Prof Kate Burridge

Victoria University's 2010 Ian Gordon Fellow is among other things an expert in swearing and the linguistic taboos of the English language.

Speaking in Wellington on 7 September, Professor Kate Burridge, who is Chair of Linguistics in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University, Melbourne, will tackle the topic of swearing and taboo language in antipodean English.

She says swearing is a "particularly rich area of creativity" engaged in by ordinary New Zealand and Australian English speakers.

"Bad language has always been characterised as an earmark of Australian and New Zealand English. I'd like to ask the question how uniquely antipodean it is," she says.

Professor Burridge, who is in New Zealand for three public lectures, says she will provide an account of antipodean swearing patterns, based on examples from written and spoken data. In her other free public lectures she will discuss the French influence on English, and the ways English is changing and developing.

Her visit to Victoria University is courtesy of the Ian Gordon Fellowship, which was set up to support and promote the study of English language and linguistics at Victoria.

Professor Burridge is currently co-editor of the Australian Journal of Linguistics, as well as being a regular presenter of language segments on ABC Radio and Australian television.

She will be at Victoria between 6 and 17 September, participating in informal meetings with staff and postgraduate students, in addition to her three public lectures.

The Ian Gordon Fellowship was established through an endowed gift of $500,000 made by the late Professor Ian Gordon to the Victoria University Foundation in 2003.

Professor Gordon held the Chair of English Language and Literature at Victoria from 1936 to 1974. He was instrumental in establishing at Victoria the study of the structure, history and use of English, and the teaching of the English language. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of New Zealand from 1947 to 1952, Chair of the New Zealand Literary Fund from 1950 to 1974 and was made a CBE in 1971.

What: Frequent Coarse Language: Swearing and taboo language in antipodean English. Public Lecture by Professor Kate Burridge, 2010 Ian Gordon Fellow

Where: Student Union Memorial Theatre, Victoria University of Wellington

When: 6pm, 7 September 2010

What: The French influence on English: How different would it be if William had lost at the Battle of Hastings? Public Lecture by Professor Kate Burridge.

Where: Student Union Memorial Theatre, Victoria University of Wellington

When: 6pm, 9 September 2010

What: Blooming English 'in forme of speche is change.' Public Lecture by Professor Kate Burridge.

Where: Student Union Memorial Theatre, Victoria University of Wellington

When: 6pm, 14 September 2010