When you meet an Australian for the first time it is not necessary for you to say "Oh, you're from Australia. Good 'ay, mayte." It is also not necessary to ask if we know your friend or relative from Sydney. Do you know my Uncle from Cleveland. No? Funny that.
G'day is pronounced as I've just typed it. Hard G, followed by Day, as in G-Day. It is not Good 'Ay. If you're not going to make the effort to pronounce it properly, don't even bother trying.
A Koala is not a bear. Like most Aussie mammals it is a marsupial. It may look like a teddy but it's still not a bear. It does not belong to the Bear family. Do not call it a Koala Bear.
An Emu is an E-Mew, not an E-Moo. Importing them doesn't give you the right to change their name. Do cats moo? Do cows mew? See the difference?
When an Aussie (oz-ee not oss-ee) attempts to correct you on the mispronunciation of an Australian word, listen to the man. Your continued mispronunciation only makes you look like a wanker.
Steve Irwin was an actor (and a bit of a galah, see Australian slang term). Most Australians do not dress, talk or act like him. In fact now that he's dead it's a good bet that no Australians act like that. Just because you see four Aussies in loud, colorful shirts dancing around singing children's songs, that doesn't mean we all do it.
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4 comments:
Great Stuff Captain. I think that allot of people, when they meet someone from a different country, immediately try to relate to that person by showing them just how much they know about said persons country. This often times does nothing more than display how igorent they truly are of the country in question, thus causes the person to insert foot in mouth. I think it is impossible to gain true knowledge of every country in the world without either living there, or talking with someone who has; and by talking to, I mean actually having a conversation that consists of more than "oh your from X country, well I have a friend who knows a guy that lived there". Thanks for the definition of wanker by the way lol I always wondered what the definition of that insult was, and now I know.
but I DO know your uncle from Cleveland, his name is Ralph!
;)
Crikey! You forgot to mention the prounciations for Melbourne (mel-bun) and Brisbane (briz-bun).
Funny post, especially the part about the four scary dudes, I mean the Wiggles. :)
Did you know the Aussies made last Friday 'Khaki Day' to remember Steve Irwin?
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