Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
|
 Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:48 pm Post subject: Re: Australian English slang |
 |
|
| b-class rambler wrote: |
| Julius wrote: |
| BClassrambler wrote: |
| actually there are quite a few words on your list which are normally and often used in Britain |
I think there are some that became widespread in the UK due to all the aussie soaps on british TV. |
That most definitely isn't what happened with the particular words I referred to above. The likes of mate, boozer, rubbish, lollies etc have been widely used in Britain for absolutely ages and certainly since well before any Aussie soaps ever appeared on British tv (or probably even before they appeared on Aussie tv).
If anything, it would surely make sense that some of that kind of largely working-class colloquial language has travelled in the opposite direction given the predominant social class and very high number of British migrants to Australia in the early and mid 20th century.
Although a number of Aussie soaps are certainly massively popular on British tv, Aussie tv shows still make up a pretty tiny percentage overall of what British people watch on telly. So whilst I certainly wouldn't rule out some originally Australian slang having some effect on the British vernacular, I'd doubt it's happened that much and not to an extent you could describe as 'widespread'.
I do agree that it's had some effect though, particularly in developing slang already used in Britain. Very similar to Aussies, Britons also tend to like shortened versions of words with -o or -y (plural -ies) tagged on to the end of the 1st syllable to make it sound kind of affectionate. Mostly that's been done in the UK with surnames to form a nickname, like Robbo, Jacko, Jonesy etc, etc. In some parts of Britain this happened a little bit with other words too. In some parts of England you've long been able to hear people refer to getting some tinnies (cans of beer) from the offie (corner shop with a licence to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises). Perhaps the Aussie tv influence has made this happen a bit more and also helped some of the lazy slang type of words (like rellies) appear in the UK too.
Back on topic, on the usefulness of this for Korean students - keep in mind, that other than the really, really common ones, the situation they'd most likely hear this kind of slang vocabulary is when trying to make sense of what two other Australians - probably close friends - are saying to each other. We (as in 'native English speakers from areas where we use a lot of slang expressions) tend to use that kind of language mostly with people we're close to and familiar with. To someone who's obviously not a native speaker, most people will modify their language a bit.
Of course it's still useful (and probably interesting as well) to know. But I have in the past come across East Asian students going to either the UK or Australia who'd got the (perhaps unintended) impression from some teacher that they'd be woefully unprepared unless they became completely familiar with dozens of slang expressions. Deffo not saying "don't teach them that", but make sure it doesn't make them overly anxious. |
That's a good overview there. I am familiar with a lot of what you wrote above. I did teach them that Australian and American, for examples, are all different forms of English, but they all have different takes on particular words. I said that it's important for their comprehension to know some of the slang combined with some of typical way of pronouncing things. There are certain takes on words that would be useful for them to know that Australians would use regardless such as the trolley for a shopping cart, a ute for a truck, service station/servo, and tucker. Of course, an Australian may very well use food instead of tucker when dealing with a non-native speaker and use the word toilet instead of the "dunny", but if they want to fit in quickly, it would be better for them to understand what it means. People will often slow down. I did tell my students that there are enough differences to where even some native speakers of American may not understand at times, but they would understand the majority of the time and that many things are similar, just as many things are different. Would you say that's a fair assessment?
For example, if someone listened to the song "True Blue" by Williamson if he or she didn't know enough about Australian culture, he might not figure it out completely or easily.
I think it's very important for non-native speakers to understand enough of the slang that Australians would use amongst each other in order to feel connected enough to the place. If you learned French, but your French teachers didn't expose you to a decent degree of French slang, you may feel short-changed when you go to France. That's how I would feel, at least. I focus on the ones they might run into the most and use them often enough. My students can easily understand if someone says to them, "It's been yonks, mate". 
I have seen that smoko in some cases can mean a tea or coffee break.
You don't necessarily have to be a smoker to go on a smoko, though that's expected. That's more true in New Zealand than Australia, I reckon, but for construction workers in Australia it can mean a break for eating, too. Has anyone only seen smoko referring to going for a cigarette. I said to my students its mostly for going for a cigarette, but can refer to a work break.
a slang term used on building sites in Australia, meaning a morning-tea break, or a smoke break.
"we'll knock off at 11 for smoko"
"grab us some pies for smoko"
Note: Don't underestimate how differences can throw people off. Yes, people can modify their speech for foreigners, but it's not natural speech, and we all know how some Koreans when used to North Americans encounter British or Australian instructors and struggle a bit. The different kinds of English are mostly similar, but the differences could throw off learners. My goal is to have them not really thrown off much at all when they go there, but not teach them all the slang possible. That will be up to them when they get there. |
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
