This post is frightfully overdue. I will do much better at keeping up with updates, I really will. This was meant to conclude my three months in Australia, which actually ended about a month ago. While I was over there I kept a log of all the bizarre words they used! Okay, I'm kidding. To them, some of our vernacular is weird too. There are also a lot of pronunciation differences, but this list is for different words we use for the same thing. I'm sure you'll know many of these, but some may offer some new laughs.
Australia American
Capsicum Pepper (Red pepper, green pepper...)
Prawns Shrimp (Yes, this means that Australians never say, "Put another shrimp on the barbie"! We've been so fooled!)
Sultanas Raisins
Bickies (Biscuits) Cookies/ Crackers
Tomato Sauce Ketchup (This was confusing since I use tomato sauce for pasta sauce)
Texters Markers
Mobile Cell Phone (This is obvious, but I got made full of for "cell phone" enough to put it on the list.)
Trackies Sweat pants (I think. This seemed to get used for a few things, but I believe it came from "track suit", and was simply abbreviated.)
Lounge Couch/ Sofa (We typically reserve lounge as a verb.)
Pram Stroller (Pram always made me think of the 1950s.)
Bindies Stickers (Like the kind that gets stuck in your foot when you walk barefoot in the grass. This made me laugh so much! It's also an acceptable name.)
Needle Shot/ Injection
Fringe Bangs (I'll admit, ours makes less sense here.)
Plait Braid
Braid French Braid (Nothing confused me more than these last two. I'd be doing one of the girls' hair and always end up saying, "wait, did you want a braid braid or the plait braid or... which was which again?!)
Singlet Tank Top
Gum Boots Rain Boots
Fairy Floss Cotton Candy (Their name is so much more fabulous!)
Bench Counter (i.e. Kitchen counter. Another very confusing one.)
Chemist Drug Store/ Convenient Store
Bottle Shop Liquor Store
and... of course...
Thongs Flip Flops (Yes, it is totally normal to say something like, "Oh, I'm just putting away my husband's thongs.")
Well, there you go! You are ready for your trip Down Under. There are others but these were the ones I kept track of. Throw in some comments of any others that you know! <3
See how much I had to change to make myself understood over here?? Plus the accent just confuses people over here so much! The Australian 'language' is pretty terrific! (I'm sad I've lost a lot of it).....
ReplyDeleteOf course there is also.... nappies and diapers, dummies and pacifiers, toilet (loo) and potty, cot and crib. carpet and rug, rug and blanket, lounge room and living room, train carriage and train car, grocery trolley and grocery cart. telly and television, brolly and umbrella.... the list goes on and on.....