And outsider looking in.

I love the etymology of words. I find it completely fascinating. I love learning how one culture has borrowed another's words or phrases, turning them into their own - and often those words are used in completely different ways.

It started when I was in college (at uni) majoring in Speech & Hearing Science. I had to take some phonetics and linguistics courses. I found it fascinating that there were always multiple explanations and disagreements regarding where words came from (their etymology) and how their use migrated from one culture or language to another.

I also love to learn how different cultures name the same thing. It really tells you something about that culture. Australians are highly imaginative, informal and - at times - just plain vulgar, so the words reflect that.

I also love having the way I see things, the way I look at the world, my perceptions - completely rocked. Debunked. It's mind-bending.

In fact, it happens all the time.
- I hear a word.
- I think it's weird or used weirdly in the sentence.
- Then I think of what I'd say or how I'd use it.
- I find that its equally weird when you actually think about it.

So I'm not here to give you a lesson in Aussie English... but to show you how I've been schooled. Slowly but surely over the last 4 months, I've been getting an education.

The basics: Cheers, Ta & That's alright

Many people say "Cheers" for "Thank you". It's more casual. And Australians are all about being casual.

Speaking of casual, Australians also use the word, "Ta" to say thank you. That's something I'd never heard before. Often I get this when I'm purchasing something. I hand over my credit card and I hear, "Ta". It's so weird b/c it's a very brief, quiet word. Ta. It's almost like nothing was said at all.

No one says "You're welcome" here. If you say "Thank you" they say, "That's alright". It's almost like your saying "Thank you" is unnecessary. "That's alright" is kinda like "No need to thank me." I don't think I have ever heard "You're welcome." And I'm starting to feel silly saying it.

Here are some examples of mind-bending vocabulary weirdness.

EXAMPLE 1:

Aussies say, "How you going? or "How are you going?"

Little weird, huh? How am I GOING?

I'm not really going.

Things...things are going well, I guess.

Hmm...So if I can say things are going well - why can't I say I am going well?

Gosh, it's so confusing.

Now think about "How are you doing?" Or "How you doing?" as we say in the U.S.

When you think about it, that's strange too. How are you DOING? What does that even mean?

I know it comes from "How do you do?" but it doesn't make much sense. "How are you?" or "How are you feeling?" makes more sense.

Do you see what I mean? Maybe not... here's a few more examples.

EXAMPLE 2:

They use the word entree for appetizer. The menu has a list of Entrees and then a list of Mains.

The first time I saw this I said, "Where are the appetizers?"

"The entrees."

"The entree is the main dish, not the appetizer."

And my dinner pal said, "Well, the appetizer does come FIRST."

Entree = French for " to enter"

Uh. Oh. Yeah, you're right....

It's actually weird (wrong) that we use entree for the "main". Techinically the entree should come FIRST.

EXAMPLE 3:

I saw a sign for"Remedial massage" and laughed. Ha. Remedial Massage. Why would anyone want a remedial massage? I want an advanced massage. A good one. Not a remedial one.

I kept seeing it. All over town.

So I looked up the definition of remedial, and it's:

-Tending to rectify or improve.
-Curative
-To REMEDY!

OHhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

That's what a remedial massage is! Interesting. I never thought of remedial as being a derivative of "remedy".

Who's right?

In fact, I think we Americans may have bastardized the word remedial. The way they use it makes much more sense.

EXAMPLE 4:

And they also think our language is weird.

I went to get my haircut and I said, "Can you cut my bangs a bit shorter?"

"I love that word," he said. "Bangs! Ha."

Um, well what do you use?

"Fringe."

FRINGE?

Well, yeah.

Hmmm. Well, I guess that's more descriptive. Where the hell did the word "bangs" come from anyway? That's weird!

I'm constantly entertained by Australian English.

Sometimes I feel like they're pulling my leg, but this is actually how they speak! The words are either shortened or just plain cute. And the slang is OUT. OF. CONTROL. And that makes it more fun.

Someone described Australian English as: a way to "convey a more full and humourous notion of all his thoughts".

Here are some examples:

Fairy floss
cotton candy

lolly
candy

ice lolly
Popsicle

eggs benny
eggs benedict

ute
pick-up truck, aka utility vehicle = ute

swimmers
bathing suit
(can also be bathers)

sunbake
sun bathing
B/c in Australia (as my friend, Jenn knows) you don't bathe in the sun - you BAKE)

Did I mention they can also be foul and informal?

Now, people don't go around saying these things all day everyday, but they are a part of the language. I've found most Australians very genteel, but this is not always the case. Mostly these kinds of things surface when 1.) they're drunk 2.) they're "takin' the piss" with their mates 3.) they're boys.

I can demonstrate the vulgarity with a few choice phrases:

"Who opened their lunch?"

Just try to guess what that means.

Take a guess. (Or as an Australian would say, "Have a think.")

[Pause] [Think] [Guess]

OK. It's a really clever (vulgar) way of saying, "Who farted?"

I mean, really.

Imaginative. Disgusting. Foul. = Australian.

"She's like a cat burying shit."

That gem of a phrase clearly means:

"She's busy."

They use the "c" word here. You all know what I mean. Americans really don't use that term - unless they really want to disparage someone (to say the least). But Australians use it to "take the piss" with their mates.

This guy explains it. And he explains Australian use of the term "Fair Dinkum". It's one of my personal favorites - and the hardest to explain in a blog post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j7DgUUV7IQ

As he says, "I had a piss up" means "My friends and I got together with my friends to get wasted." As I'm sure you can imagine, Australians have a lot of words & phrases for drinking and getting drunk. My personal favorites:

"He was off his tits"
"She was off 'er face"
"He was gooned" (a fav - comes from Goon, a cheap cask wine)

Other words for drunk (there are many - here are a few):
Pickled
Shickered
Snockered
Half-charged (moderately drunk)

Other interesting drink related terms:

"Grab a coldie"
Grab a beer

"I'd like a tinny."
I'd like a can of beer.

"They gave me a blow in the bag."
They gave me a breathalyzer.

"I grabbed a sixer."
I got us a six pack.

"I'd like a pony of Carlton Draught."
Can I have one of those small glasses of beer?
(I'd only heard this used as "pony keg", so this may be the derivation of that.)

"I had a Natty Ice."
I had a Natural Ice.
(aka I have bad taste in beer)

"I'd like a glass of cab sauv."
I'd like a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
(aka I have good taste in wine)

"The bloody coppers put me in the Drunk Tank."
That nice police person put me in the cell used for holding drunk people.
(Perhaps where we got the word "tanked" from?)

"I hit the turps."
I went on a drinking binge.
Turps = alcoholic drink

With all this talk of alcohol, you'd think Australians were a bunch of drunks. Well, I'm not sure I should disagree with that. But one thing I do know is that they are very serious about drunk driving here.


Much more so than in the U.S. (** and maybe b/c they have to be). In the States, you can blow a .08 and barely get a ticket. You may have had a few beers, but you waited a few hours before driving home.

Here it could be .05 or even .02! You may want to wait 2 days before driving home.

Also, they don't use the word drunk driving" here in Australia. They say DRINK driving. Makes sense. You should not drink & drive. Not just drunk & drive.

(** I bet if you could drive at .08 in Australia, everyone on the road would have a few beers under their belt while driving.)

And some words are just completely different. Words for things you think you actually understand. But then you don't. I asked someone once, "Do you like cantaloupe?"

"I like ROCK MELON," they said, correcting me.

Here are some others:

sultana
raisin

capsicum
bell pepper

rocket
greens (like salad greens)

bikkie
biscuit (oh, and the word biscuit is not a "buttermilk biscuit" - it's what we think of as a cookie)

chook
chicken

cuppa (Want to grab a cuppa?)
cup of tea or coffee

Fun, huh?

They also use words that have NO REMOTE RELATION to what they're describing. The only relation is that they rhyme.

They say the Australian language is used to conceal "the idea he wishes to convey from all save his own particular friends." So if you don't understand - you're not supposed to.

For example, "plate of meat" becomes "feet".

"Pass the feet."

Huh?

I had a lemon lime.
I had a good time.

I've always wondered where the word "Pom" came from. It's used to describe the English. And the English use it to describe themselves. It comes from POMEGRANATE. You know rhymes (kinda) with IMMIGRANT. They shortened it to "Pom".

Whoa.

I found an example that will makes sense to me though! This is when I get excited. How fun!

You know the phrase, "Let's get down to Brass Tacks"?

Well, that's an example of rhyming slang. It means "Let's get down to facts."

Facts
Brass Tacks

Who knew! FUN!

I'm such a word nerd!

More:

"Use your loaf and think next time."
Loaf of bread = head

"Are you tellin' porkies?"
Pork pies = lies

"He's a great china plate."
China plate = mate

It's like a riddle! I love it.

"You will have to speak up. He's a bit of a mutton."
Mutton = Mutt and Jeff
Mutt and Jeff = deaf
Mutt and Jeff = an American comic strip from 1906

How did that get to Australia, you ask?

The comic was syndicated and two Australian cricketers formed a "famous batting partnership" during the 1930s and were nicknamed "Mutt and Jeff".

Um, how CONVOLUTED is that?!?!?!

How am I supposed to understand this shit?

That's the point, right? I'm not. I'm an outsider. Here are a bunch.

The differences in how our languages were formed (American English & Aussie English) gives some clues:

American English is easy to understand. The simplicity comes from our Puritan foundations. "As religious fanatics wanting to expand their flock, puritans desired a language of persuasion." They used generic terms that everyone could understand.

This is one reason American films, TV, etc. are so popular. Everyone can understand it. If you were to import an Australian TV show, not only would you be bored beyond repair (trust me), but you'd also miss half the jokes (probably why I'm bored beyond repair).

On the other hand, Australian English was founded in the prison system. They wanted to disguise their language so that no one would know what they were saying! As a legacy, the contemporary Aussie dialect is full of invented words that make it "one of the world's most advanced English dialects."

Aussies can understand anyone - but it's hard for other English speakers to understand them! More info here.

What's also interesting to me is how language shapes a country's psychology. Slang is informal & inclusive. And in Australia, they are informal & inclusive. They call it Linguistic Determinism. Your language shapes your thoughts. But which came first? The chicken? Or the egg? At this point, it doesn't matter. It's a constant cycle.

"Slang is used to show that the speaker belongs to the same group as the listener. By constantly developing slang, Australians are constantly breaking down psychological barriers of formality and social distance. Unlike Australia most other English speaking countries fear intruding on someone's space. Instead of using slang, they use very formal English to maintain social distance."

It's a way for them to be casual, informal and to also identify you as "one of them." Or not.

This is all so interesting! It helps me to understand some things that have befuddled me over the last 4 months.

Australians are really nice people. But they're also hyper-critical. And those things have always seemed in conflict to me. Aussies are very quick to point out a problem. And when they find an issue, they harp on it. They seize it as proof that something is not right. But they don't necessarily look to solve it immediately.

Australian English's "influence upon Australian psychology is both a blessing and a curse. Breaking down formality helps assimilate diverse groups into one and so makes for a very inclusive society. It also makes Australians very critical thinkers (aka CRITICAL); with a strong ability identify problems, or tear down myths. Consequently, Australians are not as easily led as are other nationalities around the world."

Interesting!

I've learned that problem-solving is also cultural - but not to Australians - to Americans. We are problem solvers. And that can also be annoying to Australians.

For example, I had an Aussie friend tell me about an issue with her brother. She talked about it a lot. At length. It felt like for hours.

I listened.

I asked questions.

She went on.

And on.

And finally after exhausting all powers of empathy, I started offering suggestions. What if he did this? Or that?

And she got annoyed with my efforts to help her solve the problem. She told me that was very American of me. To immediately jump to solutions.

Interesting! Not good or bad. Just cultural. I immediately wanted to help her solve it. And that's part of my culture. It's amazing what you can learn about yourself - and your own culture - while you're immersing yourself in another.

I have another friend who tells me, "Just because we speak the same language (in question per the above), doesn't mean we're alike. Our cultures are very different." And I'm starting to understand. Little by little.

It's all starting to make sense. At least to me. :)