Believe it or not, the headline actually says … Alphabetical Order! Apparently, it is claimed that Australians, of which I am one, have a very strange vocabulary – words and phrases that are like nothing else anywhere in the world. Now I find that statement hard to believe, mainly because it’s MY language, and I am pretty sure there are similar ‘dialects’ that have developed in other languages.
Our rather ‘unique’ vocabulary was ‘introduced’ to the larger world population by the likes of Paul Hogan via the film, 'Crocodile Dundee’ and also by the late and great, Steve Irwin. Rest assured readers, not all Aussies speak that way.
There are two schools of thought as to why our vocabulary, known as ‘strine’ (shortened, mumbled form of Australian), developed the way it did.
Firstly, because of the abundance of flies and other flying insects in our country, people used to make sure they didn’t open their mouths too widely when speaking for fear of getting a mouthful of these pesky insects.
The second reason put forth, and the one I mainly agree with, is that we are a lazy bunch of humans and we couldn’t see the point in sprouting long sentences, when the message could just as easily be delivered with fewer words.
I can give you a thousand and one examples of what I mean, but best to limit it to just a few. (remember I said we are a lazy bunch? :o)
OK – there are the commonly known ones like:
sheila – a female – some say it’s a derogatory term but we don’t think so.
barbie – a barbeque – when written, we shorten it even more to BBQ
cobber – a friend
mate – also a friend
bonza – it’s great, alright, acceptable
gidday or G’day – a greeting – hello, how are you?
missus – the wife
bloke – a male
fair dinkum – truthful, the truth
We interrupt this English lesson with a little story.
This actually happened to a friend of mine when he was visiting the US.
He walked into a souvenir shop to buy some little trinket to take back to his kids when he returned home. He picked up an item, and approached the store owner and asked, “Emma Chissett?”
The store owner answered, “Sorry, there is no-one by that name working here. Can I help you with that item?”
“Yeah,” said my friend, “Emma Chissett?”
The store owner again explained that no-one by that name worked in his store, nor did he know anyone by that name. He was eyeing my friend up and down, thinking that very soon that this may turn into a robbery.
My friend on the other hand, was becoming frustrated that his simple question was getting this weird response from the store owner. It then dawned on my friend that the store owner wasn’t quite understanding what he was saying. He held up the item he wanted and said, “Dollars. How many?”
SUCCESS!
The store owner failed to ‘comprehend’ that what my friend was actually saying when he said “Emma Chissett,” was … “How much is it?”
There are many stories of confusion that have resulted as a direct consequence of Aussie’s talking quickly, in a mumbled fashion, and in a strange manner.
Now back to some more examples of our strange language.
avagudweegend – said as one word – have a good weekend
avago – participate, have a go
bewdy – beautiful, real good
strewth – god’s truth, affirmation that something is true
chunda – to vomit, throw up, purge
ocker – a crude mannered person – originated from the words ‘Australian Colonist’ referring to the British who were sent here as convicts due to the overcrowding of their penal institutions.
sickie – a day off work due to illness
yonks – a long time
As I mentioned above, there are many, many more. I hope this little ‘sample’ won’t make you think badly of us Aussies. We are a good mob, really!
