So you think you can talk like an Australian?

In 1986 Crocodile Dundee exploded as a break-out success worldwide and Paul Hogan became a household name. From there he was rolled out as the face of Australian tourism with his catch phrase of “throw another shrimp on the barbie”. But here’s the thing, Australians don’t call them shrimp, we call them prawns so once again television and film has lied to you.

So, what else don’t you know about the “Australian language” well let’s have a look.

We wear thongs completely differently to you

Thongs in Australia are a critical piece of attire, worn by men and women, yes both sexes wear thongs in Australia. That’s because over here, thongs are a type of footwear, often referred to as flip flops in the United States. We wear thongs to protect our feet from the hot roads and footpaths generated from the intense heat of our Australian summers. The thin lacy one’s don’t afford anywhere near as much protection.

We use the metric system

One of my first trips to the US, I was flying into Washington when they announced that the temperature outside was 55 degrees. I nearly panicked that I had severely underestimated the weather conditions I would be flying into. I exclaimed loudly “Holy Shit!” to which the passenger next to me said “Ummm, that’s 55 in Fahrenheit, which is about 12 degrees Celsius”. And just to put it in perspective, 55 degrees Celsius is about 131 Fahrenheit.

We also measure distance in kilometres or metres, we use litres not gallons for volume and grams or kilograms are out unit of measure for weight. Except for drugs for some reason, our illicit drug industry still relies on ounces and pounds.

Our capital city is not Sydney

For that matter, it’s not Melbourne either. Our capital city is Canberra, which was built on the theory it was between Melbourne and Sydney but is a freezing cold sheep paddock. It is famous for lots of roundabouts and that’s about it.

There is often a disbelief that there are kangaroos just jumping down the street all the time. For most Australian cities this is not the case, except for Canberra. There is a large kangaroo population and regularly roos are hit by cars going to or from work. In years past, their numbers have gotten so high we have had to hold culls to reduce the number of kangaroos. Yes, a kangaroo appears on our coat of arms, as does an emu, we openly kill and eat both of these animals.

It's not a bad thing to be pissed

Yes, it can mean that someone is angry, but in Australia it generally means that they are very drunk. For example, “Did you see Mick, he was as pissed as a fart!” It doesn’t need to make sense, you get it.

Charged up and choked down

One often follows the other. Charged up is also an expression meaning to be drunk and choked down means you are so drunk that you are in a deep slumber. Choked down is often reserved for the serious drinkers amongst us, those that can put away more than what a normal human can, and anyone else would currently be suffering alcohol poising, instead they are just sleeping it off.

Going to knuckle

It probably doesn’t need any explaining, but it means you’re going to have a physical fight. Not a Will Smith slap to the face, but a punching, brawling full on melee.

There are heaps more, look even though we speak English there have been lots of other words that have evolved or been created. Tell you what, come and visit Australia, we’re a friendly bunch. Head to Canberra (or Sydney or Melbourne) we will have some prawns for you, get you pissed until you are choked down and we certainly won’t go to knuckle. Heck, if we really like you, we might even have some emu and kangaroo.

If you do want to visit Australia, check out Tourism Australia