Dr. Éva Forintos: ‘Terra Australis Incognita’

On 4 September 2026, our colleague Éva Forintos gave a lecture in English entitled ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ at the László Lovassy Grammar School in Veszprém, in a class specialised in the English language taught by Ms Andrea György-Gyarmathy.

The presentation, “Terra Australis Incognita” gave a broad introduction to Australia’s geography, history, culture, institutions, wildlife, Indigenous heritage, and language. It covered national symbols and political institutions, the early European exploration and settlement of Australia, and distinctive natural features and animals. It also gave significant attention to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their traditions and relationship with the land. A later section focused on Australian English, including pronunciation, vocabulary, informal expressions and the influence of Aboriginal languages on Australian English.

The main aim of the presentation was therefore to provide a cultural and linguistic overview of Australia. It familiarized the audience not only with iconic places and national characteristics, but also with the historical and Indigenous dimensions of Australian society and with the distinctive features of Australian English.We would like to thank Lovassy László Secondary School and Andrea György-Gyarmathy for the invitation, and the students for their interest and enthusiastic participation. We are also happy to bring similar English-language cultural and linguistic programmes to other secondary schools and look forward to meeting students across the region in their own classrooms.