open to speakers and these preferences help point to their underlying
cultural values. It is vital to understand what people mean by certain words in
theirculture,andthevaluesbehindtheword,inordertoaccuratelyunderstand
their culture. Despite American and British cultures having similar values in
terms of admiring showing effort and meeting challenges, only Australian
Englishhaslexicalisedthetermtodescribethispraiseforthefightingspirit.The
entrenchmentofthissenseofbattlerclearlyshowstheAustralianculturalidentity
through Australians use of the word.. Therefore, it is worthwhile to undertake
furtherresearchaboutspecificculturaltermsinparticularvarietiesofEnglishin
ordertoenhanceinterculturalunderstanding.
*Authornotes
NorikoSekiyaisaninternationalstudentfromJapan,currentlyinherthirdyearstudying
for a Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Applied Linguistics at Griffith University.
Noriko is interested in learning and teaching languages, and is planning to complete a
GraduateDiplomaofEducationafterherBachelordegree,andbecomeateacher.
Contactemail:Sekiya_noriko@hotmail.com
References
Goddard,C.2006.LiftyourMartina!:deadpanjocularironyandtheethnopragmaticsof
Australian English. In Ethnopragmatics: Understanding Discourse in Cultural Context,
ed.C.Goddard,6597.Berlin:MoutondeGruyter.
Ludowyk,F.2004.Aussiewords:TheHyperproteanBattler.Ozwords.ViewedOctober30,
2007athttp://www.anu.edu.au/andc/pubs/ozwords/May_2004/battler.html.
MacquarieDictionary4thedn.2005.NorthRyde,Sydney:MacquarieLibrary.
OxfordDictionaryofEnglish2ndedn.2005.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
Wierzbicka,A.1991.CrossculturalPragmatics:TheSemanticsofHumanInteraction.Berlin:
MoutondeGruyter.
Wierzbicka,A.1986.DoesEnglishreflectculture?EvidencefromAustralianEnglish.
LanguageandSociety,15,349374.
28
Appendix1:Examplesofbattlerfromcorpus
1. SURGERYLongcardiactreatmentforbabyTinyAimeehastheheartofabattler(26
September2006TheAdvertiser)
2. BattlersdreammaydieBattlersdreamindangerofdyingATRUEblueAussie
battlersdreammaybeabouttodie.(26September2006CanterburyBankstown
Express)
3. Burnsbattlerbackintotheswingoflife(29March2007TheNewcastleHerald)
4. TheManhattanmayhaveanAmericansoundingname,butitsverymuchaDown
UnderdesigngearedfortheAussiebattler.(31March2007SundayTimes(Perth))
5. BattlerJilllosesfightagainstraredisease(29March2007DerbyEveningTelegraph)
6. Battlerboerwillbehardacttofollow(29March2007GloucestershireEcho)
7. WhileWayneArthurshasimpressedwithhisabilitytowillabodyonthewrong
sideof30throughqualifyingandtheearlyroundsatWimbledon,anotherAussie
battlerisplottingherpathtonextyearsBeijingOlympics.(30June2007Australian
AssociatedPressSportsNews)
8. RESILIENTbattlerSouthsLoganyesterdaysnappedasixgamelosingstreakin
grandstyletomaintainitstwopointadvantageoverfellowcellardwellersCentral.
(2July2007TheCourierMail)
9. BarristerJonathonDavieshastakenonsomegoodcausesinhislifetime,including
voluntarilyhelpingsecuretheacquittalofMorleybattlerJohnButton39yearsafter
hewasconvictedoverakillingtowhichserialkillerEricEdgarCookehadconfessed.
(4July2007TheWestAustralian)
10. SixyearoldbattlerKirstyLeefightingraregeneticdisorder(7July2007TheWest
Australian)
11. LittleAussiebattleronceagainrelishesanenormouschallenge23September
2007CanberraTimes
12. UScurrencyplungeallowsAussiebattlerastrongrun(22September2007The
SydneyMorningHerald)
13. ComedianAnhDohaswon$200,000asacelebrityguestontheSevenNetwork
gameshow,DealorNoDeal,foraMelbournebattlerwhocaresfulltimeforhisill
wife.(19September2007AustralianAssociatedPressGeneralNews)
14. FORKLIFTdriverKevinLeishmanshedhislittleAussiebattlertagyesterdayto
becomeaninstantpropertymillionaire.(7September2007TheCourierMail)
15. ITwasntthehistoricfourthworldtitleshecovetedbutafterbeingleftdizzyand
seeingstarsfromaviolentpunchtothehead,AussiebattlerEmmaSnowsillhas
ratedhersilvermedalattheBGworldtriathlonchampionshipsyesterdayasoneof
hergreatestachievements.(3September2007DailyTelegraph)
16. Aussiebattlerwalksproud(2September2007SundayTelegraph)
17. BigbankshoundAussiebattle(31August2007TheSydneyMorningHerald)
18. ChaneyarguedthattheAustralianmindsetisshiftingfrombattlertoaspirant.If
confirmedovertime,thiswouldrepresentaprofoundchangeinAustralianpolitical
andeconomicculture/FromAussiebattlertoaspirantLETTERFROM...SYDNEY
(6November2006NewZealandHerald)
19. NadalpushedtofoursetsbyAussiebattlerJonesdigsdeep(31August2007Herald
Sun)
29
20. Evenindefeat,theunheraldedAussiebattlerdrewwidepraiseinhisfirstgrand
slamoutsideAustralia.(31August2007HeraldSun)
21. FreeTV,representingthefreetoairchannels,isalsoworkingonanEPGsystem
butonethattriestopreventuploadsofrecordeddigitalprograms.Kossatzsaysits
nowallsystemsgoforhislittleAussiebattler.(13August2007TheSydney
MorningHerald)
22. ItischeeringtoseethegiganticAussiebattlerachieveanotherambition.(3August
2007TheAustralian)
23. IusedtheworddreamingbecauseitcomesfromthefilmTheCastleinwhichthe
AussiebattlerDarrylKerrigantakesontheAustralianGovernmentwhichwantsto
takehisproperty.(28July2007CanberraTimes)
24. INallthejabbingandweavingnowtakingplacebetweentheFederalGovernment
andtheOppositionoverfearsofratesrisesandclimatechange,thelittleAussie
battlerdoesntseemtoratemuchofamention.(27July2007GeelongAdvertiser)
25. THElittleAussiebattler,itseems,wouldbebettercalledthelittleAussiewhinger.
Australianconsumers,toobusycryingpoor,havefailedtorealisethatalmost
everythingfromfoodandalcoholtocars,andevenpetrolisbecomingmore
affordable.(7July2007TheAge)
26. THEgoodoldAussiebattlerhasconqueredtheUS80levelinthepastcoupleof
monthsandnowsitsatitsbestlevelinjustover10years.(9June2007HeraldSun)
27. ItisnicetoseeLeightonsbanneronadevelopmentandseethatitisbuiltbya
companythatisanAussiebattler(27May2007AustralianAssociatedPress
FinancialNewsWire)
28. LeightonisanAussieBattlersaysoutgoingdepCEOandCFO(27May2007
AustralianAssociatedPressFinancialNewsWire)
29. AnAussiebattlerlosthis$23Mwinningticket.Whoisthemegamillionaire?The
mysterywinnerisayoungbattler,ahardworkingfamilymanfromthenorthof
Brisbane.(21May2007FederalGovernmentBroadcastAlerts)
30. WorkingbattlersBudgetwinners:THElittleAussiebattlerissettobethebig
winnerintonightsFederalBudgetastheGovernmentmovestoenticemorepeople
intotheworkforce,especiallymothers(8May2007TheCourierMail)
31. AussiebattlerTakesDownCunningKiwi:Inatournamentthatwentwellintothe
earlyhoursofSundaymorning,onemanstoodabovetheresttotakeouttheNew
ZealandPokerChampionshipsatChristchurchCasino.(22April200712:51
Scoop.co.nz)
32. LIZCarrollistheepitomeoftheAussiebattler:Herbattles,though,aregreaterand
moreregularthanmostofours.Notonlydoesshehavetoengagethemfromthe
confinesofawheelchair,butheropponentscomeinmanyguises.(6April2007
GeelongAdvertiser)
33. TheManhattanmayhaveanAmericansoundingname,butitsverymuchaDown
UnderdesigngearedfortheAussiebattler.Ideally,thisbudgetpricedhomeisbest
suitedtoacornerblockoracreage.(31March2007SundayTimes(Perth))
34. AgroupofAussiebattlervictimsofChristmasDay2001bushfiresissuingthe
NSWgovernment,claimingnotenoughwasdonetowarnthembeforetheblazes
sweptthroughthetownshipofWarragamba,(14March2007AustralianAssociated
PressGeneralNews)
30
35. OK,sotheAussiebattlermakesgoodoverseassuccessstoryisabitofacliche.But
thethreeformerbicyclecouriersbehindCrumplerbagsarentyouraverage
entrepreneurs.Itshardtobelievetheselaidbacklarrikinsrunamultimilliondollar
companythatspanstheglobe.Butdontletaestheticsfoolyou.(25February2007
SundayHeraldSun)
36. Hisfacewasahandsome,coffeecolouredmixofAussiebattlerandmailorder
Filipinobride,(10February2007TheGoldCoastBulletin)
37. AremarkablelifeChanEarsescapefromthekillingfields;CHANEaristhe
archetypalAussiebattlerwhomostpeoplewouldbeproudtocallafellow
citizen.(31January2007MoorabbinGlenEira/KingstonLeader)
38. HOWappropriateonournationaldaythatthereisstillaplaceforalittleAussie
battlertofaceuptotheimpossible.(25January2007Sportsman)
39. AlthoughitmightnowbeknownasthelittleAussiebattlerconsideringthe
competitionfromothervarietiessuchastheeverpopularsauvignonblanc,even
pinotgris.(20January2007TheAge)
40. MistletoebirdalittleAussiebattler(16January2007GeelongAdvertiser)
41. alittleAussiebattlerwithascarf.Weseeherathomewithherockerhusband
Albertlaughingtogetherastheypreparetheeveningmealthatwillbreaktheirdaily
Ramadanfast.(3January2007TheCourierMail)
42. AUSSIEbattlerPeterLuczakpulledoffoneofthefinestwinsofhiscareer,rolling
tournamentNo.5seedDominikHrbatyinstraightsetsattheNextGeneration
AdelaideInternationalatMemorialDrivethenlookedtobiggerthingsyesterday.(2
January2007TheAdvertiser)
43. LongwaytothetopHowanAussiebattlerfinallykickedagoal(24December2006
SundayMail,)
44. TAKEOVERTARGETEDStewardspullrugonAussiebattlerstiltatSprintglory(11
December2006TownsvilleBulletin)
45. MikaylashowshercourageinfightwithcancerAussiebattler(4December2006
TownsvilleBulletin)
46. IbelieveAustralianshaveprovedtimeandagaintheywillvoteforboring,hard
workingmenwithglasses,wholooklikeasafepairofhandsandcantalkwith
knowledgeandauthorityabouteverytopicofgovernment.CmonLabor,givethe
littleAussiebattlerfromQueenslandago.(4December2006TheNewcastleHerald)
47. accountantsRonFordandStephenBrightweregiventhejobofsellingtheMadura
TeaCompany.ButthemoretheylookedintothelittleAussiebattlercompanyat
ClothiersCreek,themoretheyrealiseditwasjusttheircupoftea.DougParrington
investigates(2December2006TheGoldCoastBulletin)
48. heshouldasButtandAndersonhavehelpedtransformhimfromaslightlyone
pacedAussiebattlerintoasharper,morecompleteopenclassforce.(15November
2006NewZealandHerald)
49. THEAussiebattlermentalityisanegativeidealthatcouldholdAustraliaback
fromdevelopingitsfullpotential.(25October2006TheAustralian)
50. TheveteranMP,knowntomanyasthelittleAussiebattler,reckonspeoplewould
comeoutinhugenumbersiftherewasaproposaltoreplacetheflag.(12October
2006HobartMercury)
31
51. KEVINRuddhasmadehisfirstpitchtowinbackHowardsbattlers,promising
freedentalcareforapotential1.5millionAustralians.(14December2006Daily
Telegraph)
52. RisingfoodpricesarechangingattitudesamongHowardsbattlers.(21December
2006TheAge)
53. JohnHowardsbattlersarewaveringandnextweeksBudgetwillstarttheFederal
Governmentsfighttolurethemback,reportsJohnMcCarthy(5May2007The
CourierMail)
54. LaborresearchleakedtoNewsLtdsTheDailyTelegraphshowsswingsofbetween
eightand12percentinupto10seatsinthefirstsignofashiftintheHowardbattler
seatssince1998.(14September2007AustralianAssociatedPressFinancialNews
Wire)
32
Appendix2:Sampleanswersfrominterviews
Respondent1:Britishmale,36yearsold(Businessman,BritishEnglishspeaker)
Q1.Whenyouhearthetermbattlerwhodoyouthinkof?
A:FOOTBALLERSorSteveWaugh(cricketer)!Itisatermyouoftenhearinsport.
Q2.Isitnegativeorpositive?
A:Itcanbeboth.Itcanmeanthatwhensomeoneisabattlertheyarenotgiftedor
talented.Itcanbepositivebecausethetermmeanstheyarementallytough.
Q3.Doyouadmirethebattlers=underdogs,eveniftheydonotwin?
A:Yes.Theytrytowin.
Q4.InAustralianEnglish,BattlerisanAustralianworker,whocomesupagainsthard
workingconditionsandatoughenvironment,whoperseveresdespitetheoddsbeing
stackedagainstthem.Theyjustkeeptryingnomatterhowhardthingsare.Ithasavery
positiveconnotationinAustralianEnglish.
DoyouhaveatermtodescribethatgroupofpeopleinyourEnglish?
A:Wenormallycallthemaworker
Q5.Haveyoueverheard/usedthewordwiththisconnotation?
A:Yes.
Respondent2:AmericanFemale,28yearold(UniversityLecturer,AmericanEnglish
speaker)
Q1.Whenyouhearthetermbattlerwhodoyouthinkof?
A:Iwouldsayafighter,apersonwhodoesntgiveupasurvivor.
Q2.Isitnegativeorpositive?
A:Itwouldbepositive.
Q3.Doyouadmirethebattlers=underdogs,eveniftheydonotwin?
A:Yes,wedoencouragetrying.WhenIwasachild,IwastaughtandIwasoften
encouragedinmyeffortsandtryingwasthemostimportantthing.
Generallyspeaking,itdoesntmatterifyouwinorlose.
Q4.InAustralianEnglish,BattlerisanAustralianworker,whocomesupagainsthard
workingconditionsandatoughenvironment,whoperseveresdespitetheoddsbeing
stackedagainstthem.Theyjustkeeptryingnomatterhowhardthingsare.Ithasavery
positiveconnotationinAustralianEnglish.
DoyouhaveatermtodescribethatgroupofpeopleinyourEnglish?
A:Wedonthavesuchaword.Weprobablyjustcallthemaworker.
Q5.Haveyoueverheard/usedthewordwiththisconnotation?
A:No,nevereverheardthat.
MinhaHong:Bloodyhelland(im)politenessinAustralianEnglish
33
Wherethebloodyhellareyou?:
Bloodyhelland(im)politenessinAustralianEnglish
MINHAHONG*
Abstract
ControversysurroundstheTourismAustraliacampaigncatchphraseWhere
thebloodyhellareyou?Somethinkthatthecatchphraseshowslighthearted
playonstereotypicalcharacteristicsofAustraliasuchasinformality,
casualnessandfriendliness.Otherssaythat,sincetheadrepresents
Australia,itshouldshowmorepolitenessandcourtesyinstandingforthe
country.ThisresearchfirstanalysedbasedoncorpusdatahowAustraliansuse
bloodyhellintheircasualconversation.Usingethnographicinterviewingof
AustralianandnonAustralianEnglishspeakers,theresearchthensoughtto
uncoverperceptionsofthelevelof(im)politenessofthesewords.Lastly,the
resultsofthisanalysiswereusedtoexploredhowthisphraseisusedbetween
speakersofdifferentvarietiesofEnglish.Theresearchindicatesthatfroman
interculturalpointofview,sayingbloodyhellisperceiveddifferentlywhenit
comesto(im)politeness.Itmaybeconsideredtobeimpoliteinothercultures;
however,ithasbeenpartoftheordinarydiscourseofAustralianEnglish
speakersforalongtime.Therefore,itshouldberespectedasacommonand
casualAustralianphraseusedintheireverydaylifetoshowtheircharacteristics
ofcasualnessandfriendliness
1.Introduction:Sowherethebloodyhellareyou?
ThisisthecatchphraseofTourismAustraliasmarketingcampaignencouraging
touriststovisitAustralia.TheadvertisementfeaturesimagesofAustralians
preparingforvisitorstotheircountry.Itbeginsinanoutbackpubthe
barkeepersaysthathespouredabeer;movesontoayoungboyonthebeach
hesayshesgotthesharksoutoftheswimmingpool;andthentopartygoers
watchingSydneyHarbourfireworks,whosaythattheyveturnedonthelights.
ThecommercialendswithagirlsteppingoutoftheoceanaskingSowherethe
bloodyhellareyou?
Inshort,itfeaturesimagesofAustralia,notonlythroughitsgreatscenic
attractionsofrainforests,beachesandOperaHouse,butalsothroughtheimpact
ofthewordsbloodyhellinthefinalquestion.Itissaidthattheadvertisement
withitscatchphraseshowsalightheartedplayonstereotypicalcharacteristicsof
Australiasuchasinformality,casualnessandfriendliness.However,when
thisadvertisementfirstappearedonTV,therewasalotofcontroversyaboutits
wayofexpressingcasualness.Somethoughtthatsinceitwassponsoredby
TourismAustralia,therebyrepresentingAustralia,itshouldshowmore
34
politenessandcourtesytowardsitsaudienceindifferentcountries.Otherssaid
thatitwasavaliantattempttoshowtherealAustralia,withaproudattitude
towardsAustralianculture.Thosecontroversiestriggeredthisstudyofthe
possibilityofimpolitenessfromusingtheintensifierthebloodyhell,whichin
Australiaiscommonlyusedineverydayconversation.Inaddition,thisresearch
includestheperceptionsofthephrasebyAustraliansandspeakersofother
varietiesofEnglish,whichhasimplicationsforinterculturalimpolitenessin
English.
2.Methodology
Asindicated,thisresearchaimstoanalyseandcomparethenotionof
(im)politenessinvokedbythespokendataamonginterculturalspeakers.
Therefore,theresearchusedthemethodologyofethnopragmatics,whichaimsto
understandspeechpracticeswhichmakesensetothepeopleconcerned,i.e.,in
termsofindigenousvalues,beliefsandattitudes,socialcategories,emotions,and
soon(Goddard2006:2).Thisinvolvedboththeanalysisofacorpusofexamples
andethnographicinterviews.
First,theresearchanalyseshowEnglishspeakersusebloodyhellintheir
casualconversationbylookingthroughthecorpusdata.Second,ethnographic
interviewingisused,tofindoutwhatAustralianEnglishspeakersthinkabout
thatphraseintermsof(im)politeness,andthen,byinterviewingpeoplefrom
othercountriessuchastheUnitedKingdom,toanalysetheirperceptionsofthese
words,againintermsof(im)politeness.Lastly,basedontheresultsofthis
analysis,theresearchexploresaninterculturalviewoftheinteractionbetween
speakersofAustralianEnglishandpeoplefromothercountries.
3.Corpusdataanalysis
Thefirstmethodologyusediscorpuslinguistics,whichviewsalanguageasa
socialphenomenonwhichcanbeinvestigatedonthebasisofspokentexts
(Mahlberg2006).Theresearchusedtwomajorcorpusdatasetsavailableonthe
Web,theBritishNationalCorpusandtheMichiganCorpusofAcademicSpoken
English.SincetheanalysisismainlyofthespeechofAustralians,itwouldhave
beenmoreappropriatetouseAustralianspokendata;however,therewasno
corpusofAustralianEnglishfreelyavailable.Theselectedcorpusdatawas
searchedusingculturalkeywordssuchasbloodyorbloodyhell,whichare
saidtobecharacteristicofthespeechactsofAustralianEnglishspeakers
(Wierzbicka2002).
Thefirstwordanalysedthroughcorpusdatawasthewordbloody.Its
actuallexicalmeaningisanadjectiveformofthewordblood,whichmeans
stainedorcoveredwithblood;however,intermsofslang,itcanbeusedasan
intensifiertoemphasiseaspeakersemotionorasituationitself.Nowadaysitis
35
generallyconsideredtobeaverymildexpletive,unlikelytocauseoffencein
mostcircles.WhileitisaverycommonpartofAustralianspeechineveryday
conversation(Wierzbicka2002),itsusageinothervarietiesofEnglishhasnot
beenwelldocumentedThisresearchanalysedarandomselectionof50samples
resultingfromthesearchforbloodyintheBritishNationalCorpus.Firstly,it
canbeusedasanintensifierimplyingpositivemeaningwhenitmodifiesthe
adjectivegoodorwellorhappy.Secondly,italsocanbeusedasanintensifier
containingnegativemeaningwiththeadjectivestupid,foolorrubbish.
Moreover,withaneutraladjective,neitherpositivenornegative,itcanalsobe
usedasanexpletive,forexampleintheexamplesbelow.
(1)Itssobloodyquiethere(GUU3837)
(2)Iwasbloodylivid!(KE64681)
Asanexpletiveattribute,itimpliesanegativeintentiononpartofthespeaker.It
isnotanessentialpartofthesentencestructure,butsimplyaddingitcan
intensifythetoneofaspeaker.Forinstance:
(3)Turnoffthatbloodyshower(BPA2387)
(4)Thatbloodyphonecall!(HWM2839)
Itcanalsobeusedastheactuallexicalmeaningoftheadjectiveformofthenoun
blood,meaningstainedwithblood.Finally,itcanbeusedasaswearword.
(5)Oh,bloodyhell!(KB74826)
Thesecondwordanalysedishell,whichmeanstheplaceorstateofpunishment
forthewickedafterdeath.Howevertherearealotmoreusagesofthewordin
combinationwiththedefinitearticlethe.First,itcanbeusedasanintensifierto
expresssurprise,anger,orimpatience.
(6)Whythehellcouldntherememberit?(A731829)
(7)Whatthehellshappening?(ARB718)
Secondly,italsocanbeusedsarcasticallyorironicallytoexpresstheoppositeof
whatisbeingstated.
(8)Areyoulisteningtome?Thehellyouare!(H9V2147)
Third,asanintensifier,itimpliesameaningwithgreatspeed,effort,orintensity.
(9)Weranlikehelltogethomebeforethestorm.(FPB2739)
36
Andlastly,likebloody,itcanbeusedasaswearwordoranexclamation.
(10)Hell,thewholeluggageisgone!(JYB28)
ThethirdphraseIlookedthroughisbloodyhell,asinthesentenceWherethe
bloodyhellareyou?First,itcanbeusedasaswearwordorexclamation
meaningDamnit.
(11)Bloodyhell,howdidyouthinkofit?(ADY1860)
Also,itcanbeusedasanintensifierasseenintheexamplebelow.
(12)Whatthebloodyhellareyoudoinghere?(BP7684)
Fromtheseresultsofthesearchingthroughcorpusdata,itcanbeconcludedthat
theintensifierbloodyhellisusedinvarioussituationsandconversationsin
spokenEnglish.
4.EthnographicinterviewswithEnglishspeakers
Buildingonthisconclusion,ethnographicinterviewingwasusedtoanalysethe
possibilityof(im)politenessassociatedwithsayingbloodyhell.FourAustralian
Englishspeakerswereinterviewedindividually,thenfiveAustralianEnglish
speakerswhoarestudentsofGriffithUniversitywereinterviewedinagroup
situation.TwoBritishEnglishspeakersfromtheUnitedKingdomwerealso
interviewed.
First,inthegroupinterviewingoffiveAustralianEnglishspeakersthree
malespeakersandtwofemalespeakersintervieweeswereaskediftheyuse
thebloodyhelloftenintheireverydayconversation.Oneofthemalespeakers
andoneofthefemalespeakersansweredthattheyusuallydonotusethose
words,whiletherestofthemansweredthattheydo.Oneintervieweeaddedan
opinionthatitmaybeapersonalpreferencetousethosewords.
Theywerenextaskediftheythinkthosewordsareimpolitetousein
Australia.Oneofthemalespeakerswhohadansweredthathedoesnotuse
thosewordsoftensaidthatsomepeople,especiallythosewhohaveareligion
suchasChristianity,wouldbeoffendedifthosewordsarespokentothem.
BecauseinChristianityhellmeanstheplaceorstateofpunishmentofthe
wickedafterdeath,itisconsideredasataboonotion.However,theothermale
speakerwhosaidheusesthosewordsveryoftenarguedthatmostAustralians
wouldfeelalrighttospeakandtohearthewordsbloodyhell.Heinsistedthat
ineverydayconversation,evenpeopleofoldergenerationsalsomaynotbe
offendediftheyheardthosewordsbecausethesewordsareverycasualandare
commonlyused.
37
Inanotherinterview,amaleaged25answeredthathedoesnotusethewords
veryoftenbuthedoessometimes.Howeverhesaidthatheisnotoffendedto
hearotherpeopleusethem,andoftendoesnotevennoticewhensomeoneuses
them.Headdedthatthosewordsarejustlikeothercommonwordstohiminhis
casualconversation.Inshort,usingthewordsthebloodyhellinAustraliais
usuallynotimpoliteineverydayconversation.Inaddition,mostAustraliansare
notoffendedwhentheyhearthemaswell.
Very often
Sometimes
Rarely
None
Table1:Howoftendoyouusethewordsbloodyhellineverydaylife?
Very
acceptable
Depends on
situation
Unacceptabl
e
Table2:Howdoyouperceivethewordsbloodyhellineverydaylife?
Next,anEnglishspeakerfromtheUnitedKingdomwasinterviewedinorderto
analyseperceptionsof(im)politenessoftheuseofbloodyhellinanothervariety
ofEnglish.TheintervieweewasamiddleagedfemaleEnglishspeakerfrom
Oxford,UnitedKingdom.Shewasaskedaboutthepossibilityoftherebeing
impolitenessassociatedwithusingthewordsbloodyhell.First,shestartedher
answerwiththecampaignofTourismAustraliasayingWherethebloodyhell
areyou?ShearguedthatthereisapossibilitythatsomeAustraliansmighteven
beembarrassedwhentheyfirstsawthecampaign.Moreover,shefeltabit
irritatedwhensheherselfsawthatadvertisement,becauseshefounditstone
rudeandimpoliteinsayingthat.Shesaiditimpliedthatifyouarenotin
Australianow,youareanidiot.Literally,thecampaignkeepsaskingwherethe
bloodyhellarewe(thepotentialtourists).Moreover,sherelatedthistothe
brandnamingstrategyofFCUK(FrenchConnectionUnitedKingdom),oneof
38
thefamousfashionbrandsofUnitedKingdom.Sheinsistedthatthefirmshould
stopitsmarketingstrategyofitsbrandnamelookingaccidentallysimilartothe
fword.Shesaidshewasshockedthefirsttimeshesawtheadvertisement,and
shewasnotverypleasedtoseethatadvertisementagain.
Accordingly,thereisthepossibilityofinterculturalimpolitenessarising
whenAustralianEnglishspeakersandBritishEnglishspeakersherethewords
bloodyhell.Ontheonehand,Australianspeakersconsideritjustasacommon
wordinthecasualconversation;ontheotherhand,aBritishEnglishspeaker
considereditasaratherimpoliteexpressiontouseortohear.
5.Conclusion
Thisresearchhasattemptedtosketchoutthepossibilityofitbeingimpoliteto
saytheintensifierbloodyhellinAustralianEnglish.First,usingcorpusdata
system,theresearchcollectedandanalysedthedataofvarioususagesofbloody,
(the)hell,andbloodyhell,findingthesetobeusedinvarioussituationsand
conversationsineverydayspokenEnglish.Second,usingthemethodologyof
ethnographicinterviewing,AustralianEnglishspeakersandBritishEnglish
speakersindicatedhowtheyconsiderthewordsthebloodyhellintermsof
potential(im)politeness.Usually,Australianspeakersdonotthinkitisimpolite
tosayorhearthewords,however,theBritishspeakerinterviewedthoughtthe
wordswereabitrude.Moreover,withtheseresults,comparisonscouldbemade
betweenAustralianandBritishnotionsofbeingimpolite,withthefindingthatin
thiscaseinterculturalimpolitenesscouldexist.
Proceedingfromwhathasbeensaidabove,itshouldbeconcludedthatfrom
aninterculturalpointofview,sayingbloodyhellisperceiveddifferently
regarding(im)politeness.Itmaybeconsideredtobeimpoliteinothercountries;
however,inapointofviewofculturalrelativism,itisapartoflongstanding
Australiancultureandlifestyle.Therefore,itshouldberespectedasoneoftheir
commonandcasualphrasesusedintheireverydaylifetoexpressthecasualness
andfriendlinesscharacteristicstheyhave.
*Authornotes
MinhaHongwasborninSeoul,thecapitaloftheRepublicofKorea.Sheisacandidate
fortheBachelorofArtsattheKoreaUniversity,Seoul,Korea,studyingEnglishliterature,
linguistics,translationandinterpretation.ShestudiedatGriffithUniversity,Queensland,
Australiaforayearin2007,ontheKUGriffithStudyAbroadProgram.
Contactemail:luckyminha@gmail.com
References
BritishNationalCorpus.Availableathttp://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk.
Dictionary.com.Availableatwww.dictionary.com.
Goddard,C.2006.Ethnopragmatics:anewparadigm.InEthnopragmatics:Understanding
DiscourseinCulturalContext,ed.C.Goddard,130.Berlin:MoutondeGruyter.
39
Mahlberg,M.2006.Lexicalcohesion:corpuslinguistictheoryanditsapplicationin
Englishlanguageteaching.InternationalJournalofCorpusLinguistics11:363383.
MichiganCorpusofAcademicSpokenEnglish.Availableat
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/c/corpus/corpus?c=micase;page=simple.
Wierzbicka,A.2002.Australianculturalscriptsbloodyrevisited.JournalofPragmatics34:
11671209.
ZachariahDominello:AstudyofidentityinAustralianhiphop
40
Keepinitreal,mate:
AstudyofidentityinAustralianHipHop
ZACHARIAHDOMINELLO*
Abstract
This paper examines identity construction among Australian hip hop (AHH)
artists. Data was gathered by comparing phonological differences between
artists performance speech and regular speech. After examining the gathered
information, a pattern became clear where the AHH artists tended to use a
Broad Australian English (AusE) accent whent performing, while using
StandardAusEinregularspeech.TheuseofBroadAusEisarguedtobeused
bytheartiststodifferentiatethemselvesfromtheirUShiphopcounterparts,and
toshowunityintheAustralianhiphopcommunity.
1.Introduction
ThispaperwillexaminetheareasofidentityconstructionandhiphopintheUS
andtheninAustraliaandthetrendsthathavebeenfound.Levy(2001)suggests
hiphopconstitutes
a global urban subculture that has entered peoples lives and become a
universal practice among youth the world over. From a local fad among
blackyouthintheBronx,ithasgonetobecomeaglobalpractice,givingnew
parameters of meaning to otherwise locally or nationally diverse identities.
(Levy2001:134)
Linguists(cf.Alim2002;Edwards2002),however,haveonlybeguntodocument
the language associated with hip hop. Most of that work explores the
relationshipofhiphoplanguage(HHL)inrapmusiclyricstoAfricanAmerican
English(AAE)syntactic,discourse,andlexicalfeatures(Cutler2007:1).
OHanlon(2006:193),however,claimsthatthelanguagecontainedwithin
themusicofayouthsubcultureknownasAustralianHipHop(AHH)exhibits
some interesting behaviours, in particular, AHH has largely rejected the
AmericanEnglish(AmE)phonologicaltrends.OHanlon(2006)pointsoutthat
inthecaseofhiphopinAustralia,alocalidentityismaintainedlinguisticallyin
keeping with hip hops philosophy of keeping it real, that is, being authentic,
suggesting that the genre is simultaneously loyal to and distinct from its
American origins. Thatis to saythere is great importanceplaced on expressing
ones Australianness in hip hop in Australia. How the artists express their
Australianness will be studied in this paper by comparing the phonological
differencesbetweenartistsperformanceandregularspeech.
41
2.HiphopandidentityconstructionintheU.S.
A trend has developed where upper middleclass white youth are practising
African American vernacular English (AAVE), among other hip hop related
activities. Cutler (1999) discusses the role of hip hop culture in young whites
motivationtouseAAVEfeaturesintheirspeech.Cutlerinvestigatedoneupper
middle class white teenager in New York who employed linguistic features of
African American vernacular English (AAVE). Mike, the participant of the case
study,showedevidenceofpractisingAAVEfromtheageof13,whenhestarted
identifying with hip hop culture. Cutler began collecting data from Mike from
theageof15.HewasobservedbyCutleruntiltheageof19.Cutlerarguedthat
theadoptionofAfricanAmericanspeechmarkersisanattemptbyyoungmiddle
class whites to take part in the complex prestige of African American youth
culture. Mike was a family friend of Cutler. To collect data she observed and
regularly interacted with Mike. She also recorded interviews with Mike and
some of his friends in discussion about hip hop and in general conversation.
Cutlerfound,inthecaseofMike,thathewantedtoparticipateinanessentialised
versionofurbanblackmaleyouthculture,buthewasuncomprehendingabout
the restrictions, angered about rejection and worried about being labelled a
wannabiebyhispeers.
3.HipHopinAustralia
Koolism,anAustralianhiphopgroupthatwonanARIAawardin2006,saidin
theirdedicationspeechthattheydedicatedtheirawardto:
the whole Australian hip hop community and all the Australians who
keep it real for want of a better phrase. Be yourself. Enough of that
Americanwannabetrash.(Mitchell2007:110)
ThisspeechwasmadeinthepresenceofasupportiveU.S.hiphopper,KoolHerc,
andaratherbewilderedcommercialUShiphopgroup,theBlackEyedPeas.This
was a public declaration that indicated that Koolism found it important to
represent themselves as part of a nationally based community which operated
outside the parameters of both commercial US hip hop and the mainstream
Australianmusicindustry.KoolismsremarksdrewcriticismfromanAustralian
representativeofSonyMusic.Atthetime,Sonywereattemptingtomanufacture
an Australian equivalent of US white rapper Eminem, a USaccented Sydney
basedMCcalledFiggkidd,whoseperformancesandrecordingstendedtoevoke
scornandderisionfromthemorehardcoremembersoftheAustralianhiphop
community (Mitchell 2007). This exemplifies the importance Australian hip
hoppersholdonexpressinganAustralianidentityintheirmusic.
42
OHanlon(2006)hasconductedastudyofyouthmusicinAustraliaandits
history of aping American accents. Australian hip hop seems to be different
phonologically to other genres of Australian music, defying the conventions of
lyrical performance. Her paper examined this interesting sociolinguistic
phenomenon by providing a picture of phonological variation within youth
music in Australia, enabling a comparison between hip hop and other genres.
OHanlon argued that performance accent is closely tied to several factors,
including cultural identity and genre appropriateness. In the case of hip hop, a
localidentityismaintainedlinguistically,inkeepingwithhiphopsphilosophy
ofkeepinitreal,suggestingthatthegenreissimultaneouslyloyaltoanddistinct
fromitsAmericanorigins.
The Australian English (AusE) accent is employed by AHH artists to aid
identification with their target audience, most likely working class youth of the
urban centres of Australia, to maintain a local authenticity in keeping with hip
hops philosophy, and to emphasise a distinction between AHH and hip hop
music from the United States (USHH), where the genre originated. The AHH
artistsnotonlylargelyavoidtheubiquitousAmericanpronunciationmodel,but
theyalsofrequentlydisplaybroadAusEaccents,whichcanbesaidtocontribute
totheAustraliannessofthesongs(OHanlon2006).
The methodology employed in OHanlons (2006) study was based on
Trudgills (1983) use of the linguistic variable to determine the extent to which
artists adhere to an American model of pronunciation. OHanlon selected and
investigated30AHHsongsand30AustraliannonHHsongs.Shefoundthat26
ofthe30AHHartistsusedthestandardAusEvariable.The6AHHartistswho
usedAmericanfeaturesdidnotusethemconsistently.Shealsofoundthatthere
is an introduction of local phonological features in AHH, with 17 of the artists
using the broad Australian variant [I] for the (AY) variable, and none of the
nonHHartistsusingthisvariant.
OHanlon suggests from these results that AHH artists exhibit
predominantly AusE (including broad) phonological features in their rapping
becauseofadesiretoidentifywithyoungAustralians.Thiscanalsobeattributed
to the artists desire to show hip hop loyalty and membership within the
community. Alim (2002) argues that language is used by hip hop artists to
construct an identity of streetconsciousness, and that in fact there is a greater
presence of nonstandard (including AAVE) grammatical and phonological
features in the rapping of Hip Hop artists than there is in their natural speech.
Following this, it can be argued that AHH artists use language, including local
phonologicalfeatures,toprojectahiphopidentity,ensuringmembershipwithin
the hip hop community and an image of streetconsciousness, with their
primary audience. This description of the AHH artists linguistic behaviour
accountsfortheirdivergencefromtheyouthmusicpronunciationstandards(i.e.
Americanstandards)whichareprevalentinnonHHcontexts(OHanlon2006).
43
The areas of identity construction and hip hopstudied in this paper bear a
remarkableresemblancetothefindingsofalinguisticsurveyofthe1950sonthe
islandofMarthasVineyard(Labov,citedinHolmes2001:198199).Thatsurvey
foundatrendsimilartotheonethatishappeninginAustralianhiphoptoday,a
trendofexpressingonesidentityaspartofacommunitythroughphonological
techniques. The study of Marthas Vineyard found that the locals of the island
wereusingapronunciationstyleuniquetothatisland,astylethatexpressedthe
users association with the island, their connectedness with it, and at the same
timethepronunciationstyledistancedthemfromthetouristsandvisitorsofthe
island (Holmes 2001:198199). This is basically what the hip hop community is
doing in Australia. They are using a particular speech style to associate
themselveswiththehiphopcommunity,toexpresstheirhiphopidentity.
Takingintoaccountthegapsinresearchthusfarinthisareaandthetrends
foundinresearchthathasbeencarriedoutinAustraliaandtheU.S.,thispaper
willinvestigatetheuseofBroadAusEbyAHHartistsasatooltoexpresstheir
hiphopidentityandmembershipwithintheAustralianhiphopcommunity.As
pastresearchhassuggested,AHHartistsexhibitpredominantlyAusE(including
broad)phonologicalfeaturesintheirrappingbecauseofadesiretoidentifywith
young Australians, and also a desire to express their Australian identity and
distinguishthemselvesfromtheirUScounterparts.Takingthisintoaccount,itis
hypothesisedinthisstudythat:
AHH artists use an exaggerated Australian accent (Broad AusE) when

performing, and a less exaggerated (Standard AusE) accent when not in
performancemode.
4.Methodology
ThemethodfordatagatheringIusedisbasedontheTrudgill(1983)modelused
in OHanlons 2006 study. OHanlon used 5 phonological variables, such as the
(A) vowel, found in words such as cant, path, rather. She looked for these
sounds in 30 hip hop songs and 30 non hiphop songs. Each sound had two or
threevariants:therewasthestandardAustralian,theAmericanandin2casesa
broadAustralianvariant.ForthisstudyIgathereddatausingthetwovariables
thathadastandardAustralianvariantandabroadAustralianvariant.Icollected
datafromtwoAHHartists;recordeddatafromonesinglereleasedbyeachartist
and one interview recording for each artist. I recorded the number of times I
heard each variable, and then which variant of that variable was used by the
artist.
5.Data
ThisstudycollecteddatafromtwosongsbytwodifferentAHHartists:
44
1.TheHilltopHoods:TheHardRoad(Restrung)
2.Pegz:BackThen
These artists were chosen because of their contrast in performance style the
Hilltop Hoods being aggressive and energetic whereas Pegz is more laidback,
havingarelaxeddeliveryandflowandbecausebothareconsideredsuccessful
artists in the Australian hip hop community, having released multiple records
and hit singles. The interviews used in this study were downloaded from the
TripleJRadiowebsite(http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/).
The two phonological variables compared in the songs versus the radio
interviewswere:
(OE)vowel,foundinwordslikeboat,no,groan
[]BroadAusE
[o]StandardAusE
(AY)vowel,foundinwordslikeright,like,climb
[I]BroadAusE
[aI]StandardAusE
A number of points were taken into consideration when analysing the data
(basedonOHanlons(2006)study):
1. Words such as I and my often appear in an unstressed and therefore

reducedforminspeechandsingingduetosentenceprosody.Inthesecases,
the vowels are not recorded as a possible (AY) variable. This is because
vowelreductioninunstressedsyllablesisanaturalspeechprocess(Roca&
Johnson1999)andsowouldnotconstitutelinguisticmodificationofthesort
beinginvestigated.
2.Thevariablesthatappearinthechorusesofthesongswerecountedonly
oncepersong,inordertoavoidrepetition.
3. Samples (recordings which are lifted from other pieces and placed in a
newsong)wereignoredinthecountingprocessforseveralreasons.Firstly,
samples are generally not performed by the songs artist, and secondly the
voiceisunidentifiable(thusitcouldbelongtoanAmericanperformer).
6.Results
The data gathered from the song by, and interview of, The Hilltop Hoods are
consistent and support the hypotheses of this study. Out of 14 variables of the
(OE)vowel,theBroadAusEvariantwasusedover70%ofthetimeinthesong,
andoutofagain14variablesofthe(OE)vowelintheinterview,BroadAusEwas
45
usedlessthan15%ofthetime.Similarlywiththe(AY)vowel,outof17variables
in the song, over 80% were Broad AusE, whereas in the interview, out of 17
variables,lessthan24%wereBroadAusEvariants.
ThedatafromthesongandinterviewbyPegzshowasimilarpatterntothat
ofTheHilltopHoods,buttoaslightlylesserextent.Thispatternstill,however,
supports the hypothesis. Out of 12 possible (OE) variables in the song, almost
67%wereoftheBroadAusEvariant,whereasintheinterview,outof31possible
variables, the Broad AusE variant was used only 16% of the time. Out of 18
possible(AY)variablesinthesong,almost67%wereBroadAusEvariants,andin
theinterview,outof18variables,lessthan35%weretheBroadAusEvariant.
TheseresultsaresummarisedinTableOnebelow.
Table1:Resultsofphonologicalanalysis
Thoughtheresultsvariedslightlybetweenthetwoartistsinvestigated,asimilar
patternappearsinbothcases.ItappearsthatthereisatendencybyAHHartists
(certainly the ones studied in this paper) to exaggerate their speech during
performances, showing high levels of Broad AusE pronunciation. However, in
regular conversational speech, in this case speech recorded during radio
interviews,theartiststendtousestandardAusEpronunciationmorecommonly
than Broad AusE. These findings are very interesting and lend support to the
hypothesis proposed in this paper. Alim (2002) may attribute these findings to
hisargumentthatlanguageisusedbyhiphopartiststoconstructanidentityof
streetconsciousness,andthatinfactthereisagreaterpresenceofnonstandard
(including AAVE) grammatical and phonological features in the rapping of hip
46
hopartiststhanthereisintheirnaturalspeech(Alim2002).ThoughAlims(2002)
study was based on US artists, his argument is based on similar principles to
thoseofAHHartists.BothUSandAustralianhiphopartistsuselanguageasa
tooltoconstructidentities.
7.Discussion
Thisprojectwasundertakentofurtherstudyissuesofidentityandhiphop,but
with a more localised Australian perspective, building on the small amount of
research previously carried out in this area in Australia. This study suggests
there is a trend by members of the Australian hip hop community to express
their affiliation, their belonging amongst the community by using a
localised/broadAusEaccent,evenifitmeansthatthispronunciationstyleneeds
to be adopted. An interesting point about the findings of this study is that this
phenomenon is a contradiction of the hip hop philosophy of keeping it real
(OHanlon2006).InthecaseofAHHartists,thedatafoundinthisstudysuggest
that they are making a conscious decision to use broad AusE during
performances, and standard AusE pronunciation during normal speech. This
suggests that, in order to connect with their audience and to express their hip
hop identity through rapping, the artists are essentially not being true to
themselves,andhencearenotkeepingitreal.
Thoughthisstudydoesshowaconsistentpattern,thesamplesizeanddata
recording techniques could be improved upon. For example, one could analyse
data on more phonological sounds, and gather more music samples and more
recordings of the artists everyday speech. Another improvement could be that
instead of using interview recordings of artists, oneonone interaction with the
artistscouldprovidemoresubstantialresults.Insteadofrecordingjustthedata
of phonological sounds, one could also investigate the content of the lyrics of
AHHartists.Withregardtothedatarecordinginthisstudy,itwouldalsohave
been beneficial to have had a second opinion, comparing the findings with
anotherdatacollectortoensurethevalidityoftheseresults.
8.Conclusion
This paper suggests that Australian hip hop artists use language as a tool to
construct identities. There seems to be a trend in the Australian hip hop
community among its members to express their affiliation, their belonging
amongstthecommunitybyusingalocalised/broadAusEaccent,evenifitmeans
thatthispronunciationstyleneedstobeadopted.
AsmentionedbyCutler(2007),furtherstudyneedstobedoneinregardsto
hip hop language (HHL) use in everyday interaction, the regional language
variation that local hiphop scenes have spawned around the USA and
47
worldwide, the role of gender in hiphop culture and language, and the
processesofidentityformationamonghiphoppers.
*Authornotes
ZachariahDominelloiscurrentlystudyingaBachelorofArtsinLanguagesandApplied
Linguistics at Griffith University. Majoring in Spanish, Linguistics and also studying
Italian,Zachariahintendstograduateinsemester1,2008.
Contactemail:zachariahdom@gmail.com
References
Alim H. 2002. Streetconscious copula variationin the Hip Hop nation.AmericanSpeech
77:288304.
Cutler,C.1999.Yorkvillecrossing:acasestudyofhiphopandthelanguageofaWhite
middleclassteenagerinNewYorkCity.JournalofSociolinguistics3,4:428442.
Cutler, C. 2002. Crossing Over: White Teenagers, Hip Hop and African American English.
UnpublishedPhDdissertation,NewYorkUniversity.
Cutler, C. 2007. HipHop Language in Sociolinguistics and Beyond. Language and
LinguisticsCompass1:120.
Edwards, W. 2002. AAVE usage in the rap lyrics of Tupac Shakur. Paper presented at
NewWaysofAnalyzingVariationconference,PaloAlto.
Holmes,J.2001.AnIntroductiontoSociolinguistics.(2nded).London:PearsonEducation.
Levy,C.2001.RapinBulgaria:Betweenfashionandreality.InGlobalNoise:RapandHip
Hop Outside the U.S.A, ed. Tony Mitchell, 134148. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan
UniversityPress.
Mitchell, T. 2007. The DIY habitus of Australian hip hop. Media International Australia
incorporatingCultureandPolicy123,1:109122.
OHanlon,R.2006.AustralianHipHop:ASociolinguisticInvestigation.AustralianJournal
ofLinguistics26:2:193209.
Trudgill, P. 1983. Acts of conflicting identity: The sociolinguistics of British popsong
Pronunciation.InOnDialected.PTrudgill,141160.Oxford:BasilBlackwell.
AlinaSullivan:IdentityofnonAustraliantraineddoctorsintheAustralianprintmedia
48
ForeigntrainedversusBritishtrained:
ExploringtheidentityofnonAustraliantrainedmedical
professionalsintheAustralianprintmedia
ALINASULLIVAN*
Abstract
In view of an escalating need for foreigntrained health professionals in

Australiatoday,socialissuesrelatedtomigrantdoctorshavebecomesalientin
theAustralianmedia. Theaimofthispaper wastoanalysethewaysinwhich
the identity of a medical professional is constructed in the context of news
reportsintheAustralianprintmedia.Moreover,itwassoughttocontrastthe
media representation of a foreign doctor from a nonwestern background with
thatofonefromaBritishbackground.TennewspaperarticlesfromtheCourier
Mail, dating from 2005 to 2007, were analysed using narrative theory and
critical discourse analysis. This analysis indicated that within the social
categoryofoverseestraineddoctorsthereisagoodeviloppositionbeingcreated
betweenforeigntrainedandBritishtraineddoctors.Inadditionitwasobserved
that the constructed identities of foreigntrained doctors tend to have a dual
nature. They are portrayed as the desired addition to the society through
governmentprogramsononehandandasthevillainthatthesamesaidsociety
should be wary of on the other. The targeted audience is being presented with
issues of ethnicity, religion, social heritage and country of origin as the main
componentsoftheidentityofamigrantdoctor.
1.Introduction
Medicineisrapidlybecomingamulticulturalrealmcharacterisedbyahighlevelof
mobility among healthcare professionals on an international scale. Foreigntrained
doctors(FTD),definedasmedicalprofessionalswhoobtainedtheirprimarymedical
qualificationsoutsideAustralia(HanandHumphreys2005),playanimperativerole
in solving labour shortages and will increasingly continue to do so in tomorrows
agingsocietiesofthereceivercountries,suchasAustralia(Ray,Lowell,andSpencer
2006). Australia exhibits a strong need for healthcare workers, particularly in rural
areas.Therefore,governmentpoliciesareseenasmoreinclinedtoeasethemigration
process for FTDs in comparison to other western countries, making the country a
morepreferreddestinationforsuchmigrants(Rayetal.2006).
The main issues arising from that situation are the integration of FTDs, on the
one hand, and the dilemma of their retention on the other (Han and Humphreys
49
2005). The need for the integration of FTDs is highlighted in the literature (Ray,
Lowell and Spencer 2006), and the main salient elements identified as pertinent to
integrationincluderaceandethnicity,physicalfeatures,socialandpoliticalheritage,
religion,ancestry,countryoforigin,languageskillsandtheexistenceofstereotypes
linkedtomigrantworkersingeneral(Priceetal.2005;Bhopal2001).Allthesecanbe
observedtorepresentpartsofthesocialidentityofaFTD.Therefore,thisidentityis
anchored in their social role, the socially recognisable category of a doctor. It is
formedduringthecommunicationprocessesFTDsengagein,andisbaseduponthe
specificexpectationsrelatedwiththatidentity(Hecht,JacksonandPitts2005:3132).
On the basis of that identity, FTDs have been found to suffer the following social
consequences and diverging communicative actions: discrimination on the basis of
foreignsounding names (Bhopal 2001), harassment by patients and managers, and
patients being reluctant to consult a FTD, for instance, I dont want to see that
yellowdoctor(HanandHumphreys2005).Asaresult,qualityofcareandretention
are affected (NapolesSpringer, Santoyo, Houston, PerezStable and Stewart 2005).
Therefore there is a call for more research on the community perceptions of FTDs
andontheculturalcomponentinmedicalencounters,inordertoelaboratestrategies
FTDs can use to be successful (NapolesSpringer etal.2005). However, to create a
basis for these, a thorough understanding of how the identity of a FTD is formed,
andperhapstheunderlyingreasonsofitssalienttraits,isneeded.
Media culture, embracing a variety of media, has become imperative in
understanding modern society, dominated by its omnipresence and universal
commercialtraits(Kellner1995:56).Mediatextshavethepowertoinfluencesocial
opinions, and at the same time, the representational and conceptual tools used to
create these media texts are aimed at audiences and therefore construct narratives
thataudiencesarefamiliarwithandarepreparedtohear(SelbyandCowdery1995:
14).Theareaofanalysingmediadiscourseiscentralinanalysinghowmeaningsare
coconstituted in the interaction between media texts and the audience (Arundale
2006;Hall1997:19).
The aim of this study is, therefore, to explore how the identity of a FTD is
createdandreflectedintheAustralianprintmediabylookingatthecomponentsof
the stories and the positions of power and dominance established in those stories.
The study seeks to compare the positions of FTD and British trained doctors (BD).
Firstly the paper will present the method used to collect the data. Secondly, the
theoretical framework applied and the results obtained will be discussed. Finally,
thepaperwillconcludethattheidentityofaforeigntrainedmedicalprofessional,as
constructedinthenewsnarratives,iscomplexandnotstatic,albeitthemaintrends
identified seem to be bearing more and more negative connotations as the higher
50
temporalnarrativeoftheprogressionofthetopicisdevelopinginthediscourseof
news.
2.Method
Inordertoresearchthesocialcategoryofadoctorasprojectedthroughanoutletof
Australian media, a corpus was formed (Goddard 2006: 2, 15). The data was
collectedfromtheprintmediadatabaseFactiva.TheCourierMailwassearchedusing
a number of combinations of various keywords, with the combinations foreign
trained doctors and British doctors proving to be most efficient; the second
formulation was modified because the combination British trained doctors was
not yielding results. In total there were ten articles included in the corpus for
detailed analysis, dating from 2005 to 2007. More specifically, there were seven
articles containing FTD as the main focus, and four articles focusing on BD for the
CourierMail(seelistofarticlesinAppendix1).Inaddition,TheAustralianwasalso
searchedandtwosetsofdataformed,comprisingeightFTDrelatedandthreeBD
relatedarticlesrespectively.ThisseconddatasetfromTheAustralianwasexamined,
and in the final stage of analysis the findings from the FTDrelated data set were
contrasted with observations made regarding the BDrelated data set (see list of
articlesinAppendix2).
3.Analysisofthedata
3.1Theoreticalframework
The analysis of the articles collected in the corpus was carried out using narrative
theory and the critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework. Narratives organise
smallerunitsofmediatexts,comprisingsigns,intochronologicalandcausalchains
of events that facilitate creating a mental meaning and therefore are central to
cognition, interpreting and intertextuality (Thwaites, David and Mules 1994: 113;
Ryan2004:3,38).Withinthestructureofamedianarrative,anumberofcharacters
can be distinguished as operating and interacting, which, being conceptualised by
Propp,constituteasetoffunctionsinthenarrative(Lacey2000:51).Theanalysisof
thesecanprovideaninsightintopotentialnarrativebuildingstrategiesbehindnews
stories (Fulton 2005: 218). As a result, Propps functions were included in the
analysis.Furthermore,thedataexaminedinthispaperformspartofthediscourseof
news, and its interpretation needs to address the linguistic choices and their
pertinence to meaning construction in the narrative (Fulton 2005: 245). The CDA
framework is recognised as one of the main mediums for studying the linguistic
51
components of media texts in their relation to society (Garrett and Bell 2000: 56).
The main focus of CDA is upon analysing how social and political inequalities are
manifested and how power relations are enacted in social cultures (Wooffitt 2005:
137138),makingitveryrelevanttothecurrentresearch.
3.2Resultsanddiscussion
Every article examined in the corpus represents a manufactured news story that
appears to pursue the goal of informing its audience of important developments
regarding domestic issues, particularly in the area of healthcare. Therefore, these
articles appear to be objective, informative hard news items (Fulton 2005: 226).
However,theyalsorepresentnarratives,constructedonthebasisofnewsgathering
methodologies within a commercial newspaper establishment and destined for
consumption by a particular type of audience. Therefore, a conventional story
template,whichcanbeeasiertoselltothemassaudience,canbeobservedtoform
and reoccur throughout the news articles in both sections of the primary corpus
regardingFTDandBD(Fulton2005:221,246).
3.2.1Foreigntraineddoctors
ArticleA1,reproducedbelow,fromthesectionofthecorpusofarticlesonForeign
traineddoctorsisanexampleofpossibletrendsinthewaystheidentityofaFTD
arerepresented.
Postersurgeracerespect
ANTIracismsignshavebeenerectedatBundabergBaseHospitalinabidto
stopracialabuseofforeigntraineddoctors.
ActingdistrictmanagerMonicaSethrevealedtherehadbeenseveralincidents
atthehospitalwherepeoplehadmadedisgustingracialcommentstomedical
staff.
Thehospitalscontroversialformerdirectorofsurgery,DrJayantPatel,was
trainedinIndiaandtheUS.
Racialabuseagainstourstaffwillnotbetoleratedunderanycircumstances,
MsSethsaid.Itisnotonlyoffensive,itisanoffence.
AllpatientsinBundabergBaseHospitalaretreatedaccordingtotheirclinical
needsbutifapatientrefusestobetreatedbyaparticulardoctor,theyarefreeto
seekclinicalcareatanotherfacility.
MsSethsaidifpatientshadconcernsaboutthequalificationsofanymedical
staffmembertheyneededtoraisethoseconcernswiththehospitalsexecutive.
52
Weareputtinguppostersinallareasadvisingpatientsandclientsthatracism
isnottoleratedhereandweexpectourpatientstotreatourmedicalstaffwith
therespecttheydeserve,shesaid.(J.Watt,CourierMail,30June2005)
Thenarrativeopensfrom thefirstsentence.Thestate of equilibriumisbroken and

thereaderisimmediatelyexposedtotheproblem.Thestateofequilibriumwasthe
stateofaffairsbeforetheracialabusetookplace.Now,thedisruptioninthestate
ofaffairshastoberecognised:itcamefromanofficialpersonbythenameofMonica
Sethinparagraph3.Theuseofthenamecanbepotentiallystrategicincreatingan
association between the event and an individual person rather than an institution,
making the story more human (Fulton, 2005: 237). Furthermore, there is an
attempt to reinstate the equilibrium by putting the antiracism posters up by the
institutiontheofficialbelongsto.Byexaminingthenarrativewecannoticethatthe
hero, the victimhero, the texts protagonist, can be identified straight away as
foreigntrained doctors. Also, the villain seems to be introduced in the first
paragraph of the story as pursuing the victimhero and represented by those
membersofthepublicbehindtheracialabuse.However,thepositionofthevillain,
fromthepointofviewofprocessparticipantinteraction,isofinterest,astheactual
agent is omitted and the individuality of the apparent villain is overcome by the
affiliationwiththewidercommunity(Fairclough2001:101).Asthestorydevelops,it
canbenotedthatitistheactionsofthevillainthatarecondonedinparagraph3and
not the public itself. That strengthens the position of the villain in the text. Other
characters emerging in the narrative are the helpers, the hospital officials,
representedbyMsSeth,whoseroleistoassisttheheroinrestoringtheequilibrium.
Onthefirstglancetheyseemtotakeadefensivestandagainstthevillainandtohelp
the victimhero. This can be seen in the following textual features: declarative
statements of high modality (it is not only offensive, it is an offence); extreme
rhetoric (disgusting racial comments); the frequent use of the word racial,
potentiallybearingnegativeratherthanpositiveconnotations,whichwasmentioned
fivetimesinthisshort196wordarticle.
Acloseexaminationalsorevealsthattheallegedvictimheroismentionedonly
once,albeitinanadvantageousendfocussyntacticalposition(VanDijk1993:277).
In addition, the last argument in the whole piece seems to focus on the helpers
themselves,notonthevictimhero.Thus,theuseofthepronounweisattracting
attentiontothosebehindtheresolutionofthedisruptionofequilibrium,thehospital
institution (Van Dijk, 2003: 356). It also has to be noted that the use of the word
racismisbecomingsignificant:byrevertingbackintothemiddleofthearticle,we
starttoseethatquitepossiblythevictimheroisnotavictimatall,butisinfactthe
whole reason behind the disruption occurring in the first place. Paragraph 4
53
introduces information about the controversial Dr Jayant Patel, who was trained
in India. The introduction of that particular individual may have ideological
consequences,affirmingtheviewthatthesocialorderanditsdisruptionarecaused
byanindividualwhoisalsoarepresentativeofaparticulargroupinsociety(Fulton,
2005: 237238), providing the justification for the actions of the initial villain, the
angrypublic.Therefore,thedualidentityoftheFTDemerges.
Thenarrativetemplateinwhichthatidentityisconstructedisdeterminedbythe
discourse angle chosen by the authors behind the news stories. That angle is
establishedbytheheadlinesofthearticlesincluding:DrDeathbacklash,Doctor
jobs for foreign slaves, Time for a reality check and Check on 37 foreign
doctors. They serve as plot summaries and prime the audience into the expected
formatofmoralpanicinwhichtheFTDidentityisembedded(Fulton2005:233234).
Taking into consideration the already high newsworthiness value of healthcare
issues,theelementofanapparentthreattothesocialfabricpotentiallyincreasesthe
magnitude of the news item, setting it high on the agenda of story selection and
presentationbythenewspaper(Fulton2005:221).
Therefore,theswayingportrayalofthefigureofFTDasanimpurevictimhero
continuesthroughoutthehigherordernarrativeofthenewsitemscoveringthetopic,
with attributes of the villain becoming more and more prominent. As a logical
development within the narrative structure of the moral panic, the potential threat
needstoberesolvedinsomeway.Thatisrealisedbythefactthatthehiddenheroof
anAustralianborndoctorisemergingmoreandmoreinthenewsnarrative.Thus,
in article A2, paragraph 1 (Appendix 1): foreigntrained doctors, even those just
withethnicnameshintsatthosewhosufferfromtheexistenceofthisvillainsideof
a FTD identity. The lexical items used in stories become stronger and can be
perceivedasmorenegativeanddamagingtothesocialstatusofFTDs:suspicion,
skepticism, foreign slaves, debacle, rogue, controversial; incompetent;
useofnegativedeclarativestatements:theydonothavetheskills,qualitycontrol
nightmare, Nigerian doctor still flummoxed by the branding of Australian
medications; use of demonstratives to highlight the position of FTD in relation to
therestofsociety:theseforeigndoctors;useofpronouns:theycomefromafar;
racially charged adjectives: 33year old Indian, Indian bornandeducated,
Nigeriandoctor;religionrelatedadjectives:Muslimdoctors.Inaddition,aLevi
Strausss binary opposition of positive and negative connotations (Lacey 2000: 73),
canbeseentobebeingcreatedintermsofcountryoforigin,sowehave:50percent
offoreigndoctorimportsarefromsocalleddevelopingnationsandwhilstthey
usedtoarrivefromUKandWesternEurope,theyarenowarrivingfromIndia,
China,EasternEurope,andtheMiddleEast(seeA5,A6inAppendix1).
54
Therefore,withthepurposeofsolvingthecrisisthatiscausingpublicconcern,it
seemsquitejustifiedformore directofficial interventions,regulations andpolicing
to occur and for that group of people to be controlled by an entity such the
Australiangovernment,whichwouldexertitspowertocontrolthatgroup(VanDijk
1993: 263). There is evidence of a possible presupposition being formed that such
controlisinfactapositiveelementandthatthegroupshouldnotopposeit,sincethe
FTD bears the aspect of a villain in the social fabric: doctors can be controlled
because they know that if they complain they will be sent back overseas (A3,
Appendix1);theoutliningoftheproblemofhowdidAustraliabecomesoreliant
onimportedmedicalworkforce(A6,Appendix1);andthatthereisaneedtodrop
offtherelianceonforeigndoctors(A5,Appendix1).
3.2.2Britishdoctorscorpus
InthelightofthepositiondevelopedinthecaseofFTDfromnonUK,nonWestern
countries, it becomes important to examine how medical professionals of British
originareportrayedinthediscourseofnews,inthesamenewspaperandtargeting
thesameaudience.Ratherthanbeingtwoseparatenarratives, thestoriesfeaturing
FTD and BD seem to be intertwined. The disruption of the equilibrium of the
narrative can be seen as being encapsulated by the recruitment of a particular
overseastraineddoctorthatcausedaveryseriousdisruptioninthestateofaffairs
ofthewholeQueenslandhealthdepartment(C1,Appendix1).However,thevillain
does not seem to be the implied figure of Jayant Patel, whose name is omitted
altogetherfrom thesentence; itisthe foreigndoctor thatthefocusgoesto.Peter
Beattiehereisaseekerherowhoisseekingtheholygrailortheprincess,Propps
mostsoughtaftercharacter,manifestedbytheBritishdoctors(Lacey2000:5152).
The fact that the word trained does not appear to be used in the case of British
healthprofessionalsmayalsobesignificant,asittakesthefocusoffthewholeissue
of experience and skill, even being salient when it comes to this social group. The
fact thatthey arebeingsoughtafterincreasestheir value,theirsocialcapitalinthe
media texts, and assigns them a vital role in the moral panic format of the news
narrative. Thus they must be skilled, experienced and the opposite of everything
other FTDs were portrayed to be: therein lies their importance to the seeker hero
tryingtosolvethehealthcrisisandrestoretheequilibriuminthehealthsystem.So,
expressionslikepoachBritishdoctors;increasestheirvalue.AlsoinarticleC2,we
can see that, unlike the case of the narrative of FTD articles, the last argument is a
call for better conditions for British doctors: smart career move for British health
professionals;needtofasttrack;boostrecruitmentandgreatforrecruitment
(C2,Appendix1).
55
Theirpositioninthesocietyandthepositiveconnotationsassociatedwithitare
allowingforhigherechelonsofpowertocarryoutcertainactionsinrelationtoBD,
just as was observed in the case of FTD. However, the kinds of actions seen as
justifiedareverydifferentfromthoseinthecaseofFTD.ThusBritishdoctorsshould
be made exempt from sitting the exam (C4, Appendix 1), with the authoritarian
medicalindustrysourcearguingthevalidityofsuchactionsbymarkedlysaying
it is not meant to be racial discrimination, it is meant to be competency
discrimination. So it can be noted that the villain element of the FTD identity is
quitesalientinthenarrativesof thearticlesthatarecentred ontheBritishdoctors.
Thus,thereisindicationthatagoodandevilopposition,albeitnotabsoluteorclear
cut, is being created between the two identities, FTD and BD. It can be seen
especiallyintherhetoricusedinthecaseofFTD:stringentchecks,wherebythey
havetobestoppedandnumbersdroppedversusneedtofasttrackrecruitment
for BD and a call to destroy any other potential villains that come in the way, like
redtapeforinstance.Also,thereferencetoanembarrassingsaga,emphasising
thecrisisandtheFTDscentralroleinit,maybeincreasingtheattractivenessofthe
solutionofachievingmoreBD.
Analysingbothsetsofdataintermsoftheillocutionaryaudienceconstructedby
the narratives and the textual feature choices making up the fabric of those
narratives,theobservationcanbemadethatthenarrativedoesnotseemtospeakto
the audience in a special voice, but in a public idiom, a language they can
understand, that belongs to the everyday life and that shapes their reality. This
conveys a certain power to the meanings created by the stories described above,
translating into an ability to exert ideological pressure among the actual
perlocutionaryaudienceandtoinfluencethewayinwhichtherealworldandreal
peopleareperceivedbythereaders.However,ithastobetakenintoaccountthat,as
asourceofpublicidiom,theCourierMailnewspaper,examinedinthepresentstudy,
targetsaparticularperlocutionaryaudienceofmiddleclasspeoplewithawideage
rangeandischaracterisedbywatchdogjournalism.Thismayinfluencehowthe
identities of FTD and BD are constructed in its discourse of news. In that light,
examining the similar data sets collected from the Australian newspaper, which is
aimed at a more conservative, nationwide audience, it can be concluded that the
trendsidentifiedintheCourierMaildataregardingtheconstructionofFTDidentity
seem to continue and the binary opposition between FTD and BD is preserved,
despite a different demographic (Fulton 2005: 221222, 244247). This can be
indicative of the magnitude and the universality of the topic in Australian society
andopensupapotentiallyimportantareaforfurtherresearch.
56
4.Conclusion
ThedataandtheanalysisconductedsuggestthatthepositionFTDsareassignedto
by the news discourse within the Australian media is markedly less powerful and
more restricted, in comparison with that of the BD; this creates a situation of
inequality whereby solidarity within the social category of overseastrained
professionalsisaffected.Foreigndoctorstendtobepresentedasthedominategroup,
influencedbythehigherstatusoftheirBritishcounterpartsandalsobythejustified
interventions on behalf of the powerful government entities which openly exert
influence upon them. The observation made indicated that, despite FTD friendly
policiesandretentioninitiativesonbehalfofthegovernment,theclimatereflectedin
the media narratives is highlighting the saliency of race, ethnicity, religion, social
heritageandofcountryororigininrelationtotheprojectionofFTDidentityinthe
media. The narrative template constructed around that identity is formulaic in
nature, and the news items selected from the information pool to be presented
within that template are subjected to the implicit agenda of the newspaper, as a
mediaentity,whichisdrivenbytheeverincreasingprocessofcommodificationof
newsreporting(Fairclough1995:10).Therefore,itcanbeassertedthatthediscourse
ofnewsbareselementsofhegemonyandthewaythenewsispresentedconstitutesa
social phenomenon affecting the lives of real people in their everyday interactions.
Therefore,thereisaneedformoreindepthresearchtobeconductedontheeffects
of that phenomenon on audiences, the beliefs the audiences hold about the social
groupsinquestionandtheconsequencesoftheseonmedicalencounters.
It has to be acknowledged that this paper had a number of limitations. There
was no consideration given to alternative readings of the media texts and the
analysiswasnotexhaustive.Also,morearticlescouldbeincludedinthecorpusand
the narrative/CDA analysis could be further widened. Notwithstanding that, in
ordertoimprovetheunderstandingofthetopic,theidentifiedpotentialtrendscan
serve as a basis to elaborate interview questions and conduct ethnographic
interviewinginordertocompare andcontrastthewaysFTDsareportrayedin the
mediadiscourseandtheopinionsheldbythepopulationindifferentdemographic
regions.
*Authornotes
Alina Sullivan is a graduate of the Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Applied Linguistics.
Herinterestslieintheareasofdiscourseanalysisandinterculturalcommunicationstudies.
HerlinguisticrepertoireincludesRussian,Romanian,English,FrenchandSpanishlanguages
and she shares a great interest in learning about different cultures and different languages
aroundtheworld.Contactemail:Alina.Sullivan@student.griffith.edu.au
References
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Arundale, R. B. The conjoint coconstituting model of communication. Unpublished

manuscript,DepartmentofCommunication,UniversityofAlaskaFairbanks.
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Murphet,andA.Dunn,218244.NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Fulton, H. 2005. Analysing the discourse of news. In NarrativeandMedia, ed. H. Fulton, R.
Huisman,J.Murphet,andA.Dunn,245267.NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Garrett,P.andBell,A.eds.2000.MediaandDiscourse:aCriticalOverview.Oxford:Blackwell.
Goddard, C. 2006. Ethnopragmatics: a new paradigm. In Ethnopragmatics: Understanding
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Hall, S. 1997. The work of representation. In Representation: Cultural Representations and
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Han, G.S. and Humphreys, J.S. 2005. Overseastrained doctors in Australia: Community
integration and their intention to stay in a rural community. AustralianJournalofRural
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Kellner,D.1995.MediaCulture.London:Routledge.
Lacey,N.2000.NarrativeandGenre:KeyConceptsinMediaStudies.London:Macmillan.
NapolesSpringer, A., Santoyo, J., Houston, K., PerezStable, E.J. and Stewart, A.L. 2005.
Patientsperceptionsofculturalfactorsaffectingthequalityoftheirmedicalencounters.
HealthExpectations8:417.
Price,E.G.,Gozu,A.,Kern,D.E.,Powe,N.R.,Wand,G.S.,Golden,S.andCooper,L.A.2005.
Theroleofculturaldiversityclimateinrecruitment,promotion,andretentionoffaculty
inacademicmedicine.JournalofGeneralMedicine20,7:565571.
Ray, K.M., Lowell, L. and Spencer, S. 2006. International health worker mobility: causes,
consequencesandbestpractices.InternationalMigration44,2:181203.
Ryan,M.L.ed.2004.NarrativeacrossMedia:theLanguageofStorytelling.Nebraska:University
ofNebraskaPress.
Selby,K.andCowdery,R.1995.HowtoStudyTelevision.London:Macmillan.
Thwaites, T., Davis, L. and Mules, W. 1994. Tools for Cultural Studies. South Melbourne:
Macmillan.
VanDijk,T.A.1993.Principlesofcriticaldiscourseanalysis.DiscourseandSociety4,2:249283.
Van Dijk, T.A. 2003. Critical discourse analysis. In Handbook of discourse analysis ed. D.
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Introduction.London:Sage.
58
Appendix1:ArticlesfromCourierMailandSundayMail
A.ListofarticlesfocusingonForeignTrainedDoctors(FTDs)
A1:Postersurgeracerespect,A.Watt,30June2005.
A2:DrDeathbacklash,19June2005.
A3:Doctorjobsforforeignslaves,J.Sommerfeld,J.GregoryandR.Viellaris,17May2005.
A4:Timeforarealitycheck.19March2006.
A5:CulturalTransfusion,QWeekend,M.FynesClinton,27January2007.
A6:Internationalterrorhashithome,T.McLean,7July2007.
A7:Checkon37foreigndoctors,S.Wardill,28September2007.
C.ListofarticlesfocusingonBritishTrainedDoctors(BDs)
C1:Beattiesblamegamefailstodefusecontradictoryevidence,M.Cole,24September2005.
C2:LondonbanonpoacherPete,D.Giiles,14May2006.
C3:DealsmoothschangeforUKdoctors,R.Odgers,18May2006.
C4:NotestplanforBritishdoctors,H.Davies,25February2007.

Volume 1, Issue 1
May 2008
Michael Haugh and Susana Eisenchlas

Introduction
iv
Troy Vinson
Some lexical variations of Australian Aboriginal English
Volume 1, Issue 1
Kay Frances Bartolo
Bogan: Polite or not? Cultural implications of a term in Australian slang
Noriko Sekiya
Aussie battler as a cultural keyword in Australian English
21
Minha Hong
Where the bloody hell are you?: Bloody hell and (im)politeness
in Australian English
33
Zachariah Dominello
Keepin it real, mate: A study of identity in Australian Hip Hop
40
Alina Sullivan
Foreign-trained versus British-trained: exploring the identity of non-Australian
trained medical professionals in the Australian print media
48

Griffith University
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The Ethnopragmatics of Australian English
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Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and

Michael Haugh and Susana Eisenchlas

School of Languages and Linguistics

Edited by Michael Haugh and Susana Eisenchlas

We are delighted to introduce the first issue of Griffith Working Papers in

This report explores the variety of English known as Australian Aboriginal

This paper focuses on the variety of English known as Australian Aboriginal

analysis of lexical variation indicates that, for many, Aboriginal English is a

Although changes in the usage of words in English are emerging through

The general understanding of the term bogan, as described by the interview

this comment to classify herself as a bogan and therefore attempts to create a

Bogan is described as a subculture or an abstract idea that is expressed

adversity. Typically, this adversity comprises the challenges of low payment,

In conclusion, battler is a culturally symbolic term describing the Australian

AHH artists use an exaggerated Australian accent (Broad AusE) when

1. Words such as I and my often appear in an unstressed and therefore

In view of an escalating need for foreigntrained health professionals in

Thenarrativeopensfrom thefirstsentence.Thestate of equilibriumisbroken and

Arundale, R. B. The conjoint coconstituting model of communication. Unpublished

Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and

Michael Haugh and Susana Eisenchlas

School of Languages and Linguistics

Edited by Michael Haugh and Susana Eisenchlas

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