Words

I've been having a think about how the use of English differs in Australia. Winston Churchill once commented that England and America were 'two nations divided by a common language' and it's not much different here. First there are the nouns - those I can think of are listed here

red and green peppers - capsicum
courgettes - zuchinni
aubergine - egg plant
crisps - chips
clingfilm - gladwrap
ill - crook
chicken - chook
playtime - recess
trainers - runners
flipflops - thongs
trousers - pants
polo neck jumper - skivvy
sun proof tops - rashies
vest - chesty
duvet - doona
off licence - bottle shop
red head - bluey
spring onion - shallot (I need to check and see what they call shallots...)
Sky TV - Foxtel (exactly the same product with all the same equipment)

Then there are the different uses of other words. Australians like to start a sentence with 'look'. They also like to say 'how are you?, as a sort of multi purpose greeting.
Everyone is familiar with the Australian tendency to end every sentence on a high pitched questioning note, regardless of whether their comment is a question or not. I've read that as a result of Australian tv, young people in the UK are starting to develop the habit.

It will be interesting to see whether people back home perceive that our accents, or the way in which we construct our sentences has changed at all. Anna certainly does have an accent, but I wouldn't say the rest of us do. Of course, you can't avoid using their words - there is little point turning up at the greengrocers and asking for an aubergine as they will look at you as if you were talking a foreign language. Which you would be. There are other problems with pronunciation as well. Asking for a croissant at the bakers is a bit excruciating. The word has been made Australian to the extent that if you say it correctly, they have no idea what you are asking for. It feels very contrived to put on an Aussie accent and say 'quasont' through your nose, just so you can have one, but if you don't you will leave the shop empty handed. Don't even get me started on 'pain au chocolat'...

Having most of my life been a southerner living in the north, then a northerner living in the south, I am aware that when you change areas, even in the UK, you end up having an accent which is acceptable to no one. As I child at school in Doncaster, I was constantly accused of having a posh southern accent, but when we visited relatives in the south, they would comment on how northern we now sounded living 'Up North'. I'm sure a similar thing will happen now.

The scary thing is....what sort of an accent will a southerner/northerner/Australian end up with??