Can You Speak Australian

woody81

http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/09/23 23:17  《第一英语》杂志


　　G’Day, mate!

　　

　　People all over the world are familiar with this greeting. When we hear it, we know that we are hearing someone who comes from Australia. “G’day, mate!” is a good example of “Strine” English. This is what Australians themselves call their unique form of the English language. To understand where the term comes from, imagine someone saying the word “AuSTRAlian” in a thick Australian accent.

　　Of all the different English accents around the world, the Australian accent is often the one that gives non-native-English speakers the most difficulty. For example, if someone with the name Tony goes to Australia for a visit, he may hear his new friends referring to him as “Tiny”! But Tony shouldn’t be upset – it’s only his friends’ Australian twang (accent) speaking, not their opinions of his height.

　　Even if your ears are attuned to the Australian accent, you may still have difficulty understanding the locals. You must also know some important “Strine” English terminology. Australians love wordplay and have slang words for every occasion. They also like to simplify their speech by shortening words, like the term “Aussie”, which means “Australian.” But on other occasions, many Australians have the habit of referring to something using a convoluted rhyming slang such as “Steak and kidney”(Sydney), or even “Trouble ‘n’ strife” (wife) This type of rhyming slang is similar to Cockney English. Cockney is English spoken in the poor eastern neighbourhoods of London, England. Some say that Cockney was also used by small-time criminals to confuse the police. A couple of hundred years ago, England sent its prisoners to Australia to live out their prison sentences. Many people say Strine rhyming slang is evidence of Australia’s convict past!

　　You may be surprised to know the origin of one of the most popular and unusual “Strine” English terms: Fair Dinkum. Depending on the context, the term can mean “Honestly!” or “Yes, I’m telling you the truth!” Someone who is referred to as a “Dinkum Bloke” is reliable and straightforward, a real compliment. Some claim that this term is derived from a Chinese language. During the Australian gold rush in the 1880s, Chinese miners referred to real gold as “ding cum.”

　　Take a look at some examples of Strine English below:

　　　　让我们来看看下面的一些澳大利亚英语：

　　arvoafternoon:　　　-　　　as in “I’ll come by your place this arvo.”

　　Aussie　　　-　　　Australian

　　bluey　　　-　　　red-headed person

　　chook　　　-　　　chicken

　　crook　　　-　　　sick

　　cozzie　　　-　　　swimming costume

　　good on ya’　　　-　　　good for you

　　narked　　　-　　　upset

　　no worries/ she’ll be right　　　-　　　no problem

　　Pom　　　-　　　British person

　　Sheila　　　-　　　woman/girlfriend

　　tough bikkies　　　-　　　bad luck

　　tucker　　　-　　　food

　　ute　　　-　　　pickup truck

　　Strine quiz:

　　Australians often shorten their words by taking the main syllable and adding -ie, -ey or -o at the end. Try your hand at Strine! Can you match the Strine English terms to the real thing?

　　澳大利亚英语小测试：

　　澳大利亚人喜欢在谈话中缩短单词，只发出主要的音节，然后在词尾加上-ie, -ey或-o。试试看你对澳大利亚英语的了解有多少。你能指出如下澳大利亚英语所指的是什么吗？

　　1. barbie　　　A. television

　　2. bikie　　　B. candy

　　3. bikkie　　　C. breakfast

　　4. brolly　　　D. umbrella

　　5. brekkie　　　E. can of beer

　　6. chockie　　　F. chocolate

　　7. garbo　　　G. garbage collector

　　8. lollie　　　H. relatives

　　9. mozzie　　　I. biscuit

　　10. rellies　　　J. motorcyclist

　　11. tellie　　　K. barbecue

　　12. tinnie　　　L. mosquito

　　13. smoko　　　M. cigarette break

　　Answers: 1-K 2-J 3-I 4-D 5-C 6-F 7-G 8-B 9-L 10-H 11-A 12-E 13-M

woody81

你会说澳大利亚英语吗
　　“你好，伙计！”(G'Day, mate!)

　　全世界的人们对这个问候都很熟悉，尽管他们自己可能从来不这样说。当有人像这样同我们打招呼时，我们就可以知道，他来自澳大利亚。“G'Day, mate!”是一句典型的澳大利亚英语。澳大利亚人认为这就是他们语言的独特之处。如果想知道这句话是怎么来的，你只要想一想一个人在用浓重的澳大利亚口音发“AuSTRAlian”，你就会明白了。

　　在世界上众多说英语国家的语言中，澳大利亚英语也许是不将英语作为本族语使用的人们听起来最为困难的一种英语了。比如说，一个叫托尼(Tony)的人到澳大利亚访问，他也许会听到他的澳大利亚朋友喊他“蒂尼(Tiny)”！托尼没有必要为此感到不愉快——这只是他的朋友的澳大利亚口音，而不是在笑话他个子矮。

　　但是即使你已经适应了澳大利亚英语的语调，你也许依然无法明白澳大利亚当地人的话。你必须了解一些澳大利亚英语的习语。澳大利亚人喜欢玩文字游戏，时不时地说些俚语。他们还喜欢缩短单词以方便交谈，例如用“Aussie”来表示“Australian”(澳大利亚的)。但是在另外一些场合下，许多澳大利亚人都喜欢用一些令人费解的同韵俚语，比如“Steak and kidney”(Sydney悉尼)、或是“Trouble 'n' strife” (wife妻子)!这种同韵俚语很像伦敦东区人说的英语。伦敦东区人口音指的是生活在英国伦敦东部穷困地区的那些人说的英语。也有人说一些三流罪犯也说这种英语以骗过警察。几百年前，英国的罪犯曾被流放到澳大利亚服刑，所以现在有许多人认为这种同韵俚语就是澳大利亚作为流放地的语言见证。

　　最常见也是最不寻常的澳大利亚英语短语“Fair Dinkum”的由来也会让你感到新奇。根据语境的不同，这句话可以解释为“说老实话！”或“是的，这是实话！”

　　如果有人被称为“Dinkum Bloke(诚实的家伙)”，那他就是一个值得信赖的、直率的人。这是一句实实在在的恭维话。有人说这句话是从中文而来，因为在澳大利亚19世纪90年代的淘金热时，中国矿工们将真金称为“ding cum”。

ritaclin

8戒

langchu

unknown

ubuntuhk

好帖，赞

woody81

在澳洲的筒子一天要说几次G'Day, mate!

WTFAUS

ritaclin

my goodness

woody81

what s up

ritaclin

1. barbie　　　A. television

　　2. bikie　　　B. candy

　　3. bikkie　　　C. breakfast

　　4. brolly　　　D. umbrella

　　5. brekkie　　　E. can of beer

　　6. chockie　　　F. chocolate

　　7. garbo　　　G. garbage collector

　　8. lollie　　　H. relatives

　　9. mozzie　　　I. biscuit

　　10. rellies　　　J. motorcyclist

　　11. tellie　　　K. barbecue

　　12. tinnie　　　L. mosquito

　　13. smoko　　　M. cigarette break
/

woody81

try to use and get it

Microhard

one more:
root=?

woody81

evil

rashian

so complex ah!!!!!

sprint_root

8. lollie quite close to lolly is easy  to remember. lollie = lolly

Teleprince

原帖由 Microhard 于 3-6-2008 21:31 发表

                               
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one more:
root=?

A kiwi is an animal that eats roots and leaves.

hidec

蒙面超人

UK的老外也是这么说的，还有不说“thanks”之类的一律说“Cheers”，嗜酒成性

Teleprince

cheers is a more colloquial form of thankyou. nothing to do with alcohol though.

naughtybaby

原帖由 Teleprince 于 4-6-2008 02:17 发表

                               
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A kiwi is an animal that eats roots and leaves.

come up with another one: Kiwi=New zealander, not the fruit

woody81

kiwi is a shybird.if u would be a newzealander, dont like a kiwi

naughtybaby

yup, tht's how the slang evolves