Nenagh Kemp, a psychologist at the University of Tasmania, told Australian Geographic her theories behind why Australians use these shortened words so often. Her theory is that Australians use them as a way of coming across as more friendly and less pretentious.
Australians sure do like those brekkies, barbies, and mozzies. We're not talking about "actual" mozzies here. We're defo (definitely) talking about words — and Aussies can't seem to get enough of these shortened words. Some say we're lazy for clipping them.
For most Australian English speakers, the '-ie' suffix is a natural part of the language. Unlike similar diminutives in international English, for example 'birdie' or 'doggie', the '-ie' suffix in Australian English serves as a marker of informality – providing speakers with a shared code of familiarity and solidarity.
O's and Ee's – The Suffixes of Slang
Arvo: Meaning 'afternoon'. The initial arv sound in 'afternoon' is abbreviated and an 'o' is added to round off this colloquialism.
The word bogan attracts negative attention online towards Anglo-Australians, and consequently boganbroadcast is actively campaigning to reclaim the term in a positive way.
Australian slang is not dying, it's making its way up in the world.
Aussie Slang Words For Women:
Chick. Woman. Lady. Bird.
Contributor's comments: "But" at the end of a sentence is used in Sydney where it is the same as putting "but" at the beginning of a sentence. Thus "But I didn't do it!" is the same as saying "I didn't do it, but!"
People from Australia call their homeland “Oz;” a phonetic abbreviation of the country's name, which also harkens to the magical land from L. Frank Baum's fantasy tale.
Am also enjoying the abbreviate-everything Aussie slang. Exxy = expensive Dimmies = dim sum Goey = Meth/speed.
Chookas! It's a uniquely Australian expression which dancers and performers say to one another backstage just as the performance is about to begin. It loosely translates as break a leg or good luck, but the origins of the word are rarely thought about as it has passed into everyday language.
Australian English can be described as a new dialect that developed as a result of contact between people who spoke different, mutually intelligible, varieties of English. The very early form of Australian English would have been first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the early colony in Sydney.
Lippy – lipstick. Lollies – the same as lollipops.
These two words have the same meaning, with the only difference being in the places where the words are used. The term 'petrol' is used in UK, Australia, India and a few other places, while 'gasoline' or 'gas for short' is used in the United States.
'Haitch' (the thinking goes) has no place in proper Australian English: it's a feature of some varieties of Irish English, was brought to Australia by Irish Catholic educators in the mid-19th and early-20th centuries, and serves as a marker of Irish Catholic education.
Cut snake (Mad as a): this is an extremely Australian way to say that someone is very angry. Dag: another word for a nerd or geek.
In Australia, "biscuits" are what Americans call "cookies," and these traditional treats date back to World War I.
Some people in Britain and Australia refer to their main evening meal as "tea" rather than "dinner" or "supper", but generally, with the exception of Scotland and Northern England, "tea" refers to a light meal or a snack.
Residents of Victoria and South Australia call the large sized beer a “pint,” while in all other states it's called a “schooner” (pronounced “skooner”).
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”.
Oi /ɔɪ/ is an interjection used in various varieties of the English language, particularly Australian English, British English, Indian English, Irish English, New Zealand English, and South African English, as well as non-English languages such as Chinese, Tagalog, Tamil, Hindi/Urdu, Japanese, and Portuguese to get the ...
Munted (mun-ted) / Drunk.
In an interview on Triple J radio, Koby Abberton pointed out that "Bra" is a reference to the gang's suburb, Maroubra, and partly after the street slang for brother. Some members of the gang tattoo "My Brother's Keeper" across the front of their chest, "Bra Boys" and Maroubra's postcode "2035" on their backs.
Aussie Word of the Week
Unco or The Man from Unco means awkward or clumsy. Typically used by schoolkids, unco is a shortened version of uncoordinated.