Hey Everyone, some people have asked me what cultural differences I have noticed between Australia and the United States and what slang I have picked up on. So in an effort to respond I will periodically include stuff in my blog regarding this. For now, here is some background information and a few fun facts :)
Australia, as some of you may now has a large population of indigenous people. The indigenous settlement of Australia dates back before the British settlement and there are hundreds of different indigenous groups throughout the hinterland (or "bush", basically the more rural, non coastal land) of Australia.
Some perhaps less well known information about the settlement of Australia is the British settlement. There were various expeditions too, and sightings of Australia before Captain James Cook, on his ship the Endeavor, made first landfall in 1770. After this, the British claimed the land as their own and began to settle it, initially as prison colonies along the east coast. This was in an effort to reduce the population of Britain, but later was phased out.
As a result, Australia is a very diverse mixture of British culture, Indigenous culture, and more recently Western culture. This is evidenced in architecture, language, accent, culinary and other ways.
Now I'm sure you're all saying, "That's nice Tami, but I could have figured that out on my own. I want to know what YOU have noticed." Well, I'm going to tell you, I just wanted to give you a bit of a background that would require no research on your part.
Education
Let's start with the education system, There is Primary School, Junior High School, and High School. If you say I'm going to "school" you will, based on your age, be assumed to be in one of those three areas of schooling. By the time you are in High School you are expected to know what career you are interested in pursuing. There is no "liberal arts" you go to University to pursue a very specific degree in your field. If you don't want to have a degree requiring career, that's perfectly acceptable. At this point you are encouraged to drop out of high school and enter a trade school to learn a specific trade. If you go on to Uni, you choose a program, and then a major. For instance I would be considered to be pursuing a bachelor of social science with a major in Psychology. You go into a condensed, and intense program and at the completion of three years, you have a degree. You then choose to go on to pursue a master's or pursue a career. The students here are not referred to as freshmen, sophomores and juniors, just by their year. First year, second year, etc.
For classes, I have one lecture per week. It s two hours long and is all lecture, and only occasionally a video. In addition to the one lecture there is a Tutorial for each class. That is one hour long and consists of discussion, handouts, activities, conversation, debates, etc.
Government
Australia is a commonwealth country consisting of a Prime Minister, and elected heads of state. It is a similar system to that of Great Britain. When we visited Brisbane, I had the opportunity to tour the Parliament House of Queensland. We learned a bit about the way the system works and some of the history of Queenslands government itself.
As far as social norms, I have only noticed a few that stand out. In general Australians are more laid back than North Americans. It isn't all about going as fast as possible and getting as much done in a day that you can. They are a very socially centered culture. No matter where you are it is common that people are having a conversation around you. If you're on your way somewhere and you say hello, the other person stops, and says hello back and usually follows up with "How you going?" (A phrase equivalent to "How are you," What's up," or "How are you doing"). It's quite interesting. Also, drinking is not only ver popular here, it is the center of most or all social events. On campus events, off campus events, Holiday events, basically, Australians love to drink. If there isn't drinking at an event, there's probably an after party somewhere. There is also a big "have a go" attitude. If you've never done something or are maybe scared, or aren't so good, it's really common to "have a go" anyway. It's really encouraged and appreciated.
Now for the fun part, Aussie slang!
Me and me mates rocked up at the pub and a bloke shouted us some schooners while we watched cricket on the tellie. He was a nice Aussie bloke, but his mate was a pissed tosser so we left and had a cuppa back at someone's apartment.
TRANSLATION: My friends and I showed up at the bar and I guy bought us a round of small beers while we watched Cricket on TV. He was Australian and very nice, but his friend was a drunk loser so we left and had some tea back at someone's apartment.
haha. ok here are a few basic words for ya'll.
G'day: {Gid-DAY}--US equivalent: Hello
Mate: --US equivalent: Friend
How you going? -- US equivalent: How are you? What's up? How are you doing?
Pissed-- US equivalent: Drunk
Pissed Off-- US equivalent: Angry
No Worries: {No WAH-rees}-- US equivalent: It's OK, no problem, don't worry about it, your welcome, etc.
Aussie: Australian
Yank: American
Bloke: Man
Bum Bag: Fanny Pack..DO NOT say fanny pack. "Fanny" refers to female genitalia
And there are of course some other slang words such as "rubbish"-garbage, "boot and bonnet"-trunk and hood of a car, "Have a go"-give it a try
Another common way of referring to certain things is to add the "ie" or "y" sound to them. For instance, Breakfast becomes Brekky, High School student becomes "Schooly", Mosquito, "Mossie", Australian, "Aussie", Swim Suit, "Swimmy" etc.
And finally, Rhyming Slang. It's common for Australians to say things that rhyme with what they're actually trying to say. Examples below:
Noah's Ark-Shark
Mary Lee-Tea
Kitchen Sink-Drink
Molly the Monk-Drunk
Oxford Scholar-Dollar
Forgive and Forget-Cigarette
Captain Cook-Look
David Gower-Shower
Plates of Meat-Feet
Septic Tank-Yank
Steak and Kidney-Sydney
Apples and Pears-Stairs
Georgie Moore-Door
So there, I hope that you feel informed. If you have any specific questions just let me know! :)
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