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2007.02.28

[51] Australian Pronunciation

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Hi everyone,

The other day I got a nice message from a reader named Kik. Kik mentioned recently learning about some of the differences in pronunciation between US English and Australian English.

It's true that the pronunciation of some English words are very different in America and Australia.

Years ago when I visited the United States, I remember trying to tell people how my name is spelt. I'd say "R-A-N-I", but they would always hear the last "i" as another "a". I was very surprised that my "a" and "i" sounded the same to Americans!

I recently found a site on the internet which plays pronunciations of words by English speakers from different countries. I though some of you might find it useful, so here's the web address:

http://www.fonetiks.org

Click on the words in the table to hear pronunciations by people from the country of the flag on the left.

Thanks again for your message, Kik. If anyone else feels like writing to me, please do!

Cheers,
Rani

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2007.02.28 23:02:05

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2007.02.25

[49] Royal Botanic Gardens

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Under the Shade編集部

Melbourne has a lot of great parks and gardens, but the most impressive one is the Royal Botanical Gardens.

It's huge, very well maintained, full of lots of different types of plants and trees, and it's totally free to enter.

The gardens have plants and trees from many different countries and climates, including Australian rainforest plants, Asian and European trees, and desert cacti.

There's also a big lake in the middle of the gardens, full of ducks and swans. It's a great spot for picnics in summer.

In the evenings in summer they sometimes show films or perform plays outdoors in the gardens. It's fun to see a movie outdoors; the only problem is getting bitten by mosquitoes (which Australians like to call 'mozzies').

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2007.02.25 21:45:42

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2007.02.20

[47] Australian Culture: Tall Poppy Syndrome

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Every country has particular values that are emphasised in that culture. For Australians, ideas of equality are particularly important. This idea of 'everyone feeling equal' is the main idea behind what Australians call the tall poppy syndrome.

The 'tall poppy syndrome' is about being critical of someone who acts as if they are better than other people. When someone acts like he or she is better than other people, Australians tend to become very critical of that person.

The idea of the 'tall poppy syndrome' comes from the image of a field of poppy flowers. By sweeping a stick across the top of the field, the tall flowers are knocked down while most of the flowers are left standing.

The 'tall poppy syndrome' is all about how people act, not about how successful they are. Some Australians can be very successful without being criticised by other Australians. However, if they begin to act as if they think they are better than other Australians, they may be criticised.

Some people say the 'tall poppy syndrome' is a reaction against the British class system, where some people are seen as automatically superior to others. Australians like to think of everyone as equal, with no one better or worse than each other.

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2007.02.20 22:39:41

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2007.02.15

[45] Brunetti, on Lygon Street

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Under the Shade編集部

The other day I had coffee with some friends at Brunetti, on Lygon Street. Lygon Street is famous as being the centre of Melbourne's old Italian district. These days most of the Italian families have moved to Melbourne's outer-suburbs, but Lygon street is still the place to go for good Italian restaurants and cafes.

Brunetti is one of many good cafes in the area. It's always very busy, especially in the summer, when the tables on the street outside the cafe are full almost all day.

Brunetti is especially famous for its amazing cakes - there are dozens of different kinds for sale. Of course, they also have great coffee!

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2007.02.15 23:08:50

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2007.02.12

[43] Australian Slang

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A couple of days ago I wrote about some Australian birds that I saw, called galahs. The interesting thing is that the name of that bird is also an Australian slang word.

galah

This term is used to describe someone who behaves foolishly or idiotically. However it is used affectionately, to indicate that someone is a likable idiot.

E.g. "Dave! Stop being such a galah."

The word 'galah' is a little outdated these days, but here are some other Australian slang words with similar meanings:

dag

This is an affectionate word for someone who is nerdy or uncool. Even though the meaning is slightly negative, the word is usually used affectionately to describe someone who is uncool but likable.

E.g. "Dave, you're such a dag."
E.g. "You dag!"

The original meaning of the word "dag" is slightly disgusting. It refers to the pieces of manure that get caught in the wool around a sheep's bottom and form dangling clumps. See, I told you it was disgusting.

duffer

This word is very similar in usage to "dag", in that it often refers to someone who is silly but likable. However a "duffer" is more likely to be a bit clueless or confused, whereas a "dag" is just uncool.

E.g. "You're such a duffer, Dave."
E.g. "You duffer, Dave."

That's all for this week's Australian Slang. If you have any questions about Austrlalian slang or culture, let me know!

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2007.02.12 21:28:55

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2007.02.10

[41] Melbourne Wildlife: The Galah

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Last week I told you all about my recent visit to the Royal Melbourne Zoo, but I felt bad that I didn't have any photos of Australian animals to show to you.

Well, this week I saw some Australian native animals right near my house, in Royal Park. The birds in the picture are a kind of Australian parrot called the galah. They're very common throughout Australia. Their most interesting feature is their head feathers, which can rise up when they're excited. (The head feathers are down in my picture, unfortunately.)

People sometimes keep galahs as pets. They're very curious and intelligent, and are quite good at learning and repeating human speech.

These days you can see lots of Australian parrots in Melbourne. The local government has been encouraging people to plant Australian trees in their gardens, and this has helped bring Australian birds back into the Melbourne suburbs.

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2007.02.10 14:48:34

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2007.02.05

[39] Australian Culture: Friendliness as Politeness

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Australians might seem the same as people from Britain or the United States because we speak the same language, but we're actually quite different. That's because of our different national cultures.

Australian culture has its own unique characteristics. Of course, Australia is a big place, so Melbourne also has its own specific culture and ways of behaving.

I thought some of you might be interested to hear a bit more about the way people think and behave here in Melbourne. In this first entry on 'Melbourne Culture', I'm going to talk about something that's very important in Australian culture, and that's friendliness as politeness.

Look at this conversation:

A: Hi! How's it going?
B: Good. How are you?
A: Good, thanks.

Who do you think is having this conversation? It sounds like a couple of friends talking, but actually it's a very normal conversation in Melbourne between someone working at a shop register and a customer.

This happens because friendliness is seen as a polite way of talking to customers in shops, cafes, and restaurants. The feeling that's created is that "we're all friends", even though the people talking are strangers.

For me, this was a difficult habit to stop while I was living in Tokyo. I remember, when I had first arrived in Tokyo, saying こんばんは to a woman working at the register in a Daimaru supermarket, and she looked at me like I was crazy!

If any of you have any questions about Australian culture or Melbourne culture, please send them to me - I'd be happy to answer them.

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2007.02.05 21:53:10

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