A Guide to Australian English

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Have you ever had trouble communicating with English speakers? I certainly have. I’ve had misunderstandings with British colleagues, confused my American neighbours and once listened to a Scottish man at a party for 10 minutes before identifying the language he was speaking as English. What’s perhaps unique about my situation is that I too am a native speaker of English. I speak Australian English, a dialect similar to UK English, but as my experiences show, with some significant differences to other English varieties. In this article I’d like to introduce you to some aspects of Australian English, or as we like to call it, ”Strine”.

OriginsAE

Australian English(AE) was derived from British English(BE), as the first English speakers in Australia were British convicts or government officials. However not all were from the same region and the mix of Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Northern and Southern English accents began to give rise to a new and unique sound system Anthony Burgess, the author of A Clockwork Orange memorably describes AE as ”a kind of fossilised Cockney of the Dickensian era”. Sidney J. Baker’s book The Australian Language, published in 1945,helped AE establish itself as a separate variety from BE. AE today has been influenced by successive waves of immigrants from Southern Europe and Asia and of course, American media, but in general, has developed on its own to become decidedly more than a fossilised cockney!

And now time for some Strine!

Here are some AE terms and slang that are likely to confuse anybody who has never been to Australia. A lot of these terms are linked to Australian culture and lifestyle. Where possible, I’ll give the UK/US equivalent.

Woop-woop: This can be defined as an imaginary place in the middle of nowhere, a place where many Australians dare to live. E.g.-I’m not going to John’s party, he lives in woop-woop. US/UK equivalent-Timbuktu

Goon- This is an irreverent way to describe cask wine, or bag-in-box wine, an Australian invention. Usually the cheapest variety, goon is much beloved of students.

E.g. James overdid it on the goon last night.

Goona head- Unrelated to goon, this is a NSW insult from a hybrid of English and the Aboriginal language Darkinjung. Goona or guna is Darkinjung for faeces. So ok, this means poo head. But it can be used affectionately e.g. How you going goona head?

Cobber- A mate, a friend. Allegedly from the Suffolk verb ‘to cob’, meaning to take a liking to someone. Also spelled cobba. US/UK equivalent-mate, buddy

Ocker-Uncultivated, from the country, and/or strongly Australian. E.g-That bloke’s got a really ocker accent.

Outback/bush-The two mainly used terms for describing our wild and rugged countryside. In other words, anywhere outside of cities. The outback usually refers to Central Australian desert.   E.g-Joan and Steve are going camping in the bush this weekend. Emma hates the outback-too many flies.

Two-pot screamer- A person who becomes animated on a very small amount of alcohol. Derives from the NSW word for a medium sized glass of beer ‘pot’, which by the way, in the rest of Australia is called a ‘middy’. US/UK equivalents-lightweight

Wowser-A social conservative who wants to curb hedonism such as drinking liquor and staying out late. More generally someone against social change. Reportedly from the 19th century temperance slogan ‘We only want social evils righted.’ US/UK equivalent-puritan, party pooper

Larrikin-The opposite of a wowser. A mischievous scamp with a healthy dose of scepticism for authority. Originally an insult, but has inverted its meaning to become a term of affection. US/UK equivalent-rascal, lad

Usage

A word to the wise-if you would like to try out some ‘Strine’, don’t try to use all of these words in one sentence. Strine is a subtle thing, and many have gotten it wrong before (including some former prime ministers). Start out gently, just drop a word here and there and you’ll be right.

I hope this article has helped you learn a little bit more about Australian English and can help you out, whether you want to visit out sunny country, make new Aussie friends, or just watch Neighbours. On that note, hooroo*, I’ve got to hit the road.

*See you later

 

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English#cite_note-4

http://australianenglish1.narod.ru/

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Goona%20head

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

http://www.aussie-info.com/identity/language/

By Sneha Samanta, TermCood Trainee