Congratulations to Dr Bruce Moore, on his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to linguistics, to the scholarship of Australian English, to lexicography, to the history of language, and to tertiary education.

Bruce came to Queen’s from a public high school in Geelong, and like many students of that time had little idea of what study at university involved, and no idea about how the College fitted into the university. He applied to go to Queen’s because it offered a small scholarship, and he is pleased to see how the College’s scholarship system has strengthened and expanded over the years.

Bruce enjoyed the social activities of the College which became a core part of the university experience, with discussions over meals and in rooms, debates and talks in the common room, and the annual play. The College offered what he now recognises as the experience of being in an academic community. He hopes the present students continue to have this experience.

When he graduated, Bruce moved immediately into postgraduate study and university teaching. His teaching and research were in the area of Old English and Middle English language and literature, the period from Beowulf to Chaucer. In the late 1980s he shifted his research interests from medievalism to Australian English and lexicography, and was eventually appointed director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre at the Australian National University. He edited many of Oxford University Press’s Australian dictionaries (such as the Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary), produced books on various aspects of Australian English (such as Speaking Our Language: the Story of Australian English), and worked on a new edition of the Australian National Dictionary—containing the 16,000 words and phrases that make up Australian English, all illustrated by more than 120,000 quotations from Australian books, newspapers, diaries, and the like. Bruce regularly took part in radio shows discussing aspects of language in general, and Australian English in particular. 

Bruce believes the award recognises the fact that the history of Australian English, especially its words, tells us much about the development of an Australian identity, and about Australian values and attitudes.  It also recognises the importance of the Australian National Dictionary Centre at the Australian National University.