Latest news with #Webster
News18
11 hours ago
- General
- News18
ANU is moving to kill Australian National Dictionary – this is why it matters
Agency: Last Updated: Melbourne, Aug 8 (The Conversation) Bonzer. Dinkum. Troppo. We love our distinctive words and phrases. We revel in the confusion they cause outsiders. We celebrate the stories behind them. We even make up a few furphies about them. What many Australians might not know, however, is that for nearly 40 years, a dedicated team at the Australian National University (ANU) has been hard at work uncovering these past stories — real and fictional — and keeping a close eye on the new ones. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more committed group of lexical patriots. Most everything you know, want to know, or have heard about Australian words comes from the Australian National Dictionary Centre (ANDC). From media, to academics, to everyday Aussies, we all rely on these quiet patriots — even if we don't always know it. But despite this work, and the central (and government-funded) role the ANU is meant to play in Australian history and identity, the ANU leadership is killing off the ANDC. The university has stated that the decision is a necessary part of reducing operating costs. Dictionaries and our national sense of self Dictionaries help define and reflect a nation's identity. When Samuel Johnson published his famed Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, many celebrated that he and a handful of assistants accomplished in nine years what took 40 French academics half a century. Dictionaries are especially important for colonial Englishes, such as those spoken in many countries, including Australia and the United States. At first, people looked down on these Englishes. In the US, Noah Webster was derided for his suggestion that Americans should assert their linguistic independence from Britain. US periodicals were openly hostile, jeering at Webster's 'vulgar perversions" and 'illiterate and pernicious" views of language. However, when Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language came out in 1828, it established the global importance of this new English. Mark Twain soon wrote, The King's English is not the King's. It is a joint stock company, and Americans own most of the shares. Australia's colonial English got off to a slow start — dismissed as 'the base language of English thieves" and 'crude, misshapen and careless". But by the late 19th century, Australians began celebrating their distinct words, in the Bulletin, in books like Sidney Baker's 'The Australian Language", and in dictionaries such as E.E. Morris's 'Austral English". Still, many called for a truly national dictionary to capture the way Australians speak. Australian lexicographer Peter Davies wrote in 1975: Vigorous cultures demonstrate pride and interest in their own languages and literatures by building great works in their honour. Constructing working and living monuments to Aussie English Finally, in the 1980s, Australians stopped taking their linguistic cues from Britain. With the publication of the Macquarie Dictionary in 1981 and the Australian National Dictionary in 1988, the language found its local voice. However, these works differ in how they approach Australian English. The Macquarie Dictionary describes the spelling, pronunciation and definitions of English words as they are used in Australia. The Australian National Dictionary (AND) grounds our words and their meanings in their historical and cultural contexts. The AND tells us where words have come from, when they were first used and how their meanings have changed over time. In short, the AND is a living, breathing and evolving record of how language is wrapped up in who we are as Australians. As linguist Don Laycock once wrote, 'there's no other dictionary quite like this one in the world". Its pages sing of 'boundary riders, larrikins, sundowners, fizgigs, diggers and other dinkum Aussies". Sidney J. Baker argued that if the 'Australian language [was] something to be reckoned with," it was because of these iconic characters. But the dictionary's first editor, Bill Ramson, was not as romantic as Baker. Ramson wanted an academic and historical work — he left the romantic side of Australian English to the rest of us. As an academic work, or more accurately, a monument to Australian English, the AND is unparalleled. Its second edition, released in 2016, contains the history of more than 16,000 words and phrases. Moreover, the second edition did the hard yakka to acknowledge the influence of Indigenous words on our English (words like 'yakka", from the Yagara language). But the AND is more than an academic resource — its insights inform media, education and everyday life. We (the authors) write and speak widely about Australian English, with hundreds of media appearances each year, and we've both authored high school texts exploring its history and use. Howard Manns recently developed an SBS program introducing newcomers to Australian English. Crucially, the AND's research doesn't just support this work — it makes it possible. 'The most unpatriotic thing ever'? When the Australian National Dictionary was first published – by Britain's Oxford University Press – some baulked at foreign involvement. In 1983, Australian publisher Kevin Weldon even called it 'the most unpatriotic thing ever", also objecting to it being edited by a New Zealander (Bill Ramson) and an English woman (Joan Hughes). History, of course, has vindicated them — and the many others, Australian or not, who helped create this cultural landmark. But Weldon was not necessarily wrong. In the end, it seems American-style managerialism will be the death of the ANDC. Weldon surely didn't anticipate that the 'most unpatriotic thing ever" — the killing off of the AND — would be an act by Australians at the Australian National University. In a statement, the ANU told The Conversation: 'This decision reflects the need to reduce recurrent operating costs while ensuring that core academic activities are sustainably embedded within Schools and Colleges". Cutting the ANDC isn't just a short-sighted administrative decision to save a few quid. It's the wilful disregard of Australian cultural heritage and the powerful work its scholars do to help us understand the past, present and future of Australians, our English and our identities. This dictionary centre is a national asset — once it's gone, we lose a living record of our national voice. (The Conversation) SKS GSP (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 08, 2025, 13:45 IST News agency-feeds ANU is moving to kill Australian National Dictionary – this is why it matters Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Euronews
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Fake online investigations claim famous women were born male
In July, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit against US alt-right podcaster Candace Owens. The couple's lawyers accused her of being at the helm of an online crusade predicated on the assertion that she would stake "her entire professional career on the fact that Brigitte Macron is a man." Owens is accused of "relying on discredited falsehoods" and "inventing new ones", in a bid to "maximise attention and financial gain for herself", with her podcast and video series, Becoming Brigitte, having amassed millions of views. However, the false claims about Brigitte Macron first went viral in 2021. Ahead of France's 2022 presidential election, self-proclaimed journalist Natacha Rey alleged that Brigitte Macron was assigned male at birth and named Jean Michel Trogneux — which is Brigitte's brother's name — during a four-hour YouTube interview with spiritual medium Amandine Roy. However, this is not an isolated incident. Many other female public figures, such as former US First Lady Michelle Obama, New Zealand's former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and former US Vice President Kamala Harris, have also been victims of similar transphobic social media campaigns, which academics have dubbed "tranvestigations". The rise of 'tranvestigations' Transvestigations emerged on social media, particularly image-based ones such as X, Instagram and TikTok, because of individuals who seek to uncover some kind of hidden transgender identity among cisgender celebrities, according to Lexi Webster, associate professor of digital culture at the University of Southampton. Users post pictures where they examine "the size and shape of a person's shoulders, of skulls and jaws, but they also look at people's gait, as well as their genitals," Webster said, which they accompany with conspiracy theories. The fake claims about Brigitte Macron have become so widespread partly because they build on the public's perception that politicians are inherently deceitful. Other factors include "the conspiratorial element which is transphobic and is underpinned by discourses that there is some kind of trans cabal that is seeking to take power over particular industries", explained Webster. Candace Owens' preoccupation with Brigitte Macron has led other prominent figures, such as known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, to also relay the claim. "Barack Obama has been plagued with gay rumours for a long time, and this is embedded in those discourses of Michelle Obama secretly being trans, and Emmanuel Macron, who is also being discredited largely because of other elements of his relationship", Webster told EuroVerify. "Right-wing or alt-right users are fuelling these claims, but we also know many platforms are inundated with bots who construct and reconstruct discourses based on what they know works well, which creates an engagement trap as people like, comment and repost", Webster added. However, even those who reshare the content to laugh at it also help keep it alive. "The online satirical community which points out these kinds of networks of hate and reshares them to laugh at the absurdity also generates engagement", Webster said. Fake news report about Brigitte Macron emerges online Despite there being no evidence to back any of the false claims about Brigitte Macron, they have with time become increasingly bold and innovative — both in style and substance — rather than dying down. For instance, in early July, a video styled as a TV news report surfaced on social media and garnered hundreds of thousands of views every time it was reposted. The video opens with shots of a crime scene, as a narrator alleges that a surgeon named François Faivre — who had supposedly planned on revealing information about Brigitte Macron's alleged gender reassignment surgery in a tell-all interview with a French tabloid — mysteriously fell out of a window in Paris on 29 June. However, the video, just as the claim, is fake. Through a reverse image search, EuroVerify traced the opening shots of the video to AFP footage available on YouTube, which showed a crime scene in Paris back in October 2022 — so not 29 June 2025. Furthermore, the surgeon in the video claims he worked at the American Hospital in Paris. The private healthcare practice told EuroVerify it had no records of a surgeon named François Faivre. Although the face of the fake surgeon could be a real person's, he barely blinks in the video, which points to the fact that his speech has likely been AI-generated. Despite the overwhelming evidence that the story of the surgeon is fake, conspiracy theories use tactful elements which sow doubt, such as the narrator's claims that Brigitte Macron underwent gender reassignment surgery at the American Hospital in Paris. This claim is intentional and appears to play on previously established stories, given that in 2019, Brigitte Macron sued Closer magazine for invading her private life, after the publication alleged that the country's first lady underwent a three-hour plastic surgery at the American Hospital of Paris in July. "They take alleged medical evidence, for example, this person went into a hospital at this point, knowing that the person in question is not going to tell us what they were in hospital for", Webster told EuroVerify. In this case, conspiracy theorists could be taking advantage of the fact that politicians and their partners rarely address plastic surgery rumours, "in the political sphere there is also a desire not to come across as vain or shallow about appearance, beyond political appearance", added Webster. "No evidence is good enough to stop the rumour. Even if Brigitte Macron did share her birth certificate, online users could claim it has been forged or altered", said Webster. "Even if the Macrons win the defamation case against Candace Owens, I don't think there'll be any impact on the claims online."
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Snug fit: Beau signs again as 'dream' county recruit
Australia's burgeoning Test allrounder Beau Webster has been hailed as a "dream overseas recruit" as English county side Warwickshire announced they've snapped up the Tasmanian gun to enjoy a second season at Edgbaston. Webster has signed a deal to play for the Birmingham-based county from the beginning of next season until the last week of July 2026 after the club was left hugely impressed by his allround contribution this year. The man from Snug enjoyed a three-month spell in the Midlands, never looking back after top-scoring for Warwickshire with 85 on debut as his side earned a five-wicket victory against Yorkshire at Headingley. His spell helped him seal selection for Australia's World Test Championship final quest against South Africa at Lord's in June, when he also top-scored with 72 in the first innings. After playing a further three Tests for Australia in the Caribbean, scoring two half-centuries and taking five wickets, the 31-year-old returned to Edgbaston last month, scoring a half-century and an unbeaten hundred as well as taking four wickets in Warwickshire's victory over local rivals Worcestershire. In all, he amassed 361 runs at an average of 45.12 and took 16 wickets at 26.56 in the red-ball Championship, though the club will be hoping he plays some limited-overs games too next season. "Beau has been a dream overseas recruit," Warwickshire first-team coach Ian Westwood told the club website. "He is a triple-threat player of top international calibre, and we cannot wait to welcome him back next April. It's great news for the club and us as a team." Webster himself added: "I have loved my time with the Bears in 2025. "My teammates, coaching and support staff and Edgbaston facilities are absolute top tier, and it did not take me long to agree to return in 2026." Australia's burgeoning Test allrounder Beau Webster has been hailed as a "dream overseas recruit" as English county side Warwickshire announced they've snapped up the Tasmanian gun to enjoy a second season at Edgbaston. Webster has signed a deal to play for the Birmingham-based county from the beginning of next season until the last week of July 2026 after the club was left hugely impressed by his allround contribution this year. The man from Snug enjoyed a three-month spell in the Midlands, never looking back after top-scoring for Warwickshire with 85 on debut as his side earned a five-wicket victory against Yorkshire at Headingley. His spell helped him seal selection for Australia's World Test Championship final quest against South Africa at Lord's in June, when he also top-scored with 72 in the first innings. After playing a further three Tests for Australia in the Caribbean, scoring two half-centuries and taking five wickets, the 31-year-old returned to Edgbaston last month, scoring a half-century and an unbeaten hundred as well as taking four wickets in Warwickshire's victory over local rivals Worcestershire. In all, he amassed 361 runs at an average of 45.12 and took 16 wickets at 26.56 in the red-ball Championship, though the club will be hoping he plays some limited-overs games too next season. "Beau has been a dream overseas recruit," Warwickshire first-team coach Ian Westwood told the club website. "He is a triple-threat player of top international calibre, and we cannot wait to welcome him back next April. It's great news for the club and us as a team." Webster himself added: "I have loved my time with the Bears in 2025. "My teammates, coaching and support staff and Edgbaston facilities are absolute top tier, and it did not take me long to agree to return in 2026." Australia's burgeoning Test allrounder Beau Webster has been hailed as a "dream overseas recruit" as English county side Warwickshire announced they've snapped up the Tasmanian gun to enjoy a second season at Edgbaston. Webster has signed a deal to play for the Birmingham-based county from the beginning of next season until the last week of July 2026 after the club was left hugely impressed by his allround contribution this year. The man from Snug enjoyed a three-month spell in the Midlands, never looking back after top-scoring for Warwickshire with 85 on debut as his side earned a five-wicket victory against Yorkshire at Headingley. His spell helped him seal selection for Australia's World Test Championship final quest against South Africa at Lord's in June, when he also top-scored with 72 in the first innings. After playing a further three Tests for Australia in the Caribbean, scoring two half-centuries and taking five wickets, the 31-year-old returned to Edgbaston last month, scoring a half-century and an unbeaten hundred as well as taking four wickets in Warwickshire's victory over local rivals Worcestershire. In all, he amassed 361 runs at an average of 45.12 and took 16 wickets at 26.56 in the red-ball Championship, though the club will be hoping he plays some limited-overs games too next season. "Beau has been a dream overseas recruit," Warwickshire first-team coach Ian Westwood told the club website. "He is a triple-threat player of top international calibre, and we cannot wait to welcome him back next April. It's great news for the club and us as a team." Webster himself added: "I have loved my time with the Bears in 2025. "My teammates, coaching and support staff and Edgbaston facilities are absolute top tier, and it did not take me long to agree to return in 2026."
West Australian
a day ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Snug fit: Beau signs again as 'dream' county recruit
Australia's burgeoning Test allrounder Beau Webster has been hailed as a "dream overseas recruit" as English county side Warwickshire announced they've snapped up the Tasmanian gun to enjoy a second season at Edgbaston. Webster has signed a deal to play for the Birmingham-based county from the beginning of next season until the last week of July 2026 after the club was left hugely impressed by his allround contribution this year. The man from Snug enjoyed a three-month spell in the Midlands, never looking back after top-scoring for Warwickshire with 85 on debut as his side earned a five-wicket victory against Yorkshire at Headingley. His spell helped him seal selection for Australia's World Test Championship final quest against South Africa at Lord's in June, when he also top-scored with 72 in the first innings. After playing a further three Tests for Australia in the Caribbean, scoring two half-centuries and taking five wickets, the 31-year-old returned to Edgbaston last month, scoring a half-century and an unbeaten hundred as well as taking four wickets in Warwickshire's victory over local rivals Worcestershire. In all, he amassed 361 runs at an average of 45.12 and took 16 wickets at 26.56 in the red-ball Championship, though the club will be hoping he plays some limited-overs games too next season. "Beau has been a dream overseas recruit," Warwickshire first-team coach Ian Westwood told the club website. "He is a triple-threat player of top international calibre, and we cannot wait to welcome him back next April. It's great news for the club and us as a team." Webster himself added: "I have loved my time with the Bears in 2025. "My teammates, coaching and support staff and Edgbaston facilities are absolute top tier, and it did not take me long to agree to return in 2026."
Perth Now
a day ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Snug fit: Beau signs again as 'dream' county recruit
Australia's burgeoning Test allrounder Beau Webster has been hailed as a "dream overseas recruit" as English county side Warwickshire announced they've snapped up the Tasmanian gun to enjoy a second season at Edgbaston. Webster has signed a deal to play for the Birmingham-based county from the beginning of next season until the last week of July 2026 after the club was left hugely impressed by his allround contribution this year. The man from Snug enjoyed a three-month spell in the Midlands, never looking back after top-scoring for Warwickshire with 85 on debut as his side earned a five-wicket victory against Yorkshire at Headingley. His spell helped him seal selection for Australia's World Test Championship final quest against South Africa at Lord's in June, when he also top-scored with 72 in the first innings. After playing a further three Tests for Australia in the Caribbean, scoring two half-centuries and taking five wickets, the 31-year-old returned to Edgbaston last month, scoring a half-century and an unbeaten hundred as well as taking four wickets in Warwickshire's victory over local rivals Worcestershire. In all, he amassed 361 runs at an average of 45.12 and took 16 wickets at 26.56 in the red-ball Championship, though the club will be hoping he plays some limited-overs games too next season. "Beau has been a dream overseas recruit," Warwickshire first-team coach Ian Westwood told the club website. "He is a triple-threat player of top international calibre, and we cannot wait to welcome him back next April. It's great news for the club and us as a team." Webster himself added: "I have loved my time with the Bears in 2025. "My teammates, coaching and support staff and Edgbaston facilities are absolute top tier, and it did not take me long to agree to return in 2026."
