Australia is home to a number of dangerous animal species. Crocodiles, jellyfish and sharks, venomous insects, spiders and snakes are found in many parts of the country.
It is considered impolite to ask a direct question about a person's salary or wealth. Inquiring about someone's weight or age is also highly inappropriate in many situations. Spitting in public is rude. If there is a line for something, always queue and wait for your turn.
According to John Cullen and Praveen Parboteeah “The thumbs‐up gesture means everything is going well for North Americans and many Europeans, but is a rude gesture in Australia and West Africa” (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2005, p. 498).
Australians sit in the front seat of a taxi/limousine. A single passenger sitting in the back seat is viewed as "putting on airs." Australians respect people with strong opinions, even if they don't agree.
NEVER smoke in someone's house or car without getting very clear permission first. Smoking where people are eating is illegal as is smoking in a car where there are children in the car, and it's illegal in all workplaces. With the #metoo movement sexual harassment is [FINALY] heading towards being taboo.
cocky. A small-scale farmer; (in later use often applied to) a substantial landowner or to the rural interest generally. In Australia there are a number of cockies including cow cockies, cane cockies and wheat cockies. Cocky arose in the 1870s and is an abbreviation of cockatoo farmer.
“How ya goin'?” is the ultimate Aussie greeting. If you're not from Australia, this mash-up of “How are you?” and “Where are you going?” might leave you a little perplexed. If it helps, think of how the Brits say “y'alright?” - it requires no detailed response. In fact, a simple “hey!” will suffice.
Australia is a large country, which can lead to feeling isolated. This is because the country's major cities are spread far apart, making it difficult to leave your town for a day, or even a weekend trip. If you enjoy living abroad for the travel opportunities, Australia may not be right for you.
Sydney prides itself on safety, deep culture, and friendly communities. It is considered the fifth safest city in the world and Australia's safest city. Like any other city, there is crime, just not as much. It is no secret that Sydney is a major city with a population of 5.2 million.
The crime rate in Australia is much lower than in the United States of America. As Australia ranks 47th while the USA ranks on 30th according to their crime rates.
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.
Beginning with general crime rates you can already see that the UK and Australia have little difference in their assault and murder rates. While the murder rate does spike slightly for Australians per 100,000 inhabitants, there is a drop of 0.4% of people victimised by assaults in Australia compared to the UK.
In a 1950 copy of Meanjin, Phillips used the term 'cultural cringe' to define the penchant for Australians to see their artists and writers' work as inferior to anything from overseas, Britain and the United States in particular. As a consequence, many Australians in the cultural field spent time or moved overseas.
Let's face it, most of us are suckers for a sexy accent. According to a recent survey conducted by the popular dating website MissTravel.com, over 2000 American men and women regard Australian accents as one of the sexiest in the world.
Australia and its symbols
The Australian flag has the nation's vote for being the image or symbol about which we are most proud. 95% of Australians take pride in the national flag, which is enjoying increasing popularity, with half (50%) saying that they are extremely proud.
Mate. “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.
“Swearing is not just frequent in Australia,” says Krafzik. “It's also frequent in other countries. It's that swearing seems to be found in more contexts and more situations across more social classes downunder.” Which resonates, when you stop to think about it.
G'day. One of the first things you'll hear when in Australia, is the classic “G'day, mate”, which is basically the same as saying, “good day”, or “hello”.
Humility and authenticity are strong values in Australian culture. As such, Australians are very down to earth and always mindful of not giving the impression that they think they are better than anyone else. They also tend to value sincerity, humour, informality, whilst loathing pretentiousness.
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!