Australia is an English-speaking country — but, like with England, there are a lot of differences between here and there. So many, in fact, that if you hang with the locals at a pub in the outback, you won’t be totally off base if you sit for a second and wonder, “Just where the hell am I, anyway?”
Related: Lost in Translation: Whose Language Is It Anyway?
Because quite often, Australian English actually needs a translation.
For example, where you might say, “Sharon’s been working very hard, so when we gave her her birthday present she started crying. She needs to toughen up a bit.” — an Australian would translate that to: “Shazza’s been flat out like a lizard drinking. When we gave her a bidet prezzie, the sheila started crying. She needs to drink a cuppa cement.”
Confused? Don’t worry. I’m here to help so that when you take your big trip down under, you’ll fit right in! Watch the video and then, just for fun, translate your thoughts into Australian in the comments below.
So funny to hear what a typical Aussie is supposed to say……..Most Australians do not talk that way at all. Many years ago a girl or woman may have been a sheila but not any more. Flat out like a lizard drinking….. I am 53 and have never heard any Australian say that in normal conversation. Yes, a lot of Aussies do shorten words and may pronounce some words with the ending sound of ‘a’ or ‘y’ but not all of us. Language also changes depending on what state you are in or what part of the state. Country people are more likely to be ‘ocker’ in speech than those that live in cities.
Despite Aussie’s being depicted this way – I still enjoy A Broad Abroad.
thanks! and we got those straight from Aussies!