"Naur" is "no" spelled in an Australian accent. More accurately, it's "no" spelled in what an Australian accent sounds like to Americans.
While some Australian speakers would pronounce “no” as a diphthong, starting on “oh” as in dog and ending on “oo” as in put, others begin with an unstressed “a” (the sound at the end of the word “sofa”), then move to the “oh” and then “oo”.
This could occur because the word “no” is an example of what linguists call an open syllable, meaning it has no consonant at its close. This allows the speaker to lengthen the vowel and draw it out – a feature we love in different Australian accents!
Yeah, nah – 'yes, no' - became popular in Australia in the 90s and has continued to grow in use, both in Australia and overseas.
'Suckhole', 'get rooted', 'no wuckers' and 'we're not here to f*** spiders' are some of the more modern colourful phrases identified as uniquely Australian obscenities by the Australian National Dictionary Centre's Chief Editor, Dr Amanda Laugesen.
Yeah nah is a commonly used Australian phrase and colloquialism. The phrase yeah nah means 'no', but it allows the speaker or writer to ease into their response so as to not come across as too outspoken, or brash.
There are a few things you will notice straightway when you talk to Australians (or Aussies for short). First, they tend to add the word “aye” to many sentences – but don't worry about that, it doesn't really mean anything.
One of the first things you'll notice about Australia will no doubt be the very unique speaking habits of its people. Australians speak fast, 'chew' words and skip pronunciation of letters – combine this with their penchant for slang and abbreviations, and you have a language that's quite difficult to comprehend!
Cheeky: Used widely in Aboriginal Australia, the word cheeky isn't only used to refer to insolence but also behaviour that is dangerous. A dog prone to biting people, for example, would be described as “cheeky”.
In general, Australian slang can be divided into two popular suffixes: Ee's and O's. By adding an 'o' onto the end of most words and you are bound to sound Australian. Arvo: Meaning 'afternoon'. The initial arv sound in 'afternoon' is abbreviated and an 'o' is added to round off this colloquialism.
Yeah nah yeah = yes. No wonder you're confused! A commonly-used word here is mate, which normally means friend. But pay attention to the person's tone when they say it – sometimes, it's used in a passive-aggressive way, and it probably means the opposite of friend!
For example, instead of saying “let's have a barbeque this afternoon after the football game”, an Australian native may say “let's have a barbie this arvo after footy”. And rather than saying “Carry an umbrella” an Australian would probably say “Carry a brolly mate!”
It surely sounds strange to those who are familiar with American or British English, but it is a very common expression in Australia. G'day is a shortened form of 'Good Day' and it is the equivalent of 'Hello. ' Mate means friend or buddy and it can be used to address your friend or a total stranger.
This is probably my favorite Aussie slang word, and I catch myself throwing it around on the daily. Meaning 'sweet' or 'awesome', the 'as' is thrown up at the end of an adjective to give it emphasis. Toss up a shaka with this saying and you'll definitely be praised by the locals.
So, slang continues to flourish. It's also clear there's no sign that we're about to give up our shortenings — as seppo, firie and trackie daks attest, Australians still love abbreviations.
“Mate” is a popular word for friend. And while it's used in other English-speaking countries around the world, it has a special connection to Australia. In the past, mate has been used to address men, but it can be gender-neutral. In Australia, you'll also hear mate used in an ironic sense.
Even in formal situations, Australians tend to prefer first names. Calling someone (even your boss) 'Mister' or 'Miss', 'Sir' or 'Ma'am' can sound a bit stiff.
Let's start with the most common, most well-known, and most quintessentially Australian slang term for girls: Sheila. While everywhere else in the English-speaking world, Sheila is a specific person's name, in Australia it can be used to refer to any woman or girl.
Also in Australia, the word bloody is frequently used as a verbal hyphen, or infix, correctly called tmesis as in "fanbloodytastic". In the 1940s an Australian divorce court judge held that "the word bloody is so common in modern parlance that it is not regarded as swearing".