Postby Queenie » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:32 pm
It looks as if you may have had some Prisoners of Her Majesty from the North East shipped over there a ways back. The term yakka, for hard work, in the North East a 'pit yakker' was what we called a face worker down the coal mines.
aussie lingo
Postby OpalAuctions Tech » Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:21 am
it looks like your right http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=yakka
Here is quite a comprehensive guide for any would be travellers to Australia http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html
As you can see we've developed some tender slang to describe our part-English origins:
Pom, pommy : an Englishman
Pommy bastard : an Englishman
Pommy shower : using deodorant instead of taking a shower
Pommy's towel, as dry as a : very dry - based on the canard that Poms bathe about once a month
Note the use of the word bastard, this is meant without offence, for example we could call anyone on the street a bastard - it is virtually interchangeable with the word mate which we often find ourselves calling people at first meeting whether we like them or not.... just some of the subtleties of the aussie slang.
Postby azvinnie » Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:40 pm
Well - this could be entertaining! As I'm a yank by birth, who's had the priveledge of first-hand education in the subtleties of brit attitudes toward all us "colonials", I'm looking forward to this little discussion. The owner of my favorite licquor stores in the area here hails from England. And we had some hilarious discussions along those lines - before I sobered up, that is. He'd say something about us colonials - and I'd say something about the only colony in recent times being prince Harry's ant farm... . You get the idea.
Postby Queenie » Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:47 pm
Nae offence tekken (no offence taken).
Ye'll find that nigh on ivvorybugger (almost everybody) in the North East could swear fer ten minutes langer(longer) th'n Shane MacGowan (****** up Irishman, sings wi The Pogues. Face like a sack of angry weasels and not a lot o' teeth. Writes some beautiful songs though.) an nivvor say the same word twice. The North East, where the men are men and the women aren't far off it either.
We frequently tell folk to '*explicit*' even when we divvent really want them to. The North East of England doesn't so much have an accent as a language all of it's own.
My sister's friend Alex moved to England from Chicago. He's a musician and was touring with an old mate of ours at the time. Poor child thought we all spoke like Hugh Grant, didn't realise the accent changes every 5 miles down the road!
Postby Queenie » Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:52 pm
And I'll have you know, some of us bathe once a week, whether we need the bugger or not
