Last changed 25 June 2023
Patterns in grog terminology in Australian languages
David Nash
ANU, AIATSIS
Abstract
The paper surveys alcohol terminology in Australian languages,
following previous continent-wide studies of particular loan
concepts ('horse', 'musket', 'police').
The paper collates the evidence that there is no indigenous term for
a fermented beverage which is not also that of the plant from which
it was derived, and no indigenous term for a fermented beverage has
been extended to cover any introduced alcoholic drinks. A number of
terms have been borrowed from English (rum, grog). Common semantic
extentions are from indigenous terms for 'sweet', 'salty', 'sea
water', 'water', 'froth', and others; unusual ones are also
discussed.
The polysemies show areal patterns, explainable partly historically,
partly geographically. The evidence supports in part the "culture
areas" of Peterson 1976.
Peterson, Nicolas. 1976. The natural and cultural areas of
Aboriginal
Australia: a preliminary analysis of population groupings with
adaptive significance, Chapter 3, pp.50-71 in Tribes and
Boundaries, ed. by Nicolas Peterson. (Social Anthropology
Series No. 10) Canberra: AIAS / Atlantic Highlands: Humanities
Press.
Work-in-progress presented at
• International workshop on Australian Aboriginal languages,
Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, University of
Melbourne, Saturday 31 May 1997
• Central Australian Linguistics Circle (CALC), Alice Springs, 27
June 1997
• Top End Linguistic Circle (TELC), Katherine, 5 July 1997
1998
published list: an appendix (pages 5,211–215) in The grog
book: strengthening indigenous community action on alcohol by
Maggie Brady. Canberra: Dept. of Health and Family Services, 1998.
ISBN 0642367299. Selected data in 2nd edition 2005, pp.8-9.
Note also see information on 'Indigenous alchols' pp.4ff in First
taste : how indigenous Australians learned about grog by
Maggie Brady
https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/33727653
Created 6 February 2004
© 2023
David Nash
URL http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/abstracts/alcohol.html