Lexicographer Dianne Bardsley tells David Larsen about her love affair with words

Wellington writer and academic Dianne Bardsley.
Wellington writer & academic Dianne Bardsley


This sentence is unofficial. So, linguistically speaking, is this magazine. English, it turns out, is not an official language of New Zealand. "Perhaps surprisingly," notes Dianne Bardsley in the introduction to Book of New Zealand Words, her new lexicon of Kiwi language use, "Maori and New Zealand Sign Language are the two official languages declared for use in Parliament and the courts, with the status of English in New Zealand remaining that of a de facto official language."

 New Zealand English: a majority language so sure of itself it doesn't need legal existence? Well, she'll be right, I expect. "A common phrase that preceded 'no worries' in New Zealand; often shortened to 'she's right', and often accompanied by the term 'mate'." And, in its literal application, useful when talking language with Bardsley, a professional lexicographer who knows her stuff.

 What exactly is a lexicographer? Among other things, it's the right person to ask for a word definition: "A lexicographer is someone who compiles dictionaries, basically. It involves the study of words, but to qualify you've got to gather them into a lexicon."
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