Aussie Speak

Spending a lot of time among the natives in this strange land has taught me a few things. Among them: when crossing the street always look right, left, right (or is that left, right, left...); never drink Victoria Bitter Beer; and always check your room at night for spiders that could possibly kill you in your sleep... but the one thing I am still trying to get a handle on is the Australian accent. I have been studying the language of these odd and friendly people, and though I do not have an ear for language, I have been trying to figure out why it sounds so different. I have observed a few things in my studies which people may find interest in.

Firstly, Aussies have a tendency to talk quicker than most other English speakers. You need to pay closer attention when they talk or their accent could turn into one big slur of jumbled words. Also they tend to ignore the "r's" of a word. Their cities are perfect examples of that. "Melbourne" for instance, is not pronounced as: "Mel-Born," as Americans do, they say "Mel-Bin." "Canberra" become "Can-bra" and for some reason "Cairns" become "Cans." Along the same lines, I have found that the Aussies are lazy (not in the traditional sense, but I mean lazy in speaking.) As I mentioned, they rush their speech and as a result, not everything gets properly pronounced. Even when they cannot rush a word they give a shorter word to replace it. McDonalds for instance is call "Makkers." Names get shortened as well. My friend, Lauren is named "Loz". Australia becomes "Oz," Good Day becomes "G'day," etc...

Australians have also inherited a distinctive British twang (even though they wont admit it), and a lot of their language and words are based on British English. They say words like "bloody," "bloke," "blimey," "dodgy," and other assorted words you might find in a Dickens novel. They also spell words like "colour," "tyre," "centre," etc. However, I do not want to give the example that they are not original in their own language. For more examples, I am compiling some of my favorite Aussie words and phrases into a list. Refer to the below to find out more:

Barbie - Barbecue Barney - An argument; or a fight of some sort Belt Up - Shut up; or be quiet Bodgie - An item that was not well made Bush - The back country (can also be added to other words such as "bushlawyer," "bush carpenter," "bush whacker," etc) Chalkie - Teacher Chunder - To vomit Cop Shop - Police Station Cracker - Worthless; Not worth a Cracker Crikey - General exclamation of surprise or some other emotion. Crust - Slang for money Dag - A geek or nerd; Adam is a dag and proud of it. Dekko - Look Demons - Slang for plain clothed police Digger - Slang for an Aussie soldier Drack - Ugly Fair Crack of the Whip - To act; or compete fairly Fair Dinkum - Exclamation meaning oh really; or no kidding. Fly - Try; Give it a fly. Gargle - A drink; I am going out for a gargle. Good Of' - An expression meant to agree with something that was said. Hooray - Good bye Lolly - A candy; or sweet Lollywater - A soft drink Mate - Friend Meat Axe - Crazy; He's as mad as a meat axe. Mossie - Mosquito Narked - Angry; He is narked at you. Nekkered - Tired Nong - Stupid Person Nuggety - Stocky person; or big boned person Oil - Information; Give me the oil on whats happening. Oldie - Senior citizen Onkus - Used to describe something mechanical that is not working; That toaster is onkus. Over the Fence - A person who is not reasonable Plonk - cheap wine or alcohol Pollies - A politician Prezzie - Present; or gift Pull a Swifty - Play a trick on someone Put the Bite On - Ask for money from someone Ratty - Odd

Rip - Used to describe an annoyance; Doesn't that just rip you? Ripper - Used to describe something excellent; That party was ripper. Rocking Horse Manure - A phrase used to describe something that doesn't exist, such as an unbelievable story or tale Ropeable - A person angry enough that they should be tied down. Rort - A dishonest scheme; or lie Schoolie - A school teacher Screamer - Someone who is easily drunk Serve - To tell someone off; or to yell at someone She's Apples - Everything is in order; or everything is ready to go She's Jake - Everything is fine; or everything is okay Sheila - A girl; or a woman Sherbert - Slang for beer Shrewdie - A cunning person Sickie - A day where you call out sick to work Skite - To boast Smackers - Dollars Snack - Something that is easily accomplished Snags - Sausages Snakey - Bad tempered; or not in a good mood Sook - A cry baby Sort - A girl; or a woman Spitting Chips - Being very angry Squiz - A quick look; Go take a squiz over those rocks. Stonkered - Very drunk Stoush - A fight Suss Out - To invitage a situation; or to figure something out Tee Up - Set something up Tinny - Lucky Trumps - A likeable person Turp - Liquor Uni - Slang for university Whack - A ration of something; or a share of something; I'll take a whack of those peanuts. Whinge - Complain Word - Tell; I'll go word him up on the plan. You Beaut - A exclamation of joy

All in all, the Aussies have certainly developed their unique language. I attribute it partially to the influence of Aboriginal language and names, in a similar way to how American names can be distinctly Native American in origin. As usual though I am fascinated by the way the people of this country talk. It not only manages to convey an awful lot of information but has the distinction of sounding easy going. Still it is an accent I cannot emulate, which I know will disappoint some people at home.