Do you speak the language?

Ebor Falls, New South Wales

Rosellas

One seriously sleepy koala.

I’ve been thinking (as I bump along on a GPS-guided tractor) about various blog posts that might be of interest and amusing for those reading this blog. And I came up with the obvious. It has been floating in the air around me since I arrived in this country, but I haven’t had the sense to comment on it.

English is the official language of Australia. But the language Australians speak is certainly Australian English. Let me demonstrate. This is a likely conversation:

Me: “What time is it?”

Wayne: “About smoko.”

Me: “Where should we have it?”

Wayne: “I reckon on the back of the ute.”

Me: “Let me see what you have in that esky of yours.”

Wayne: “Quit your sticky beaking.”

Translation:

Me: “What time is it?”

Wayne: “About 10:00 AM tea time.”

Me: “Where should we have it?”

Wayne: “I reckon on the back of the pickup.”

Me: “Let me see what you have in that cooler of yours.”

Wayne: “Quit looking in my stuff.”

This is a small example of Australian English. I’ve been confused, I’ve been peered at like I might be a bit slow, and I’ve been laughed at, but I think I’ve finally earned the right to write about this version of the language I claim to know so well (English teacher pride).

So for your edification and entertainment, here is a list of the words and phrases I’ve learned. Some of them are just common phrases used that I find to be hilarious coming out of grown men’s mouths. And some of them are products of the Australian impulse to shorten every word that can conceivably be shortened.

Tea: 10:00 tea, lunch, dinner (basically anything that isn’t breakfast)

Smoko: morning tea

Ute: utility vehicle, pickup

Esky: cooler

Fair dinkum: I’m serious! For real!

Rego: registration

Macko's: McDonald's

Sticky beaking: snooping

It’s no drama: It’s not a big deal.

Bikky: biscuit

Biscuit: cookie

Chip: French fry

Lollies: candy of any kind.

Paddock: pasture

Lah: short for "galah", a very simple-minded (but beautiful) bird; this word is generally directed towards a person acting stupidly.

Bogan: redneck

My word: exaggerator that emphasizes the goodness, largeness, impressiveness, etc. of something. Ex: “That was the best bikky I’ve had in a fortnight. My word!” (they also use fortnight—apparently one week isn’t an adequate enough measurement of time).

Renovation: reno (as in “home reno”)

This next part deviates a bit from conversational Australian English into the names of places in Australia. You’ll find when travelling in this country that there is a distinct line between the British influence and the Aboriginal influence. Australians are like anyone else; they’re of their country, just a much a part of it as it is a part of them. So I’d imagine they grow tired of people choosing to only comment on the “British influence” or “Aboriginal influence” when all of this melds together to create a uniquely “Australian influence”. They love their country and their land, and for this reason, they name their farms and ranches with what I can comfortably called pride and affection. These are the names included in the place where I’m working:

Kilmarnock—this is the home place and this is where I live.

Brigadoon, Nandewar, Calandar, Milchengowrie, Palara, Merrybungle (I know, right?!), Woodgrain

These are the names (and Australian modifications) of the surrounding towns:

Boggabri (Boggy), Gunnedah (Gunny), Narribri (…Narribri), Coonabarabran (Coona), Tamworth, Brisbane (Brissy, as we already know), Baan Baa, Wee Waa

There are hundreds of small towns in New South Wales and thousands of towns across this expansive country (my word!) that sound like they’ve come out of some ancient fairy tale. And there are towns like Townsville and Tamworth that reflect the culture of the colonizers.  Now I’m going to continue my string of days off due to rain and rain and rain. I think the Namoi River is going to flood. Here is a video: