After living in Thailand for over a year, the thought of moving to Australia where everybody spoke English was refreshing. There was no need of learning a new language and no more lost-in-translation moments over simple matters. The only thing I'd have to adjust to was the Australian accent, which, compared to a British accent, was in my opinion much easier to understand.
However, within a few weeks of living Australia I realized that there were lots of new words and Australian-unique sayings that I didn't understand and had to be learned. Here is a summary of what I've learned so far about Australian English, or Aussie (pronounced Ozzie) slang.
Lazification of words
Australian slang has a lot of shortened words. The ending of words get chopped off (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot!) and a vowel or two is added to complete the word. The result is a lot of easy to say one or two syllable words. For example, even though my name is Matthew, I've been referred to as Matty or Matto. The Aussie slang for 'sunglasses' is simply 'sunnies', and a mosquito is called a 'mozzie'. I actually like this lazification of words, it just takes some time to get used to. Here is a list of more shortened words that I've used or heard so far, but I'm sure there are lots more!
Arvo - Afternoon
Barbie - Barbecue
Brekkie - Breakfast
Chokkie - Chocolate
Chrissie - Christmas
Gedday (G'Day) - Good Day, as in "Hello"
Esky - Eskimo cooler or insulated ice chest
Maccas - McDonalds Restaurant
Mozzie – Mosquito
Muso - Musician
Pressies - Presents/gifts
Roo - Kangaroo
Servo - Service/fuel station
Sickie - Sick day (from work or school)
Smoko - Smoke break
Sunnies – Sunglasses
Uni – University
Expanding my vocabulary
Based on my interactions with Brits, Australians, and Kiwis and travels through those countries, I thought I had built a decent 'non-American' English vocabulary. I knew that 'French Fries' were actually called 'chips' and that 'gasoline' was referred to as 'petrol'. However, if I was asked to 'open the bonnet on the ute' or to bring some 'snags' and 'fairy floss' to a party, I'd have no idea what was being said!
Outback - a remote, sparsely populated area
Bush - a forest or country area
Bloke - Man
Sheila - Female
Ankle biters - Children
Mate - Friend or Partner
Tucker - Food
Piss - Alcohol
Biscuit - Cookie
Dry biscuit - Cracker
Lolly - Candy (not chocolate)
Scone - Biscuit
Jam - Jelly
Jelly - Jello
Chips - French fries
Chook - chicken
Snag - Sausage
Tomato sauce - Ketchup
Entree - Appetizer
Main course - Entree
Tea - Dinner
Serviette - Napkin
Fairy floss - Cotton candy
Thongs - Cheap backless sandals/flip flops
Jumper - Sweater
Chemist - Pharmacy
Hungry Jacks - Burger King (the name was already trademarked in Australia)
Deli - Convenient store
Bottle shop - Liquor store
Ute - Pickup truck
Lorry - Big rig
Bonnet - Hood of a car
Boot - Trunk of a car
Petrol - Gas
Car park - Parking lot
Windscreen - Windshield
Lift - Elevator
Rubbish bin - Trash can
Hard Yakka - Very hard work
Knackered - Tired, worn out
Chuck - Throw
Lay-by - Lay-away (when shopping)
Tick off - Check off (like checking off items on a to-do list)
Knock off – Finish work, a counterfeit product, or to steal
Ripper – Great, fantastic
Rock up – To arrive
Stuffed – Tired
Ta - Thank you
Reckon - Think
Tuck in - Begin eating
Bloody - Very
Fair dinkum - true, real, genuine
Aussie Sayings
- The first Australian saying that I had trouble adjusting to was the greeting, "How ya going?" My first instinct was to translate the sentence to "Where are you going?", but I realized it didn't make sense. It turns out that "How ya going?" is the American equivalent to "How's it going" or "How ya doing?"
- The other saying that took adjustment was the word, "ta". After paying a restaurant bill I'd hear the waitstaff say, "ta", or if I opened a door for somebody I'd be treated to a smile and the word 'ta'. Sometimes it was pronounced short and quick, and sometimes it was a longer, "taaaa". What was this 'ta' word? To my surprise, the word 'ta' simply means 'thank you' and is also commonly used in Britain.
- Some Australians like to add the word 'as' at the end of an adjective to give the greatest emphasis of the word. Rather than saying "Today is the hottest day", an Aussie would say, "Today is hot as". At first the sentence seems incomplete. "Hot as" what? Hot as an iron or hot as a fire? But no, simply saying "Hot as" means "the hottest". For another example, "That bloke is really really funny" could be said, "That bloke is funny as". If you ask me, it's strange as!
- Another popular saying is 'Good onya' short for 'Good on you' which is a congratulatory 'Good for you'.
- One saying, or word, that started out as annoying but has since grown on me is 'reckon'. Instead of saying "What do you think" or "I think..." Aussies like to say "Whaddya reckon" and "I reckon..." In the U.S. I rarely hear the word 'reckon'. It is stereotypically associated with an uneducated southern or country person. Now I find myself saying it from time to time.
- Probably the most rare and quirky aspect of Aussie slang that I've encountered is the ending of sentences with the word 'but', 'so', or 'hey'. Below is a typical confusing exchange:
Aussie - "I went to the shop just before it closed but."
Me - "...but what?"
Aussie - "Nothing. That was it. I got to the shop before it closed."
Me - "Yeah, but you said 'but' at the end of the sentence like you were going to say something else."
Aussie - "I did? Oh, I didn't mean to."
I've only heard this done only a couple of times, but it always throws me off. Those words have no business being added on to the end of a sentence! It doesn't make any sense! Oh well. I suppose all languages and dialects have these weird quirks.
Sounding Aussie
As an English as a Second Language teacher I would be remiss if I didn't comment about pronunciation and intonation. To me the overall sound of Australian English is a slight American southern drawl with a Boston accent. The first thing that stands out is the pronunciation of most vowels. Aussies love the "oy" sound (as in "oink"), as indicated by their famous call and response chant, "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!" A word like 'tiger' is pronounced 'toy-ger'. The word 'right' is pronounced 'royt'.
The other noticeable thing done is the dropping of the "r" sound at the end of words. Similar to the accent from Boston (think Good Will Hunting), an Aussie would say, "I pahkt the cah in the Ha-vud yahd" (I parked the car in the Harvard yard). I don't mind this lazy form of pronouncing words, but it became a challenge as I was tutoring elementary school kids on why the spelling of words such as pepper, jumper, and flipper end in "-er" and not "-a".
Australian Subway Commercial - a strong Aussie accent
The only time intonation is really used in English is when expressing a question. In this case an upward (or downward) inflection is added near the end of the sentence to indicate that it's a question. For reasons unknown to me, Aussies tend to add this upward inflection to about half of their spoken sentences. This was quite confusing at first because it sounded like a question was being asked but there were no question words and the sentence was clearly a comment or statement. The official term for this is "High rising terminal" and per Wikipedia the origins of it are unknown but it is spoken in Australia, New Zealand, and the west coast of the U.S.
Australian English seems to match the general personality of Australians - fun, laid back, and with a sense of humor. It's a colorful and pleasing language to listen to and try out. It's 'no worries, mate' when it comes to Aussie slang.
Test your Australian English with these examples:
Aussie Slang
Gedday mate! How they hangin? Fair dinkum, it's a stinker eh? She'll be apples. Chuck a few extra stubbies in the esky, grab some macca's, and head off to woop woop eh?
Hello! How are you? It is Genuinely hot. It will be alright. Put some extra small bottles of beer in the portable cooler, get some food from McDonalds, and travel far away.
Aussie Slang
In the arvo last Chrissie the relos rocked up for a barbie. Macca brought the bevies, while Raylene brought the snags, a few chops, and a chook. Later, we sat around and opened the pressies and scoffed all the bickies and lollies. Dad drained all the tinnies and ate all the chockies. This caused Mum to do her block. Bummer.
Translation
In the afternoon last Christmas, the relatives came over for a BBQ. MacDonald brought the drinks, while Raylene brought the sausages, a few (beef/pork) chops, and a chicken. Later, we sat around and opened the presents and ate all the cookies and candies. Dad drank all the beer and ate all the chocolates. This made mom very mad. Doh!
