Saturday 14 May 2016

British to Australian dictionary

In my last post where I outlined the differences I've seen between Oz and England, I said that Australians speak funny. For the past month I've been living with an Australian family, and remembering to use the right word so that the kids know what I'm talking about is sometimes tricky. I've only listed words here that I've actually come across (I haven't yet heard anyone say "bonza" or "dunny").

Hello = G'day
How are you? = How are you going?
McDonald's = Macca's
Peppers = Capsicum
Aubergine = Eggplant
Flip Flops = Thongs
Shorts = Pants
Crisps = Chips
Service Station = Servo
Vehicle registration = Rego
Afternoon = Arvo
Argument = Bluey
Work Breaks = Smoko
Strimmer = Whipper Snipper
Slot/gambling machines = Pokies
To buy you a drink/round = Shout you a drink/round
Card Machine = EFTPOS
Vest = Singlet
Swimming costume/trunks = swimmers
Cooler/Cool box = Esky
Off license/alcohol store = Bottle-O
Chicken = Chook

Stroke = Pat
Masturbate = Stroke (do not get these two mixed up like I did when asking kids if they want to stroke the horse!)

You may have noticed some patterns, Australians pretty much shortern eveything, like it takes way too long to say each word. As well as differences in language, there are also many differences in the pronounciation of words, so don't be surprised if I come back to England with an Aussie accent - I've noticed myself mimicking their pronounciation just to save me getting laughed at!



1 comment:

  1. Beth you were brought up with neighbours and home and away, I would have thought you were half ossie anyway ;)

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