Australian cultural scripts: 'bloody' revisited, Ann Guballa and Rachael Roby, Thursday 3.30pm tutorial.

‘Australian cultural
scripts, bloody revisited’
Anna Wierzbicka

• Ann Guballa
• Rachael Roby

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

‘But round the push and in the
bush
They’re not so strangely sensitive:
Unmasked and bare it riots there,
The Great Australian Adjective’

• 1890’s, The Bulletin labelled
‘bloody’ the ‘great Australian
adjective’ (Ludowyk, 2002)


‘Bloody’- the great
Australian adjective
• Why is this word signiﬁcant?
• Gives clues about changes and
continuity in Australian culture,
society, and speech, as well as
attitudes and values (Wierzbicka,
2002)


Cognitive
• ‘Pragmatics’- how speakers and
listeners interpret meanings in
particular contexts (Goddard, 1998)
• Uses ‘cultural scripts’ to explore
how meaning is applied to words,
and situations they are used in
• Common expressions contain a
‘covert richness of
meaning’ (Gadamer, 1976)


Cognitive
ethnopragmatics
• Ways of speaking reﬂect society’s
way of thinking
• Not a conscious action, but speech
reﬂects ‘patterns of thought’ (Boas,
1911)
• ‘Culture-internal
perspective’ (Goddard, 1998)


Cultural Scripts
• Built on ‘ethnography of speaking’,
which concerns the ‘situations and
uses, the patterns and functions, of
speaking as an activity in its own
right’ (Hymes, 1959)
• Adds ‘ethnography of thinking’
• Constructed theoretical framework


Cultural Scripts
• ‘Local’ conventions of discourse
• Technique for ‘articulating cultural
norms, values, and practices in
terms which are clear, precise, and
accessible to cultural insiders and to
cultural outsiders alike’ (Goddard &
Wierzbicka, 2004)


Cultural Scripts-
• Discussion
Difference between cliches and
empirical evidence
• Australian words and expressions: it
is bad to be a whinger/sook/dobber
• Understanding this depends on
reader knowledge of Australian
expressions


‘Bloody’ in Australian
discourse
• Characteristically Australian
• Linguistic hiccup? Or reﬂection of
Australian attitudes and values?
• What meaning is applied to it?


‘Bloody’ in Australian
discourse
• Are dictionary deﬁnitions accurate?
• Oxford English Dictionary,
‘restricted to the mouths of the
lowest classes’ (1989)
• Well known example- Australian
tourism ad in 2001, Lara Bingle,
‘where the bloody hell are you?’,
banned in the UK.


Recent Example
• Barnaby Joyce labelled the approval
given to foreign investors to acquire
a stake in the nation's biggest
cotton farm a ‘bloody disgrace’ (The
Australian, 12th September 2012)


Why ‘bloody’?
• Since there are a whole range of
swear words used regularly, why is
this one relevant?
• To build a synthesis, must ﬁrst start
with individual analysis.


Adjective vs adverb
• Polysemic word- multiple meanings
depending on context
• ‘Did you see that bloody try?’ OR
‘Did you see that bloody try? The
bloody ref is blind!’


“Bloody” Idiot

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ca9Y4OpmfTM


“Bloody” as a sign of truth
and sincerity
• Traditional Australian culture
value truth and sincerity
• Bloody can be used as an “intensive”
to express truthfulness and sincere
honesty


“Bloody Good”

• “Bloody” can be employed
in a positive manner
• Can add credibility to a
positive viewpoint
• Can refrain a speaker
from sounding
excessively positive
• “She is bloody talented”

“Bloody” and Cultural
Scripts
• Bloody as a sign of belonging
- When used by public, superior or
respected ﬁgures it can portray a
sense of equality and likeness with
ordinary individuals

Eminem can
bloody rhyme


“Bloody” and Cultural
Scripts Cause I look
• Bloody as a token bloody hot
of deﬁance
- Some people
tend to think that
to say “bloody” is
bad, therefore the
use of the word
can be rebellious
and deﬁant in
nature


‘Bloody’ and Cultural
Scripts
• Bloody and the cult
of the active
ﬁghting spirit
- “bloody can reﬂect
an active attitude
and assertiveness
- “You are a bloody
disgrace VS “You
are a disgrace


Scripts Bloody
Good rack

• Often the sincerity of
positive remarks are
questionable
• The use of “bloody”
counteracts this


Scripts
ody
• Sarcasm is clear, crude H a bl o
ha
and directly addresses the
respondent
• The combination of “bloody” with a
positive adjective can portray
sarcasm
• It expresses the bad feeling of a
speaker but gives him a positive
feeling in doing so

‘Bloody’ is so bloody
valuable

• It effectively expresses the speakers
feelings
• Has a multitude of different
meanings
• Provides insight into Australian
culture, attitudes and values


Forward Reading
• Hong (2008) references
Wierzbicka - “Bloody” is a
part of Australian Culture
• Integral to Australian
Discourse
• Often ill received by other
cultures
• “Bloody” is an everyday

Backward Reading

• Kidman, A 1993, ‘How to do things
with four-letter words: a study of
the semantics of swearing in
Australia’


References
• Boas, F 1911, Introduction, in Handbook of American Indian languages, Bureau of
American Indian Ethnology, vol1, pp5-83

• Goddard, C 1998, Semantic Analysis: A Practical Introduction, Oxford University
Press Inc., New York

• Goddard, C & Wierzbicka, A 2004, ‘Cultural scripts: What are they and what are they
good for?’, Intercultural Pragmatics, vol1, iss2, pp153-166

• Hong, M, 2008, ‘Bloody hell and (im)politeness in Australian English’, Griffith
Working Papers in Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication, vol. 1, no.1, pp
33-39

• Kidman, A 1993, ‘How to do things with four-letter words: a study of the semantics
of swearing in Australia’, accessed 18/9/12, http://www.gusworld.com.au/nrc/
thesis/ch-1.htm#1.6

• Ludowyk, F 2002, ‘The Anatomy of Swearing’, accessed 14/9/12, http://
andc.anu.edu.au/ozwords/April%202001/Swearing.html

• The Australian, 2012,

• Wierzbicka, A 2002, ‘Australian cultural scripts- bloody revisited’, Journal of
Pragmatics, v34, pp1167-1209


Australian cultural scripts: 'bloody' revisited, Ann Guballa and Rachael Roby, Thursday 3.30pm tutorial.

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Australian cultural scripts: 'bloody' revisited, Ann Guballa and Rachael Roby, Thursday 3.30pm tutorial.