Communication Modes, Australian

Abstract

This entry focuses on communication modes in standard Australian English. It explicitly excludes modes of communication that prevail in idiolects heavily influenced by another community language (of which there are many). The communication modes that stand out are not necessarily absent from other varieties of English, but may be less prominent in the latter. Only rarely are they actively discouraged in the other varieties. They may be grouped into three broad categories that overlap to some extent. One is related to the perceived directness of Australians, another one to the pervasive use of various forms of humor (even when it appears to be totally uncalled for), the third to the many faces of so‐called Australian egalitarianism.