The entire Australian population would be remarkable if they were judged on their linguistic skills alone. Yet this characteristic is not often identified.
All
Aussies possess the mental dexterity to write fluently in one language (basically
English with a few Americanisms thrown in) and yet speak an entirely different
language.
It
is when it comes to the spoken one that you will realize you are amongst
foreigners. This is the language increasingly referred to as 'Strine', one that
enhances English with a colour and vigour to suit the Aussie character. Just the
act of reserving Strine for conversation frees it from the risk of restrictive
definitions.
The
purpose of conversation is clearly to convey information. No Aussie is going to
see it as anything more. It is neither an art form nor an inheritance from some
classic literary past. Words can get joined together, abbreviated and even
missed out, so learning it is out of the question. It is a matter of listening
carefully. A 'coupla' samples are:
driza - it is as dry as a
jawanna - do you want a
With rhyming slang getting mixed in there as well, you will get some incomprehensible local words. On one particular surfing beach three new words were created to describe surfers from outside the district:
euros - Europeans
touros - Australians
seppos — Americans
(Americans are yanks. Yanks rhymes with tanks. The worst kind of tanks are septic tanks and seppos is short for septic tanks. It's all so logical.)
Most bastards reckon that the Aussies use swear words in every bloody sentence the buggers ever utter. This is not new. One shocked English visitor more than a hundred years ago recorded: 'Your thoroughbred gumsucker never speaks without apostrophising his oath and interlarding his diction with the crimsonest of adjectives.'
The Aussies are not subtle and neither is their
language. They will say what they mean. The problem is that the words they use
don't always mean what they say. For example:
bluey - someone who has red hair
you're orright - you are absolutely super
itsa bit warm - it is probably 120° in the water bag (water
bags are always hung in the shade)
that'd
be right -I don't believe it either.
Another
Aussie rule is: why use conventional descriptive phrases when there is a
humorous one that will do? This produces some colourful results, such as:
flat
out like a lizard drinking - doing nothing
off like a bucket of prawns in the sun - moved like
lightning
drier than a dead dingo's donger - very thirsty
wouldn't shout if a shark bit him — won 't buy a beer
The
key to picking up the meaning of Strine is to watch the face of those who are
speaking. If they are not scowling it is probable that what sounds like an
insult is in fact a compliment. This is not completely reliable though; you have
to remember that they are a far from homogeneous group of people.
It
would be a social mistake to try and speak like a local. So many intonations and
physical expressions are involved that you will not get it right. You will be
regarded as a poser - someone pretending to be other than you are - a low form
of life. As they would say, "If you're a bloody Pom, mate, at least be a
good one."
The Aussies through their language demonstrate their individuality, their vigorous character, their lack of convention and their directness. It's been said before and it's worth saying again - they're a weird mob.
THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE