I’ve compiled a pretty exhaustive list of Aussie slang you can take a look at, but suffice to say – there’s a helluva lot of odd words and expressions in Australian English that just don’t adequately translate into American English. Thankfully, the differences from state to state aren’t so extreme in Australia. Heck, you could argue that American English varies quite considerably in both pronunciation and content based on which part of the country you’re in. While we ostensibly speak the same tongue, we’d be kidding ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge that there are some pretty big differences between Aussie English and that of America. The list is pretty much inexhaustible, but I’d love to hear any from you that I might have forgotten. It still makes me chuckle every time I walk into a room asking if anybody’s seen my thongs and have a group of Americans alternate between shock and amusement. None amuse and shock more than the use of the word ‘thong’ – a relatively harmless bit of footwear (flip flop) in Australia, but a much racier (and almost exclusively female) bit of attire in the United States. But some of the differences in our language certainly do. Let’s be honest, pronunciation doesn’t cause a great deal of confusion when an Aussie (or Kiwi or Pom) bumps into an American. Cost-a Rica further muddy the waters.ĭo these ones bother me? Not at all! Although if another American corrects my pronunciation of an English word, there may just be hell to pay. There’s the aforementioned silent ‘h’ on ‘herb’ and the way ‘albino’ is said ‘albeeno’ in Australia, but ‘Al-buy-no’ in the US of A. Our ‘can’t’ sounds suspiciously like a nasty swear word, while America’s sounds like ‘can’ with a ‘t’ on the end. We pronounce ‘Aussie’ with a ‘z’ sound, while Americans tend to say it more like ‘Ossie’. It’s no secret that any nation is going to have quirks and tones that make their accent sound unique. So, what are these differences? I’ve highlighted the five that tickle, confuse, or infuriate me the most. Hell, I don’t even spell color colour right any more! If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been accused of being a nationality other than Australian, I could probably afford two Subway meals right about now. I’m ashamed to say, my Aussie accent has slowly made way for an American one after constant exposure to pretty American girls and the general demand abroad for students to learn American English rather than the so pompously named ‘Queen’s English’. It’s more than just the horrendous misspellings of aluminium or the way the letter ‘h’ is so coolly ignored at the start of the word ‘herb’, too. As an English teacher and a habitual dater of American girls, I sometimes forget that there are many (often amusing) differences between the way those who learn English in Australia and those who learn English in the USA speak.
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