Found myself at a little party in the sunshine on the weekend (that was a long time coming – Welcome Summer!) which was so pleasant.
After my Man had taken over the Barbie, true Aussie style (he is at one with a BBQ, even if it was over hot coals), we were chatting about Australian accents, and lingo.
Both of my parents are from London, and emigrated to Australia over 30 years ago, so my accent is not as strong as others. (I was stuck between a rock and a hard place as a kid trying to decide whether to call it a Duvet or a Doona…I renamed it ‘The Cover’!). We discussed how some accents are stronger than others and my awesome friend was comparing accents from Australia’s Next Top Model. She couldn’t remember for the life of her the name of the little island this twangy top model girl came from. Could it be Fraser Island? No….. Tasmania? Why yes! While it is an Island, it is also a state of Australia. We had to giggle.
I think, the way Australians speak is different to people from Jersey. We are louder (well I am…but maybe I’ll blame my Mediterranean heritage for that one), and are generally pretty honest and open, sometimes shockingly. There are also a lot of things that Aussies say, which leaves some people with a blank stare, wondering what on earth we are actually talking about (if they can keep up with the speed in which we talk).
Seeing as I’ll be blogging to a Jersey based audience, I thought I’d put some things out there now, in case you are all struggling to understand me in the future, or if you want to move there or even just visit on holiday. Get your notepads and pens out kids!
Here is a Glossary of Australian Slang (excuse daggy music).
Some of my faves (aka Favourites) include the following, and you may find them on my blog (or in real life) in the not too distant future.
- See Ya – good bye. No it doesn’t mean I will see you again necessarily. It is mostly said to friendly shop assistants, or the ending to a phone call. So Be Nice…and you may get one of these.
- Prang – A little car accident. I’m yet to have one thankfully, but I’m surprised at that fact. I’m scared of these roads.
- Thongs – they are shoes (flip-flops) NOT undies (underwear!) – Thought I’d better clarify that one as the other day Relaxy loudly requested some new thongs while we were in M&S and someone around me giggled! Yes, we were in the kids undies section, but that is not what he was on about.
- Tank Top (or Wife Beaters for the grown ups) – A t-shirt without sleeves – I will also clarify this one on Relaxy’s behalf. He was distraught at the fact that some girls at Nursery said he was wearing a vest. Vests go under your clothes in winter, and are not worn out in public as a rule. Unless you’re a Bogan.
- Postie – the postman. Isn’t it obvious!?
- Garbo – (or Garbologist) – the Rubbish Man, or dustman
- Spunky – As listed in the glossary, I will maintain is a Compliment!
- You Stinker – I use this with Relaxy if he is being cheeky and doing things he shouldn’t. If you hear someone in the street calling their child ‘stink’ (mainly because we also shorted anything) then that’s me.
- You dag – An affectionate insult 🙂
