Ever since I heard I might be going to Australia, I've been looking forward to educating myself in the Australian accent. There is something appealingly amusing about that splendid dialect, and I am delighted at the prospect of being able to get myself thoroughly exposed to it (although I imagine I will form a new appreciation for the our normal accent by the time I return). It is quite intriguing also how Australians have their own words for things. Their language, called "strine," (since that is how you say Australian with a heavy accent) has a whole dictionary of its own! They have a tendency to abbreviate words and add an "o" or "ie" to the end, or also give inanimate objects a gender. Some of their words are unusual, and here are but a few of the many for you to enjoy or feel bored over, depending on how interested you are:
Arvo: afternoon
Barbie: barbecue
You beaut! or beaut: an exclamation of delight (I'm looking forward to trying to use it!)
Beg yours?: excuse me, say again?
Billy: cooking pot
Blue: fight; also a red-haired person
Bonzer: good, a good thing
Buckley's: no chance; as in "hasn't got a Buckley's"
Bunyip: Monster of Aboriginal legend; bogeyman
Chook: chicken
Chunder: vomit (I'm sure you were dying to know that one!)
Crim: criminal
Cut Lunch: sandwiches
Dag: nerd
Daggy: unattractive
Dinkum: true, honest, genuine
Fair dinkum/Dinky di: honestly, truly
Give away: to give up or resign; as in, "I used to be a garbo (a garbage collector) but I gave it away."
G'day: Hello, hi
Gutless Wonder: coward (haha)
Jackeroo: male station hand
Jilleroo: female station hand
Lollies: sweets or candy
No worries: it doesn't matter; it's okay; don't mention it (this is actually a phrase that I picked up from Andrea or Kim when we were playing volleyball:)
Thongs: flip-flops or sandals
Wacko!: exclamation of enthusiasm
Warm fuzzies: feeling of contentment
Waxhead: surfer
Yabber: to talk or chat
Well, Jackeroos and Jilleroos, I hope you're all having warm fuzzies this fine arvo now that you've read my bonzer list! Now I really am yabbering on. . .
1 comment:
I love Australlian Accents! They are my favorite I think. When I was younger I use to watch a show and the people spoke with Australlian Accents so Kim, Caitlyn and I would pretend we were the girls and we talking in Australlian Accents ALL THE TIME! It was fun. But this year for English in a skit I was in I had to do a British Accent which is a little different and I found myself slipping into Australlian sometimes;-) But I worked on my British accent more and got it pretty good (everybody was quite impressed after the skit;-) )
Wow that was a long comment!
Post a Comment