Australian English

A mix of English, American, with a bit of Aussie flair!

Australian English is an odd mix of different influences. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, some Australian words, particularly those for our unique wildlife, come from our First Nations people - words like koala and kangaroo.

Our everyday vernacular also includes influences from our English ancestors. We use English spelling rules (although spell-correct is beginning to change this amongst some of the younger generation). We utilise a lot of terms that match the language used in the UK.

However, our language has also been influenced by American English. Listening to those from the USA speak, some commonalities between Australians and Americans differ from those in the UK.

In Australia, for example, we say biscuit to refer to a sweet snack like an Oreo, as do the UK. Whereas Americans say, cookie. On the other hand, we refer to the sport with the black and white ball as soccer, as do Americans, while in the UK it is known as football. This is primarily to differentiate from the sport, Australian Rules Football, which is known as football Down Under, similar to how the USA has American football.

We say takeaway like the UK, while in America it is takeout. We say eggplant like Americans, while the UK says aubergine. We say petrol like the UK and America says gasoline. The long, large roads here are called highways, like in the USA, not motorways like in the UK. Like the English, we go to a chemist to buy our medication, unlike in America where one goes to a drugstore. The postman puts letters in our mailbox (or letterbox) like Americans, not a postbox like the English. At the end of a sentence, we use a full stop like the English, not a period like Americans.

So, Down Under, when it comes to words, we often utilise a weird mix of terms from both the UK and America. And sometimes, we use both interchangeably. It is common for both jumper from the UK and sweatshirt from the USA to be used here, and people understand each term means the same thing.

Then, there’s our Australian-specific words that don’t fit with either country. For example, in the UK and the USA there are pick-up trucks, shortened to pick-ups in the UK and trucks in America. In Australia, we don’t have pick-up trucks. This vehicle is known as a ute, which originally derived from the word utility. Instead of a dust bin or a garbage can, we mostly say rubbish bin, or simply, rubbish. Instead of saying gas station or garage, we refer to the place you put petrol (gas) in your car as a service station (which, in true Aussie fashion has been shortened to servo).

When swimming in Australia, we put on our bathers, not a swimsuit like in the USA and the UK. We go to a bottleshop (shortened to bottle-O) to buy alcohol, not a liquor store like in America or an off-license in the UK. On an offside, it comes as a shock to many from other countries that alcohol can only be bought here in a bottleshop and can’t be legally sold in a supermarket.

So, Australian English is a language all of its own, and this is just a little insight.

Righto cobber (alright, mate), hope you enjoyed learning a bit about our lingo (language). I hope that my research led me to the correct terms used in each country. I’m sure, like here, these terms may vary depending on the part of the country one is from.