Linguist Anna Wierzbicka argues that Australians' use of diminutives reflects Australian cultural values of mateship, friendliness, informality, and solidarity, while downplaying formality and avoiding bragging associated with tall poppy syndrome.
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.
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.
Australians often form nicknames for each other by abbreviating the name to a minimal amount of syllables (e.g. Michael becomes Mike). It is common for people to be given an 'Australianised' nickname that turns their name into Australian slang (e.g. Barry becomes Baz, Andy becomes Ando).
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. In the past, mate has been used to address men, but it can be gender-neutral.
When Aus or Aussie, the short form for an Australian, is pronounced for fun with a hissing sound at the end, it sounds as though the word being pronounced has the spelling Oz. Hence Australia in informal language is referred to as Oz.
The American accent is rhotic, so when a word is spelt with an "r," a "hard r" sound is used. When Americans apply their pronunciation to the Australian "no," it results in the phonetic spelling of "naur." (To an Australian, "naur" looks like it would be pronounced "naw.")
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”.
The Australian accent is non-rhotic, meaning we only pronounce the letter R when it's followed by a vowel, whereas in rhotic accents like Irish or American, it is pronounced whenever it appears.
Pommy or pom
The terms pommy, pommie, and pom used in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand usually denote a British person.
These Australianisms have been largely replaced by the international cops, coppers, pigs or bacon. However the older, more affectionate wallopers is also still used.
While the “haitch” pronunciation is often linked to Irish Catholic education in times when Australian society was divided along sectarian lines, no research has conclusively established its true history. But whatever its origins, it continues to be regarded as a marker of “lower” segments of society.
Noun. (Australia, slang) A baby.
“Bugger” is common in both Aussie and British slang, and vaguely refers to someone or something that is annoying. Calling someone a bugger can be used affectionately or derogatorily. The general expletive can be used in any situation, and roughly means,“F*** off/me” or “Well, I'll be damned!”
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”.
Australians say "cool" as "ripper" or "heaps good" in slang.
To “throw shade” means to insult or say something unkind about someone.
The Aussie accent started with kids
The parents spoke with all different kinds of English accents because they came from many places in England. But their children born in Australia formed friendship groups and started to talk in ways that were more like each other and less like their parents.
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.
Bluey is an Australian nickname for a person with red hair. As a nickname, Bluey may refer to: Frank 'Bluey' Adams (born 1935), former Australian rules football player. Derek Arnold (born 1941), New Zealand former rugby union player. David Bairstow (1951–1998), English cricketer.
The Aussie slang is the best slang. As you probably know, “Aussie” is slang for “Australian”.