
Scan of the cover of the first edition of ''Let Stalk Strine'' showing a sample of Morrison's dinstinctive illustrations for the book
'Strine' was a term coined in
1964[1] and subsequently used to describe a joke or made-up "language" purportedly spoken by
Australians. The term is a
syncope, derived from a phonetic rendition of the pronunciation of the word "Australian" in an exaggerated
Broad Australian accent. It was the subject of humorous columns published in the
Sydney Morning Herald from the mid
1960s and a later series of books written by
Alastair Ardoch Morrison under the Strine
pseudonym of
Afferbeck Lauder (another syncope, for "Alphabetical Order").
[2]
Written Strine can be initially puzzling to the uninitiated, but reading it aloud can often resolve any confusion (especially for users of, or those familiar with,
Australian English). For example, "Eye-level arge play devoisters" is a Strine expression one might employ in a seafood restaurant ("I'll have a large plate of oysters").
Steve Irwin was once referred to as the person who "talked Strine like no other contemporary personality".
[1]
See also
★
Monica Dickens
External links
★
Some examples of Strine (includes audio files)
References
1. The Oxford Companion to the English Language, Oxford University Press (1992), p. 990 (ISBN 0-19-214183-X)
2. http://users.tpg.com.au/users/bev2000/strine2.htm Aussie Strine, A guide for the uninitiated
★ Lauder, Afferbeck (A, A. Morrison) ''Let Stalk Strine'', Sydney, 1965, page 9