Academics to update dictionary with Aussie food slang
Academics have put the call out for the latest and greatest Aussie food slang – including some feeds best enjoyed after a night out.
Food
Don't miss out on the headlines from Food. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A group of word experts is looking to update the dictionary with the latest and greatest Aussie food slang.
The team from ANU’s Australian National Dictionary Centre (ANDC) – responsible for editing the Australian version of the Oxford dictionary – is putting the call out for the public to submit their own favourites.
They even hope to put to bed recent controversies – like if we’re eating a parmy or a parma.
The group is primarily interested in terms which have gained popularity in recent years – like the halal snack pack (HSPs) or potato gems – rather than old favourites like snags and pavs.
ANDC director and chief editor of the Australian National Dictionary, Dr Amanda Laugesen said with the 21st century evolution of Australian culinary culture came a wide range of new words.
“There is a much wider range of food choices available now – multicultural dishes, street food, ingredients from native plants and animals. We also like our less formal ways of enjoying food, from sausage sizzles to food festivals,” Dr Laugesen said.
“All of these changes are reflected in the language we use, and we expect that there are many new Australian food-related terms that we have not recorded.
“We also welcome contributions that may not be new but you think should be recorded. “We’ve collected some older words that should have gone into the dictionary before, such as honey joy, tank loaf, bushman brownie and smiley fritz to name a few.”
Each year the ANDC runs an appeal for contributions to the Australian National Dictionary – a giant collection of Australian words and their origins.
“Contributions from the public are a very important way of alerting us to new words, or words that may have been overlooked in the past,” Dr Laugesen said.
“We look forward to seeing what we discover with this latest appeal.”
The public can share their food terms via the ANDC Word Box feature or through the ANDC contact page.
Originally published as Academics to update dictionary with Aussie food slang
Huge debate over Aussie tradition
A controversial groundswell of support is forming for this one controversial way of layering this Aussie BBQ favourite, which has snag purists disturbed.
Huge debate over Aussie tradition
A controversial groundswell of support is forming for this one controversial way of layering this Aussie BBQ favourite, which has snag purists disturbed.