(Redirected from Australian words)
Spoken
Australian English is thought to be highly colloquial, possibly more so than other spoken variants. Whether this idea is true or not, a substantial number of publications aimed at giving an overview of Australian English have been published.
Many books about Australian lore have been published, beginning with
Karl Lentzner's ''Dictionary of the Slang-English of Australia and of Some Mixed Languages'' in 1892 . The first dictionary of based on historical principles that covered Australian English was
E. E. Morris's ''Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases and Usages'' (
1898).
After a long period of uninterest and/or antipathy, the first synchronic dictionaries of Australian English began to appear. In 1976 , the ''Australian Pocket
Oxford Dictionary'' was published, the first dictionary edited and published in Australia, by
Graeme Johnston. In 1981 , the more comprehensive
''Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English'' was published, after 10 years of research and planning. Updated editions have been published since and the Macquarie Dictionary is widely regarded as authoritative. Oxford University Press also publishes a range of dictionaries of Australian English, including the ''Oxford Dictionary of Australian English''.
Various publishers have also produced "phrase books" to assist visitors. These books reflect a highly exaggerated and often outdated style of Australian colloquialisms and they should partially be regarded as amusements rather than accurate usage guides.
History and origins
Australian English incorporates many terms that Australians consider to be unique to their country. One of the best-known of these is ''outback'' which means a "remote, sparsely-populated area". Many such words, phrases or usages originated with British and Irish convicts transported to Australia in 1788-1868. And many words which are still used frequently by rural Australians are also used in all or part of England, with variations in meaning. For example: a ''creek'' in Australia (as in
North America), is any "stream or small river", whereas in England it is a small watercourse flowing into the sea; ''paddock'' is the Australian word for "field", while in England it is a small enclosure for livestock, and; ''bush'' (as in North America) or ''scrub'' mean "wooded areas" or "country areas in general" in Australia, while in England, they are commonly used only in proper names (such as
Shepherd's Bush and
Wormwood Scrubs). Australian English and several British English dialects (eg.
Cockney;
Scouse;
Geordie) use the word ''mate'' to mean a close friend of the same gender (or sometimes a platonic friend of the opposite sex), rather than the conventional meaning of "a spouse", although this usage has also become common in some other varieties of English.
The origins of other terms are not as clear, or are disputed. ''Dinkum'' or ''fair dinkum'' means "true", "the truth", "speaking the truth", and related meanings, depending on context and inflection. It is often claimed that dinkum was derived from the
Cantonese (or Hokkien) ''ding kam'', meaning "top gold", during the
Australian goldrushes of the 1850s. This, however, is chronologically improbable since ''dinkum'' is first recorded in the 1890s. Scholars give greater credence to the notion that it originated with a now-extinct dialect word from the
East Midlands in England, where ''dinkum'' (or ''dincum'') meant "hard work" or "fair work", which was also the original meaning in Australian English.
[1] The derivation ''dinky-di'' means a 'true' or devoted Australian. The words ''dinkum'' or ''dinky-di'' and phrases like ''true blue'' are widely purported to be typical Australian sayings, however these sayings are more commonly used in jest or parody rather than as an authentic way of speaking.
Similarly, ''
g'day'', a stereotypical Australian greeting, is no longer synonymous with "good day" in other varieties of English (it can be used at night time) and is never used as an expression for "farewell", as "good day" is in other countries.
Words of Australian Aboriginal origin
Main articles: List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin
Some elements of
Aboriginal languages have been incorporated into Australian English, mainly as names for places, flora and fauna (for example
dingo,
kangaroo). Beyond that, few terms have been adopted into the wider language, except for some localised terms, or slang. Some examples are ''
cooee'' and ''Hard
yakka''. The former is a high-pitched call (pronounced ) which travels long distances and is used to attract attention. ''Cooee'' has also become a notional distance: ''if he's within cooee, we'll spot him''. ''Hard yakka'' means ''hard work'' and is derived from ''yakka'', from the
Yagara/
Jagara language once spoken in the
Brisbane region. Also from the Brisbane region comes the word ''bung'' meaning broken. A failed piece of equipment might be described as having ''bunged up'' or referred to as "on the bung" or "gone bung". Bung is also used to describe an individual who is pretending to be hurt; such individual is said to be "bunging it on".
Though often thought of as an Aboriginal word,
didgeridoo (a well known wooden ceremonial musical instrument) is probably an
onomatopaoeic word of Western invention. It has also been suggested that it may have an
Irish derivation.
[2]
Double names
Aboriginal place names are often doubled, such as
Wagga Wagga. The doubling typically indicates something exceptional about the place, such as a lot of water rather than just some water. The double names are usually spelled as two separate words. The twin words are usually pronounced the same, one exception being
Goonoo Goonoo. With
Kangy Angy the twin words are not quite the same, but the do at least rhyme.
Woop Woop is a fictional archetypal place.
Terms for people
Australians use a variety of colourful terms to refer to people. These terms may indicate such things as the person's ethnicity, the place where the person resides, the social status of the person, the person's behaviour, etc. Many of these words occur in other English dialects, especially
New Zealand English, whilst others are unique to Australian English.
Proper nouns
It is also common amongst Australians to shorten the names of places, people, companies, etc. Some of these terms are regional others are in relatively widespread use. Many terms derive from company or brand names others derive from rhyming slang or the use of diminutives.
Clothing
Australians use many unique terms to relate to items of clothing. Some of these terms are
regional. Many derive from company or brand names others derive from
rhyming slang.
Food and drink
Where foodstuffs are concerned, Australian English tends to be more closely related to the
British vocabulary, for example the term ''
biscuit'' has always been favoured over the
American terms ''cookie'' and ''cracker''. As had been the case with many terms, ''cookie'' is recognised by Australians, and occasionally used, especially among younger generations.
In Australia the term ''chips'' is used for what Americans call ''French Fries'', as with British English. In Australia ''chips'' is also used for what are called ''crisps'' in the UK, this second usage also being the American English term for crisps. The distinction is sometimes made through the adjective ''hot''. The term ''French Fries'' is understood and sometimes used by Australians. US restaurants such as McDonalds continue to use the term ''French Fries'' in Australia.
In a few cases such as
zucchini,
snow pea and
eggplant, Australian English uses the same terms as American English, whereas the British use the equivalent French terms ''courgette'', ''mangetout'' and ''aubergine''. This is possibly due to a fashion that emerged in mid-
19th Century Britain of adopting French nouns for foodstuffs, and hence the usage changed in Britain while the original terms were preserved in the (ex-)colonies.
There are also occasions when Australians use words or terms which are not common in other forms of English. For example, Australia uses the botanical name ''
capsicum'' for what the Americans would call (red or green)
bell peppers and the British (red or green) peppers. Perhaps this is in order to contrast table pepper (
berries of
genus ''
Piper)'' from so-called "hot peppers" (larger fruits of genus
Capsicum).
Australians use the term ''
rockmelon'' where North Americans would use the term ''
cantaloupe'', although in Victoria and Tasmania both terms are used. However, in recent times the major supermarket chain
Coles has been known to label the fruit as "Cantaloupes".
In Australian English, dried fruits are given different names according to their variety, and generally
raisins (grapes) are largest,
sultanas (grapes) are intermediate, while
currants are smallest.
In Australian English
tomato sauce is the name given to what is known as ''
ketchup'' in other dialects. However, Ketchup with its slightly sweeter taste, is still sold in many grocery stores and is common in fast found outlets such as McDonalds. Other sauces made from tomatoes are generally referred to by names related to their uses, such as
barbecue and pasta sauce.
Served coffee beverages are given unique descriptive names such as ''
flat white,'' for an
espresso with milk. Other terms include ''short black,'' (
espresso) and ''
long black,'' (espresso diluted with water, similar to an
Americano in the U.S.). Since the mid-
1980s other varieties of coffee have also become popular, although these have generally been known by names used in
North America and/or
Europe.
As in British English, the colourless, slightly lemon-flavoured, carbonated drink known in North America and elsewhere under brand names such as
Sprite and
7 Up is called ''lemonade'', while the more strongly-flavoured drink known as lemonade in North America that is typically made of lemon juice and sugar is sometimes referred to as ''lemon squash'', or sometimes ''traditional lemonade'' or ''club lemon'', particularly in carbonated form.
The carbonated drink commonly called
sarsaparilla in Australia is a type of
root beer, named after the sarsarparilla root from which root beer is made. However, the taste is quite different, to the point that they may be considered two completely different products. This may be due to a difference in the production process.
Australians also often refer to
McDonald's restaurants as ''Macca's'' as per the standard ''
Macca'' nickname for someone whose name begins with ''Mac''), to the point that the corporation itself refers to itself verbally as such in advertising (but not in writing).
Cheap, unbranded Australian wine is called "
cleanskin" wine, after the term for unbranded cattle. Cheap
cask wine is often referred to as goon, and the plastic cask is referred to as a "goon sack", "goon bag" or "goony".
A portable cooler; usually made of metal, plastic and/or polystyrene foam; is called an ''
esky''. This is a
genericised trademark from the trade name ''Esky''.
Processed pork
According to linguists, the easiest way to tell which part of Australia someone comes from is to ask them what they call bland-tasting, processed
pork, sold under various brand names in plastic-wrapped tubes. Similar products are known in other countries by names such as
baloney and in pork
luncheon meat. These are known by different names in different regions of Australia.
★ 'Belgium sausage' –
Tasmania (A beef variant is known as beef Belgium.)
★ 'Byron sausage' –
New England.
★ 'devon' –
Victoria,
New South Wales (except
Hunter Valley and New England), Tasmania,
Australian Capital Territory
★ 'empire sausage' – Hunter Valley
★ 'fritz' –
South Australia and
Broken Hill, New South Wales
★ 'German sausage' or 'pork German' – Victoria and northern Tasmania
★ 'luncheon sausage' –
Queensland
★ 'polony' –
Western Australia
★ 'round meat' –
Northern Territory
★ 'strasburg' or 'strasbourg' or 'stras' – Victoria, Tasmania (The name is used for a spicier, wider-sliced processed meat in other areas.)
★ 'wheel meat' – Tasmania
★ 'windsor sausage' – North Queensland
Beer glasses
Not only have there been a wide variety of measures in which
beer is served in
pubs in Australia, the names of these glasses differ from one area to another. However, the range of glasses has declined greatly in recent years.
Sport
To ''barrack'', invariably a sporting team (typically
rugby league or
Australian rules football), for example, in
Australian English means ''to hoot or cheer in support of something''. Identical to the US "root". (Note that the word "root" in Australia is coarse slang for sexual intercourse.) For example: "who do you barrack for?" Almost the exact opposite of the (now rare) British usage of barrack, that is to ''denigrate'': to jeer or hoot against something, such as a sporting team.
Cricket
The game of
cricket is immensely popular in Australia and has contributed slang terms to Australian English. Some of this is shared with rival cricketing nations, like the
English and the
New Zealanders.
Australians can be ''bowled over'' (taken by surprise), ''stumped'' (nonplussed) or ''clean bowled'' or alternatively ''hit for six'' (completely defeated). When answering questions, one can ''play a '' (or a '') (give a non-committal answer) or ''let that one through to the
keeper'' or ''shoulder arms'' (dodge the question), particularly if they are ''on a
sticky wicket'' (in a tight situation). The questioner in turn can ''send down'' a ''
bouncer'', a ''
googly'', a ''
flipper'' or a ''
yorker'' (difficult questions to varying degrees). Alternatively, the question could be a ''
long hop'' or a ''
dolly'' — an easy question that person being questioned can use to his or her advantage. The expression "to bat for the other side" is commonly used in respect of gay men or lesbians, and is not necessarily a pejorative. The terms "front foot" and "back foot" are also often used, in cricket indicating the batsmen's foot position, meaning to be on the offensive or defensive respectively.
Football
The word ''
football'' or its shortened form ''footy'' is used by Australians for several different codes of football or the ball used to play any of them. Australians generally fall into five camps when it comes to the use of the word:
★ In most
Australian states, ''football'' usually refers to
Australian rules football (also known simply as Australian football or ''Aussie Rules''). In these states there is little or no popular differentiation between the two kinds of rugby football.
★ In the states of
New South Wales and
Queensland, most people refer to rugby league simply as ''football'' or ''footy'' for short, or ''League'' (after the
National Rugby League governing body). Rugby union is known simply as ''rugby''. Australian rules is often known in these areas as ''AFL'' (a name which refers to the main governing body, the
Australian Football League).
★ In areas in which all three codes are popular, especially the
Australian Capital Territory, the
Northern Territory and the
Riverina (south-western NSW), ''football'' is rarely used, and ''league'', ''rugby'' and ''AFL'' (or just ''rules'') are used to avoid confusion.
★ Association football is generally known as ''soccer'' in Australia. In 2005 , the governing body changed its name to
Football Federation Australia. Some media sources (particularly in
New South Wales and
Queensland) now also refer to the game as ''football''.
★ American football, which has a relatively small following compared to the other codes, is known as ''
gridiron''.
Vehicles
Work vehicles
In Australian English the term ''
ute'', short for ''utility vehicle'', refers to a
passenger car-like vehicle with a tray back, possibly with sides, a rear gate and/or a removable cover or any small
truck. Australian-made
Holden Commodore and
Ford Falcon utes are based on family car chassis, and are normally much smaller than current North American pickup trucks. The term is generally consistent with
pickup in most countries. However, all imported pickups are also known as utes in Australia.
''
Truck'' (rather than
lorry) has been the only term for heavy goods vehicles in Australia since World War II. ''
Four-wheel drive'', which is often abbreviated in writing as ''4WD'', is the usual name for the class of vehicles known elsewhere as
SUVs, as well as utes with 4WD capability. In contrast to American English, neither utes nor passenger 4WD vehicles are usually regarded as being trucks in Australia. Four-wheel drives that are used only in the city and never for off-road driving are commonly given derogatory nicknames based on the names of wealthier suburbs of Australia's various state capital cities, the most common of these is ''Toorak Tractors'', referring to the
Melbourne suburb of
Toorak.
There are a variety of terms for large and/or
articulated trucks, depending on the type of cargo area, size/length, number of axles/wheels and so on. A single trailer articulated truck (typically with 32 wheels in Australia) is known as a ''
semi-trailer'' or ''semi'' ( not as in the USA), an articulated truck with two trailers (typically with 50 tyres) is known as a ''B-Double'' or ''Double Semi''. The largest of all articulated trucks are ''
road trains'', common on
outback highways, which have at least three
trailers and often more. In all articulated truck configurations, the powered vehicle at the front is invariably known as a prime mover.
The first known, and generally accepted "ute" appeared in approximately 1934, a locally modified derivative of a 1933 Ford "A" model designed by Lew Bandt in Geelong. This vehicle still exists! The US models, Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino owe their existence to this first Australian designed and built Ford A model variant. Not the other way around as the above article states! http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_future/Transcripts/s779287.htm
Police vehicles
The
panel vans used by
police forces are known in most parts of Australia as ''
paddywagons'' or as ''black marias'' (although this term is also used to refer to the vans used to transport prisoners between prison and courts), in accordance with international usage. However, in
Melbourne as in other parts of
Victoria they are often also called ''divvy vans'', an abbreviation of the archaic
Victoria Police jargon ''divisional van''. The staccato chant of "You're going home in the back of a divvy van" (followed by clapping) can occasionally be heard when a crowd is nearby one of these vehicles, or when a person is led away by the police at a sporting or other large event. In
Sydney, some people refer to similar vehicles as ''bull wagons'' and in the
Riverina they are known as ''bundy wagons''.
Large special purpose police vans, generally on truck chassis, which have facilities to test the blood alcohol levels of suspected drunk drivers, are known as ''booze buses''.
Military slang
The
Australian Defence Force (ADF) is made up of the
Australian Army, the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Each have their own distinct traditions but share a defence force culture. This culture includes Australian military slang. Some words, such as
digger, meaning a soldier, have become widely used by Australians in general. However, most slang used in the ADF is restricted to its personnel, or is widely understood outside Australia.
Old, declining or expired slang
Many distinctive Australian words have been driven to or near to extinction in recent decades under the homogenising influence of mass media and imported culture, because of changes in fashion, or have fallen into disuse as society changes. Those who like or use these words regret their passing but informal vocabulary is by nature ephemeral. Others who use these words do so ironically.
Rhyming slang
A common feature of traditional
Australian English was rhyming slang, based on
Cockney rhyming slang and imported by migrants from
London in the 19th century. Rhyming slang consists of taking a phrase, usually of two words, which rhymes with a commonly used word, then using the ''second'' word of the phrase to represent the word. For example "Captain Cook" rhymes with "look", so to "have a captain cook" or to "have a captain" means to "have a look".
Rhyming slang was often used to create euphemistic terms for obscene words. In recent years this feature of Australian English has declined, once again due in part to the Americanisation of popular culture, as well as the passage of time and the impermanent nature of slang.
See also
★
Australian English
★
Australian English word use
★
List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin
★
List of Australian place names of Aboriginal origin
Further reading
★ Hornadge, Bill.(1989) ''The Australian slanguage : a look at what we say and how we say it'' (foreword by
Spike Milligan}. Richmond, Vic: Mandarin ISBN 1863300104
External links
★
ABC Radio National, 1999, ''Lingua Franca'', "Australian English: Australian Identity..."
★
Australian National Dictionary Centre
★
Australian Word Map (Australian regionalisms)
★
Aussie English for beginners — the origins, meanings and a quiz to test your knowledge at the National Museum of Australia.
★
ABC National Radio, "Mate, What Next?
★
Macquarie Dictionary
★
World English Organisation
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