Customer Reviews

Wordwatching: Field Notes of an Amateur Philologist

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If language is the most significant thing separating us from the animals, then it behooves to watch our language carefully. Julian Burnside brings his legal training and his native Aussie flair for language to this engaging little collection of essays on words.

I particularly commend Chapter 12 "Doublespeak" wherein he discusses the political use and misuse of words. Those who choose the vocabulary define the political course of the nation. When a Prime Minister of Australia chooses to call refugees fleeing political oppression and terrorism "illegals", things get done which should never be done in a free society.

I found myself reminded by a recent law passed in Texas, supposedly to ban gay marriage but which contained language banning anything "similar or identical to marriage". Whoops! Does language like that protect the institution of marriage?

Chapters are arranged alphabetically by title and I was particularly enraptured by the 3 "H" chapters:

"Haitch" is about the difficult aspirate itself and what it reveals about the speaker. "Harmless Drudges", taken from Johnson's definition, is about previous lexicographers and their personalities. "Holy Wars" is a dispassionate and valuable discussion of terms that have become familiar to us in the so-called 'war on terror'.

Of course, I confess that I read the chapters on "Naughty Words" and "Obscene Words" first--just to see how the author was going to handle that important subject. He does so very professionally. I was amazed that my own vocabulary was expanded. "Subagitate" is a word I have never had occasion to use, but I am happy to have it in case of emergencies.

I also recommend the short chapter "Odds and Ends" and the chapters on slang. This is a fun book for writers, teachers, lawyers and anyone to whom the use of language is important. English is now a language shared by people of many continents and countries and Julian Burnside has contributed a thought-provoking work that will enable us to watch our words more carefully.

`A bonzer (p. 288) discussion of the strange but dinkum (p. 289) pedigree (p. 224) of the naughty (p. 202), nice (p. 212), and, sometimes, obscene (p. 217) English language.'

Word Watching is a delightful collection of 48 short essays (plus an Introduction and an Afterword) on selected lexicographical examples. Some are curious, some are profound, some are funny and each of them is interesting. Words are, as Julian Burnside reminds us, a source both of pleasure and power, and can be deployed for good or for ill.

In `Doublespeak', Julian Burnside suggests that George Orwell would be disappointed to find that slick political language is as powerful now as in 1933: `it can hide shocking truth, it can deceive a nation, and it can hand electoral victory to the morally bankrupt.' And, of course, there are plenty of examples: who can forget `an incomplete success'?

There's a chapter on the lexicography of animals (`Beastly Words'). Amongst other things, I learned that venison was originally any animal hunted for meat, or the meat of any animal so caught.
You could, as I did, read this book from cover to cover delighting in his discussions of various topics including `Naughty Words', `Obscene Words', `Haitch' and `Terminal Prepositions'. I met some old friends amongst the `Collective Nouns' and met another one in the original meaning of `a bouquet of pheasants' - a group of pheasant as they break cover in front of the beaters.

Some of the essays explore curiosities in odd corners of the language; others illustrate how words can shift between languages. The language we speak continues to evolve: new words are coined; others change meaning while some slip out of common use. The use of `so' as an intensifier ( as in: `I am so not going to the party') takes some getting used to but, as Julian Burnside says, it works.

`When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.'

I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in English.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The delicious irony of the author referring to himself as an "Amatuer" is worth a chortle, because this truly fantastic book serves as a concrete validation of his prestige as a wordsmith. Julian Burnside is an admired Australian barrister and personality and this particular work of his is one of very few "can't put it down" books on this topic; rightfully claiming the opposite corner of the ring with Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue". A fantastic gift, just be sure you don't give it to that particular friend or family member who can't resist the temptation to quote sentences, paragraphs or entire chapters from a fascinating read. This is the mistake my wife made and I fear I may have spoiled her reading it herself.

A great book to have beside your favourite chair; dip in to a thoughtful and witty short-chaptered survey of a variety of words in English. As a senior teacher of High School students I thoroughly recommend it, and it will not date.