Language

Style of language

The short story “The Drover’s Wife” by Henry Lawson is written in a neutral style. The narration does not use abbreviations or contractions, and slang is used only in dialogue, but the vocabulary is not very advanced, using common words and phrases. For instance: “She gets two small dishes of milk and sets them down near the wall to tempt it to come out; but an hour goes by and it does not show itself. It is near sunset” (p. 1, ll. 26-28). 

There are many words of Australian English in the text. For instance, “drover” , “bushwoman” , “swagman” . These terms make the story sound more authentic and give it a local flavor. 

The children’s way of talking is rendered using incorrect language and particular spelling, which points to their specific accents. The children also use slang curse words such as “blinded” (p. 2, l. 4) and “ ‘blanky’” (p. 2, l. 16). The children’s way of speech adds ...