{"product_id":"rooted-an-australian-history-of-bad-language","title":"Rooted: An Australian history of bad language","description":"\u003ch3\u003eBugger, rooted, bloody oath …\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is it about Australians and swearing? We’ve got an international reputation for using bad language and letting rip with a choice swear word or two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBad language has been used in all sorts of ways in our history: to defy authority, as a form of liberation and subversion, and as a source of humour and creativity. It has also been used to oppress and punish. Revealing the fundamental tensions, conflicts, preoccupations and anxieties that have shaped our past and continue to shape our present, the story of bad language tells a unique history of Australia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eRooted\u003c\/i\u003e, Chief Editor of the Australian National Dictionary Amanda Laugesen takes us on an engrossing journey through the tumultuous history of Australia’s bad language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘\u003c\/b\u003eAustralia is built on blood, sweat and swears. Digging up the dirt, Amanda Laugesen finds out why, with flair, ferocity and other f-words.’ – David Astle\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘A colourful tour of more than two centuries of bad language that extends from the mildly offensive to the completely filthy.’ – Frank Bongiorno\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘In \u003ci\u003eRooted\u003c\/i\u003e, her appositely titled, exhaustive history of the national use of the obscene, the offensive and the ever-creative slangy, Amanda Laugesen proves that so-called “bad language” makes for some of the most inventive, descriptive and even character-defining in the world.’ – Jonathon Green\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDr Amanda Laugesen\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a historian, lexicographer and author. She is director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre at ANU and chief editor of the Australian National Dictionary: Australian words and their origins. She has published extensively on US and Australian history. Her book \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.mhnsw.au\/products\/australia-in-100-words?\" title=\"Rooted: An Australian history of bad language Amanda Laugesen\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAustralia in 100 Words\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/em\u003ewas shortlisted for the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Australian History.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmanda Laugesen\u003cbr\u003ePublished November 2026\u003cbr\u003ePaperback\u003cbr\u003e320 pages\u003cbr\u003e210mm x 135mm\u003cbr\u003eISBN \u003cspan\u003e9781761170904\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Amanda Laugesen","offer_id":60166122963025,"sku":"9781761170904","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0955\/6464\/files\/9781761170904-original.jpg?v=1787608911","url":"https:\/\/shop.mhnsw.au\/products\/rooted-an-australian-history-of-bad-language","provider":"Museums of History NSW","version":"1.0","type":"link"}