Tag Archives: accents

The Soft Accent

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For the most part, when I converse with random Aussies now, I don’t get the question about where I’m from until we are well into our chat.  They have also almost all stopped suggesting “Canadian?”.  Though some still say that would have been their first guess.  In fact, when talking about my accent many people have called it a “soft accent”.  It was this “soft accent” they suggest, that made them question my origins in the first place.  I know I probably speak with a combination of lackadaisical Southern Californian and nasal New Yorker, peppered with an occasional dash of Aussie, but I’d say that the general portrait I paint with my word strokes is “American girl”.

Of course, maybe I only think my accent is so clear because it has been ringing in my own ears since I could speak.  It is certainly true that before I went to Oz, my knowledge of Australian accents didn’t go too far past G’day and crikey.  Now I can not only instantly tell the difference between a Kiwi and an Aussie (bloody big accent gap there) but I can also hear the subtle differences between certain regional accents. In fact, any accent quirks, slang or expressions are so common to me now, that I have completely forgotten to report them in my “How To Speak Australian” posts.  Though I still can’t mimic a Queenslander the way I could mimic someone from Queens.

So perhaps when people tell me that I have a “soft accent” it’s because I don’t sound like the mass media produced idea of “Amurkins”.  I am back in the states right now, and was just recently in Texas.  Now there is an accent thick with recognition.  I doubt the average Texan would be mistaken for a Canadian.  But the friendly “y’alls” are hardly representative of the entire country, just as not all Aussies go to the “dunny” (well they do, but they don’t all call it that).  Though while the Australians seem to prefer the “soft accent”, passing along that observation as if it’s a compliment, most Americans I know, love any accent that isn’t their own.  So, an occasional use of the word dunny would probably be seen as quite adorable.

Though there are still those Aussies who choose to make fun of my accent by repeating exactly what I said back to me in the worst mock of a yank they can muster.  It’s hard on the ears and brings out my NY attitude, not something I would recommend.   Personally, my ear for accents has been readjusted so many times now, that it takes a conscious effort to pick out the ones that seem out of place, unless they represent the extreme end of the accent scale.  But I won’t be mimicking, picking out or complimenting people on their “soft accents”, not only because I won’t even notice them, but also because I know that rather than being soft, that are simply average.  And I hope that in the years to come, wherever else in the world they may take me, I develop an even “softer” accent, spiced by the people and places I come in contact with.  In the meantime, I’ll get back to my reports on the quirks of Aussie language, in the hopes of sharing a little language flavor with those who cannot taste test in person.  But since I’m stateside for the moment.  I’ll end with a little . . .

Happy Holidays Y’all!

How to Speak Australian Part II

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This installment of my impromptu online class discusses some of my favorite Aussieisms (that’s a Margaretism).  A few of these have found their way into my regular vocabulary so be sure to take notes.  My accent might not confuse you but my casual SoCal drawl, occasional New Yawkese combined with a few Aussieisms just might.

whinging = whining.  I like this because it can never be confused with wining and dining, something I would never whinge about.
flat out = busy as hell.  This is a personal favorite of mine because it conjures of the image of being flattened by a steamroller, which is how being busy as hell can feel from time to time.
full on = intense, holding nothing back.  If work is full on you might feel pretty flat out, but try not to whinge about it.
rug up = layer up.  Winter is coming so I’m going to have to rug up.  Since most of the housing in Australia lacks insulation, I’m even going to have to rug up in doors.  That is something I will whinge about.
rock up = show up.  It’s pretty much the opposite of bounce, the way New Yorkers say they want to leave.  I haven’t adopted either, so I’m not likely to rock up and then bounce from anywhere.

There are also a lot of words that Aussies use in ways that Americans tend not to use them in.  I believe it was a former boss (the same one who hated the expression “no problem”) who pointed out how rude it sounded to start your statement with look or listen.  Not that I ever did that, just a lot of other people I had to listen to him complain about.  I became quite sensitive to it after that.  It does, in fact, sound like you are starting your sentence with “look, dumb ass.”  But it’s very common practice in Oz.  Not only do you hear it in interviews, on news programs and in casual conversation, but politicians also use it during debates and press conferences.  Of course, to their opponents they may very well be saying “look, dumb ass.”

Americans also tend to think that scheme means something bad.  People are always coming up with hair-brained schemes on sit-coms, which tend to go very wrong.  In the States, criminals and crooked politicians scheme.  But in Oz, a scheme is quite literally “a plan, design, or program of action to be followed.”  Thank you dictionary.com.

And for our last lesson of the day, when an American might say knock on wood and Aussie will say touch wood.  I won’t get into why that would be misunderstood.  Just know that I’ve adopted that one too, so try not to laugh when I say it.

How to Speak Australian

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Despite the fact that I’ve already posted a lot about how the Australian terminology and accents differ from ours, and there are entire books and websites dedicated to the dictionary of Australian slang, I realized that there are a lot of terms and expressions that, although common, no one seems to mention. What I often find most surprising are the expressions that seem rather colloquial but are so ingrained in the culture that they are used in what would be considered proper context, like the nightly news. For example:

Mum = Mom
Bashing = Beating
Arvo = Afternoon
Brekky = Breakfast. This is just one example of a countrywide tradition of shortening words. This includes the names of people, places and activities. Almost any word that can stand to lose a syllable, will. So I’m still not quit sure why they attach the extra “s” to “maths.”
Re = Regarding and it is pronounced as a word and not each letter. Although, I have a feeling this shortened word didn’t become common until well into our current era of texts and e-mails.

And in the tradition of shortening everything as much as it can possibly be shortened and still understood, the Aussies have taken their own expression “Good on ya” and shortened it to a sweet and simple “On ya.” I guess the extra four letters make it just too long.

“Nice day for it” is often the response you will get in polite elevator speak. “Going to the beach? Nice day for it.” Yes, it is often a nice day for most things Oz.

Don’t ask what someone thinks but rather what they reckon. Aussies will also often tell you what they reckon. “I reckon it will be a nice day for it.”

If you like something then you’re probably keen on it. “I reckon we could go out for a beer this arvo if your keen. Nice day for it.”

“Hey” can be used like the Canadian “eh” and often is intended to pressure and unspoken agreement. “That was a good movie, hey?” Although, what I find confusing about the Aussie use of this particular expression is that it’s more often associated with the Kiwi’s (which, by the way, is also an accepted news term) as is the use of expressions ending with “as” like “he was drunk as,” “she is hot as” and “that was stupid as.” Whether Aussie or Kiwi in origin, I particularly like this expression because there really isn’t a need for the comparison that might follow the “as.” The lack of words paints it’s own picture. ‘Nough said.

But the occasional use of an expression that seems to float between the countries, doesn’t stop the Aussie’s from making fun of their neighbors for their grasp of the English vowels. I would love to see what they think of a southern drawl.

My next set of travels will take me to Queensland, a state so determined to be different from the others that it doesn’t even adopt daylight savings time, and then to the heart of the country where I’m sure everything will be different. I’ve no doubt those experiences will lead me to more accents and expressions I could never have learned about from a guide book. So stay tuned for continuing installments of “How to Speak Australian.”