Aussie Lingo

I started this particular blog months and months ago but never got around to finishing it. Australian English has a life of its own and although I'm attempting to make this list as inclusive as possible, I won't come near to encompassing all of the differences. Let's just jump right in, shall we? I think we'll start with the classics. Australians do in fact say:

  • g'day
  • mate
  • barbie (as in, "Let's throw a shrimp on the barbie!" Ha! The accent has begun to creep into your brain...)
  • love
  • bloke
  • blimey
  • slag
  • bloody hell
  • mum
  • shag

They also use words that we have in our vocabulary, but don't use nearly as much:

  • reckon
  • heaps (substitute for lots or many)
  • hey (they use this in the same context we use "huh" or Canadians use "eh")
  • cow (this is used as a very bad name to call someone)

I never foresaw this, but they even call two letters by different names:

  • z = zed
  • h = haych (like "h" but with an h at the beginning...kinda makes sense)

There are also the spelling differences, and I assume that these are all British spellings as well:

  • centre = center
  • organise = organize
  • kilometre = kilometer
  • colour = color
  • tonne = ton
  • defence = defense
  • benefited = benefitted
  • enrol/enrolment = enroll/enrollment
  • gaol = jail

Then there are words that took some explaining:

  • ta = thanks (I heard this word has its origins in Ireland)
  • bangers = sausage (bangers & mash are a common menu item)
  • sausage = term of endearment (my little sausage!)
  • bub, bubs and bubba = term of endearment, especially for babies
  • chockers = full (after eating a large dinner one might say, "I can't eat any more, I'm chockers.")
  • sneaky = alcoholic beverage (care to grab a sneaky after work?)
  • cluey = smart
  • fairy floss = cotton candy
  • sloppy joe = hoody
  • pigeon hole = mailbox (at work)
  • pins = legs
  • lollies = candy
  • bogan = hillbilly
  • larrikin = prankster
  • Pommie = Englishman
  • tucker = food
  • whinge = complain
  • chuffed = pleased

There are words pronounced differently:

  • banana = ba nah na (the second vowel is like the first "o" in octopus)
  • tomato = to mah to (the second vowel is like the first "o" in octopus)
  • zebra = zeb ra (the "e" sounds like "red")
  • leisure = lesure (rhymes with pleasure)
  • advertisement = adVERtisment ("VER" is the dominant syllable with an "i" like "fish"--but in true Aussie fashion, they'll often cut out the "isement" and just say "advert")

It's also safe to say that Australian English is lazy, and much of it consists of shortened words, usually suffixed with an "ie" or an "o":

  • sambo or sanger = sandwich
  • chockie = chocolate
  • footy = any variety of football
  • arvo = afternoon
  • bevvie = beverage
  • Macca's = McDonald's
  • sunnies = sunglasses
  • brekkie = breakfast
  • bikkie = biscuit (cookie)
  • chook = chicken
  • Chrissie = Christmas
  • roo = kangaroo

Some fun phrases:

  • "I don't want to piss in your pocket, but..." = I don't want to be a brown noser, but...
  • "I've gotta go see a man about a wallaby" = I have to go to the bathroom (I always wondered what that meant in Finding Nemo)
  • "...and Bob's your uncle" = ...and there you have it or voila
  • "How you going?" - this is used much more frequently than "how are you" or "how's it going"
  • "No worries" or "It's okay" = you're welcome
  • "True blue" = very Australian
  • "Fair dinkum" = true, genuine

That's all I've got for now, but watch this space. I'll update with a new list of particularly amusing additions.

Comments

Jessi said…
I must be Austrailian. I call Logan bubba.
September 11, 2009 at 8:12 AM
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