Australian
English-
First word from Australia to Britain- Kangeroo, documented
1770
To have kangaroo’s in your top paddock- you’re bonkers
Gammon- aboriginal English
Someone telling a lie- that’s gammon
Australian English is different from British and American
English in that it has a bias towards invention, deception, profanity, humour
and a classless society.
Idioms used-
·
"kangaroos loose in the top paddock"
·
"mad
as a cut snake"
·
"built like a brick shithouse"
·
A shitshow - (disaster)
·
Bee's dick of a chance (no chance)
·
Didn't come down in the last shower (clever)
·
A dog's breakfast (mess)
They all illustrate a creative application of visual imagery to a
linguistic discourse
Arvo- afternoon
In Australia, it is very common to hear words like arvo
being used instead of afternoon. Known as diminutives, they are formed by
taking the first part of a word and substituting an a,o, ie, or y sound for the
rest. In all, about 5,000 diminutives have been identified in Australian
English.
Diminutives, more informal (slang) "Australians who use
these diminutives might be trying to sound less pretentious, more casual and
more friendly than they would by using the full words."
Spelling:
In regards to spelling, Australia uses a mix of American and
British spelt words. As a general rule, words less than five letters tend to be
spelt in the British style while those over five letters are more likely to be
American. Some of the identity politics involved were illustrated in the
spelling of labour. The Australian Labor Party adopted American spelling in the
early 20th century in order to associate itself with American libertarian
ideals. While using American spelling for the Labor Party is acceptable,
British spelling for the act of labour is expected due to fears of an American
cultural colonisation of Australia. American spelling for words like
"organization" is more common than British "organisation",
probably because it makes more sense to spell a z sound with the letter z and
words over 5 letters are too complicated for some Australians to worry about
where it came from.
Grammar:
Like spelling, Australian grammar is a mix of British and
American English. In Britain, collective nouns are usually defined as plural.
For example, the British would say, "The couple are happy." American
grammar is more pattern orientated so a noun is defined as plural when it has
an s. For example, Americans would say, "The couple is happy"
(singular) but "The two cowboys are happy." In Australia, there isn’t
sufficient knowledge of grammar to reject either British or American tradition
so both have become standard as a result of American television and American
computer grammar checks mixing with traditional British instruction.
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