Adventures in Oz: Aussie English part 2
I walk into a store and the shop assistant asks, 'Are you right?' I thought to myself, 'how could I be wrong? Isn't the customer always right?' Of course I understood the gist of what she was saying but I was used to people asking 'Can I help you?'
Aussies are known for shortening words and ta and tata were often used in the 2000s but I haven't heard this in a while. I first heard 'Ta' in the Canberra airport when my mom's luggage hadn't arrived. The woman at the desk responded 'Ta' when we described the content of the suitcase. I couldn't quite understand what it meant but after hearing it in different situations I gathered that it was short for 'thanks'.
Other shortened words I found interesting but use all the time are:
Mozzie
Maccas
Brekkie
Woolies
'Let's go buy some thongs!' My new friend said enthusiastically. I was thinking, 'I don't really feel comfortable going to a lingerie store with you' but I said 'ok.' To my surprise we ended up at a shoe store because thongs are 'flip flops!'
Note: original photo taken last week at a nice Japanese restaurant in Melbourne.
We called them thongs when I was a kid, growing up in the SW USA. I remember hearing flip-flops the first time and thinking it sounded odd. That was probably the mid to late 70s.
Very interesting! In Michigan I always heard the term flip flops. This was in the late 80s
Yep, me too! In the 80s they were thongs here in Oklahoma, for sure. I remember an especially popular brand, with thick, soft foam rubber soles, called "tiddies" ! HA
Thanks for sharing this, a trip to steemit is like taking a trip around the world, today, it's been Asia and Australia.
Thanks @markrmorrisjr. I enjoy reading and writing about travel experiences!