Overview
By the time they are five or six years old, children have learnt to explain, complain, admire, speculate, imagine, enquire, agree, argue and shock in their mother tongue. They can burble and coo to a baby, speak 'correctly' to their elders, and converse in the slang of their peers. Some may be fluent in more than one adult language; all but the most isolated are becoming expert in the ways their friends speak. Children's creative use of language is more than the practice of speech; it involves the imaginative exploration of ideas and images, and the marking of peer and hierarchical relationships. This book offers a rich, comprehensive sampling of the linguistic range and complexity of Australian children s colloquial words and expressions from early childhood through teenage years. It illuminates the significant but hidden subcultures of childhood, highlighting a vernacular that is always inventive, sometimes crude, and often witty and amusing.
Full Product Details
Author: Factor, June
Publisher: Melbourne University Press
Imprint: Melbourne University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.40cm
, Height: 2.70cm
, Length: 22.40cm
Weight: 0.505kg
ISBN: 9780522847901
ISBN 10: 0522847900
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 12 November 1996
Audience:
College/higher education
,
General/trade
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print
Availability: Awaiting stock
Reviews
""The text is well organized . . . it is a useful academic reference and an essential addition for any library collection. As well, it provides fascinating reading and browsing for anyone with an interest in children and the world as they see it."" ""Reading Time"""" ""This reference is sure to provide much entertainment to all who peruse it."" ""The Australian""""
This reference is sure to provide much entertainment to all who peruse it. The Australian
The text is well organized . . . it is a useful academic reference and an essential addition for any library collection. As well, it provides fascinating reading and browsing for anyone with an interest in children and the world as they see it. Reading Time This reference is sure to provide much entertainment to all who peruse it. The Australian
This reference is sure to provide much entertainment to all who peruse it. -- The Australian
Author Information
June Factor is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and the University of London and is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne. She is a well-known and highly-respected folklorist, social historian and writer, with a special interest in children's folklore and language. She is the author of the much loved children's books Far Out, Brussel Sprout!, All Right, Vegemite!, Unreal, Banana Peel!, Real Keen, Baked Bean! and Roll Over, Pavlova!. Her social history, Captain Cook Chased a Chook- Children's Folklore in Australia, was awarded the United States Opie Prize.
