Slang, colloquialisms, or "what did you just say?"

ikar01

It can sometimes drive you crazy with the different dialects.

Question....When and how did the name for Australia become OZ?  It must have happened sometime when I was in Okinawa or not long thereafter.  I have asked some of the people I know but nobody seems to have any idea.  That's what I get for hanging around colonials I guess.

 

The reference to Oz started in the sixties if I remember correctly and came out of a radical student newsheet.

Now Bish, don't be like that. Next you'll be on about the cricket!

JohnnyK

Chicago folks have an interesting accent:

I'll meetcha inda frunchroom. (I'll meet you in the frontroom)

Howyadoin? (How are you doing?)

Gimme ma treewood. ( Give me my three wood)

I grew up in the Chicago area...but as a transplant from Cleveland, where the accent isn't quite so 'mixed' Midwestern.

The first time I had occasion to see a drop-dead, supermodel-beautiful woman...talking like 'da coach' D*ck Butkus...my mind was just sort of rudely crowbarred out of its happy place....

(Of course, I got over it.... )

And now I live in Bawl'mer...where everybody tocks normal, Hon, and we sometimes warsh our cloves in the zink...

ikar01

Question....When and how did the name for Australia become OZ?

We Aussies have a tendency to abbreviate or contract almost every other word, sometimes tacking an "o" or "a" on the end.

Eg:

Woolworths (supermarket) - Woolies
Service (gas) station - Servo
Bottle (liquor) shop - Bottlo (pronounced "bottle-oh")
McDonalds - Maccas
Afternoon - Arvo

People's names get a similar treatment
Damien - Damo
David - Davo
John (or surname Johnson) - Johnno

One thing I did find that confused American shop assistants is the typical Aussie reply to the simple "Can I help you?". If you ask an Australian "Can I help you?", they may reply No, I'm right thanks. Right about what? Well nothing really, it's simply a contraction of alright. 

And don't even attempt to understand The Difference Between ‘Yeah, Nah’ and ‘Nah, Yeah’ (lifehacker.com.au) 

Rob Gronovius

I'm from Vermont and went to college on Long Island, everyone there sounded like My Cousin Vinny and Marisa Tomei.

"Yous" short for "you guys" pronounced "use" is the New York version of "you all" or y'all.

In Chicago, "you guys" is pronounced youz. Such as, "Are youz goin' toda Jewel?" ( Are you guys going to the Jewel Food Store).  The g is always dropped in words ending in "ing". Obama does that all the time.

 Lt. Christopher Herrmann on Chicago Fire has a typical Chicago accent.

ikar01

It can sometimes drive you crazy with the different dialects.

Question....When and how did the name for Australia become OZ?  It must have happened sometime when I was in Okinawa or not long thereafter.  I have asked some of the people I know but nobody seems to have any idea.  That's what I get for hanging around colonials I guess.

 

Its more do with do how its pronounced. Aus or Aussie can sound like Oz or Ozzie. Then it get written like that.

Of course, i am sure they will tell you its because Oz is a magical place, but you can't believe a word they say.

It can sometimes drive you crazy with the different dialects.

Question....When and how did the name for Australia become OZ?  It must have happened sometime when I was in Okinawa or not long thereafter.  I have asked some of the people I know but nobody seems to have any idea.  That's what I get for hanging around colonials I guess.

I'm from Vermont and went to college on Long Island, everyone there sounded like My Cousin Vinny and Marisa Tomei.

"Yous" short for "you guys" pronounced "use" is the New York version of "you all" or y'all.

If the student was from farther east on the Island like Nassau County or Suffolk County, their accent was less pronounced than those from the border towns of Nassau County and Queens or Brooklyn.

Chicago folks have an interesting accent:

I'll meetcha inda frunchroom. (I'll meet you in the frontroom)

Howyadoin? (How are you doing?)

Gimme ma treewood. ( Give me my three wood)

HooYah Deep Sea

Speaking of 'knocking someone down', I once saw an American sailor call an Auzzie a 'POME' .  .  . for a second there I thought the OZ-man was gonna kill him. I intervened with a fresh beer and probably saved the guys life.

 

OPP's

I learned a scadinavian language, and a little Finnish.

Coloquialisms were pretty minor.

Romance language speakers from Europe will say that the idioms used in the US are really hard to deal with.

Bill

Speaking of 'knocking someone down', I once saw an American sailor call an Auzzie a 'POME' .  .  . for a second there I thought the OZ-man was gonna kill him. I intervened with a fresh beer and probably saved the guys life.

One of my brothers had a strong New England accent and i had trouble understanding him sometimes.  He had never been past N.Y.C. or Penn, until he went to college ouit in N.M.  He took care of the language barrier problem with me.  If I didn't do what he said, he would just knock me down.  

keavdog

Down south here in the states - it's like their own language.  

Yes, when I met my Kentucky wife (I am from New England), it was like she spoke her own language of Kentucky-ese. When she and her sister-in-law spoke, I could barely follow along.

A work, a Puerto Rican woman who speaks mainly Spanish could not understand one of the managers from Alabama. I would have to translate for her.

Dodgy

Incidently, we also swear a lot and probably are not the most religious mob.........

 

Amen to that

Incidently, we also swear a lot and probably are not the most religious mob.........

Bish and Hutch: much of our slang in Aussie is derived from the Brits. After all, up until the end of WWII, Britain was very much 'the mother country'. Since then the American influence has changed much. Terms like 'buddy', 'french fries', 'patio' and 'lounge room', etc have now become common place and the pre 1950's Aussie idiom has become very watered down.

The reason I use the term 'American influence' is because, since the 1950's, Australia has embraced much American culture. Supermarkets, rock'n roll, fast food, etc, were all unknown in Oz before then. What I don't understand and personally dislike intensely, is the more recent fascination of our kids with American gang culture, its violence, 'dress codes' and sub-culture. To me it is so alien to our way of life, but a lot of the kids in the cities are drinking it up.  

Real G

In Hawaii, the most commonly encountered word that trips up people from the outside is "puka".  A puka is a hole, opening, aperture.

For example "Eh, your shirt stay have one puka!  Bettah change em braddah!"

I have seen many a mainland contractor suddenly look confused when "puka" is used on the jobsite.  I don't really speak in pidgin, but "puka" is part of the local lexicon, and I do use it.

And then there is the maddening island navigation system.  We use a form of polar coordinates to give directions.  Towards the center of the island is always "mauka" (towards the mountains), towards the ocean is "makai".  On Oahu, "Ewa" is to the west, "Diamond Head" is to the east.  But it only works if you are in Honolulu. If you are in Hawaii Kai, Diamond Head is to the west!  And we use places, not roads, to give specific directions.  So if you don't know where Rainbow Drive-In is, for example, you are out of luck.  Time to hit Google Maps.

There is a book titled "Pidgin to da Max", which should help the neophyte visitor understand the local slang.  But to be honest, I have never heard of a lot of what is in there!

Ho, and I stay live here all my life!

 

Your part of the world is not alone Real G. On Norfolk Island the local speak is mainly pidgin. These people are the decendants of the Bounty mutineers and the their language is very unique.

Bish

 

 

Dodgy

I hate it when people force me to think. It hurts......

Mate I reckon it's the Brits, closely followed by the the Kiwi's and Oz. We do love our slang and it is normal practice for us to insult each other in our normal conversation, to which no one takes offence. Mind you if someone does take offence, I couldn't care less. In fact they can take the bloody gate as well....... 

 

 

 

 

 

Thats reminds me of the first time i was in Canada. We were in a bar in Jasper and the locals thought we were Australians because we called each other mate. You would have thought the Canucks would know where the Ozzies got their language from. I've always thought the candians were like us but more laid back, and the Australians were like us but with an even better sense of humour (which says a lot).

I'm sure you guys have heard of Cockney Rhyming Slang.

 

But then the French snuck into Canada for the fur trade.

Another from the South....red-up.

Southern English .  .  . a whole different ball game!!!     Once had a girl friend who commonly said "Well y'all, I might could do that."      Might could; what the heck is 'might could'?    She'd just smile .  .  .

Cadet Chuck

Not to mention "All Y'all" ......(Plural of Y'all, which is singular.)

 

lol So true!

Don't ask me, I'm from the colonies, we'all talk normal, don't y'all?

Bish

You should try a bit of Broad Norfolk Bor

I can just imagine  And real Geordie is watered down a lot these days, too.

Bish

But it was good enough for Nelson.

Aye, no argument there.

Hutch6390

 

 

Dodgy

Mate I reckon it's the Brits, closely followed by the the Kiwi's and Oz

 

 

I think I'd agree, Dodgy, although I'm not sure whether to be  or .  We have so many local accents & dialects crammed in to our small islands, influenced by so many languages, that words & phrases just get absorbed into everyday use.  New words are not a problem for me - they can enrich our language.  It's the erosion of grammar that does the damage. 

In my part of the country, the local "Geordie" dialect is almost a language unto itself.  A mix of old Scots, English, and Norse (old Scandinavian) tongues, it's practically unintelligible to outsiders, unless moderated - which can be a source of some amusement to us.  Other parts of the UK (Yorkshire, the West Country, etc.) have similar claims, and London's Cockney rhyming slang is well-known (despite the efforts of *** Van ***).

EDIT - Ah, I see the AutoProtect robot has been at work.  I meant, of course, that fine actor, Mr Richard Van Water-Restraining-Earthwork.

And yes, friendly insults are (usually!) taken in the spirit intended.

Noo haddaway wi' ya barra, an' gan canny!

 

You should try a bit of Broad Norfolk Bor, even i struggle. Real Broad Norfolk isn't as common as it used to be, it seems to have been more watered down than many other reginal dialects and its near impossable to immitate. But it was good enough for Nelson.

Dodgy

Mate I reckon it's the Brits, closely followed by the the Kiwi's and Oz

I think I'd agree, Dodgy, although I'm not sure whether to be  or .  We have so many local accents & dialects crammed in to our small islands, influenced by so many languages, that words & phrases just get absorbed into everyday use.  New words are not a problem for me - they can enrich our language.  It's the erosion of grammar that does the damage. 

In my part of the country, the local "Geordie" dialect is almost a language unto itself.  A mix of old Scots, English, and Norse (old Scandinavian) tongues, it's practically unintelligible to outsiders, unless moderated - which can be a source of some amusement to us.  Other parts of the UK (Yorkshire, the West Country, etc.) have similar claims, and London's Cockney rhyming slang is well-known (despite the efforts of *** Van ***).

EDIT - Ah, I see the AutoProtect robot has been at work.  I meant, of course, that fine actor, Mr Richard Van Water-Restraining-Earthwork.

And yes, friendly insults are (usually!) taken in the spirit intended.

Noo haddaway wi' ya barra, an' gan canny!

Dodgy

I hate it when people force me to think. It hurts......

Mate I reckon it's the Brits, closely followed by the the Kiwi's and Oz. We do love our slang and it is normal practice for us to insult each other in our normal conversation, to which no one takes offence. Mind you if someone does take offence, I couldn't care less. In fact they can take the bloody gate as well....... 

 

 

Thats reminds me of the first time i was in Canada. We were in a bar in Jasper and the locals thought we were Australians because we called each other mate. You would have thought the Canucks would know where the Ozzies got their language from. I've always thought the candians were like us but more laid back, and the Australians were like us but with an even better sense of humour (which says a lot).

I'm sure you guys have heard of Cockney Rhyming Slang.

In Hawaii, the most commonly encountered word that trips up people from the outside is "puka".  A puka is a hole, opening, aperture.

For example "Eh, your shirt stay have one puka!  Bettah change em braddah!"

I have seen many a mainland contractor suddenly look confused when "puka" is used on the jobsite.  I don't really speak in pidgin, but "puka" is part of the local lexicon, and I do use it.

And then there is the maddening island navigation system.  We use a form of polar coordinates to give directions.  Towards the center of the island is always "mauka" (towards the mountains), towards the ocean is "makai".  On Oahu, "Ewa" is to the west, "Diamond Head" is to the east.  But it only works if you are in Honolulu. If you are in Hawaii Kai, Diamond Head is to the west!  And we use places, not roads, to give specific directions.  So if you don't know where Rainbow Drive-In is, for example, you are out of luck.  Time to hit Google Maps.

There is a book titled "Pidgin to da Max", which should help the neophyte visitor understand the local slang.  But to be honest, I have never heard of a lot of what is in there!

Ho, and I stay live here all my life!