Mar 22 2008
How to speak Australian
Last year a (dismal) travel ad for Australia featured the phrase “Where the bloody hell are you?” and caused raised eyebrows and gasps of shock in other parts of the world. The respectable English claimed to be the most shocked, but not in the least surprised, for they have always known that the Australian language is low class. Put it down to our rough- as- guts past. We’ve always spoken this way.
It is said we are incorrigible swearers and profaners, and that’s perfectly understandable. fMany of us are the direct descendants of 18th Century England’s unwanted petty criminals. We’re unlikely to murder you in your sleep, but given half a chance we just may steal the blankets off your bed.
Robert McCrum, in The Story of English (3rd ed;1992) explains that ” .. Modern Australian English, famous for its air of novelty, is something of a living museum, preserving eighteenth and nineteenth century regional words from Cornwall, Wessex, the Midlands, East Anglia, Northumbria, Scotland and Ireland”.
A lot of those “regional words” are oaths and curses our great-grandparents used. Expecting us to stop using them is close to impossible, we have a poor attitude to authority, and don’t cope well with being bloody told what to bloody do.
Bloody
The term “bloody” is not swearing, it’s a perfectly reasonable everyday word used for emphasis, and colours the speech of politicians, priests and maiden aunts.
- as praise — you bloody beauty
- as enthusiastic agreement — bloody oath
- as a mundane cliche –bloody hot today. (response - too bloody right)
Bastard
Now this is a word which gets us into trouble elsewhere.
In Australia, the word “bastard” is used firstly as a synonom for the word fellow, chap, or character, (silly old bastard) and secondly as a mild oath which you may hear from those aforementioned maiden aunts when
- a bushfire destroys a lifetime of labour — what a bastard
- the insurance company shily shallies on the payment — shifty bastards
- and the government is slow to act on the matter –pack of bastards
If you shy away from bastard, substitute bugger instead (he’s a funny bugger).
That Anglo-Saxon word
Using that Anglo-Saxon word is definitely swearing. Indeed, used in adjectival form and combined with the word bastard, it is deep and committed swearing. Do not use.
Ignore the politicians and university professors who drop the word into everyday speech, stick with the euphemism and merely describe an unspeakable act as “flaming outrageous!”
If you practice a few words each day, you’ll soon end up sounding just like an Australian. Bloody oath.
Like to shout me a cold beer?
G’day mate,
I definitely like the Australian lingo.
how ya going? I am working hard to sound like an Australian some day!