January.

[Trevor]

Thought I'd start this one off, seeing as it's my birthday.

[Verbivore]

Trevor: We cross-posted (almost). Happy birthday!

And rather than repeat myself: HERE.

[Twoddle]

Happy Birthday, Trevor, and Happy New Year everyone!

[Little Jack Horner]

Greetings to everyone. I thought people might like to see this if they have not already done so. I think everyone will recognise that these are new words but I wonder if so many new words have become so commonplace in such a short time in previous periods.
public.oed.com/blog/words-from-the-21st-century/

[Verbivore]

I'll have a cab sav while wearing my boardies at the barbie and hoping to avoid the mozzies.

Brekkies, barbies, mozzies: why do Aussies shorten so many words?

I am commonly addressed by my full first name (perhaps 30% of the time – most often in formal contexts), 60% as [stem+ie / y], and the rest as either [stem+o] or just [stem].

I've observed that those who use the [stem+o] version tend to be more 'masculine' or macho.

In another (older) article, the ABC explores / reports on a history of Australian slang terms for sex.

Here's a link to Green's Dictionary of Slang, the largest historical dictionary of English slang. Written by Jonathon Green over 17 years from 1993, it reached the printed page in 2010 in a three-volume set containing nearly 100,000 entries supported by over 400,000 citations from c. AD 1000 to the present day. The main focus of the dictionary is the coverage of over 500 years of slang from c. 1500 onwards.

[Verbivore]

Now for the Australian Smoko.

[Little Jack Horner]

The predilection for Aussies to minimalise words to create slang is, of course, well known but the reason for this habit is, so far as I know, unexplained. Surely it cannot be mere laziness. If not laziness, why should such a habit have formed? What can it say about the Australian psyche? And why should it be different from other English-speaking countries?

But claims that particular slang words originated in Australia need to be justified. My family have used “brekkie” for breakfast all my life but until my son emigrated to Australia eighteen years ago we have had no connection with Australia — not even watching Australian soaps or films. My mother was frequently called Susie — the use of this and other diminutives is not really Australian is it? I would like to see a rigourous analysis of the topic rather than simply to read chatter.

It also raises the question for me as to when, if ever, slang becomes standard. Surely, if all Australians use, for example, “servo” for a petrol station, it ceases to be slang. The distinctions between standard language, dialect, informal language, cant and slang are a bit hazy. Do any of the contributors to this forum know of any academic treatment of this?

[Verbivore]

Jan 9, 2023 11:41:31 GMT Little Jack Horner said:

[…] I would like to see a rigourous [sic] analysis of the topic rather than simply to read chatter. […] 

Fair enough, LJH. If you want that enough surely it's somewhere for you to find.

[Dave Miller]

[Non-rigourous chatter alert …]

LJH is quite right that even in British English there are many diminutives ending in “y” or “ie”. These tend not to be just ways of saving time in the expression of the word, but also bring with them some element of affection. Richard to Ricky or Richie, John to (the actually longer) Johnny, breakfast to brekky, pinafore to pinny and so on.

These seem so fundamental a part of the language that I was amazed, just now, not to find brekky(/ie) or pinny(/ie) listed in my, admittedly 1928-based, OED. We can imagine, though, that the pattern moved to Australia along with the incoming hordes from Britain. Why then did it take off more there than here? My guesses bring in two factors: a greater informality in Australia, leading to the use of “friendlier” terms and then random maths. Once a habit starts on a small scale, it may or may not catch on. If it does, to a slight but noticeable degree, it gains traction and becomes more standard. Nothing, I’m guessing, to do with climate and the bright sunshine - sometimes quoted as the source of the Australian twang!

[Little Jack Horner]

I am afraid, Vv, that I didn’t notice the spelling of rigourous.

I usually dictate my postings on this forum and elsewhere and the voice recognition software frequently produces gibberish which I usually manage to correct. But it always spells rigorous with OU in the middle. I have tried this now in several different contexts. Strange. sackcloth and ashes time, I am afraid.

[Twoddle]

I was about to reply that the Australian penchant for diminutives has something to to do with the Aussie love of informality and "mateship". Then I read Dave's post that says exactly that!

[Verbivore]

It is now Friday the 13th in AU, and soon will be elsewhere.

Here is an appropriate word for the day: paraskevidekatriaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th.

[Little Jack Horner]

This has nothing to do with words but I have just discovered that Canada shares a land border with Denmark. I think everyone should be aware of this.

This geopolitical feature is on uninhabited Hans Island which is divided more or less down the middle between the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland. 

[Verbivore]

LJH:

I consider a day wasted when I've not learned something, no matter how trivial. Some such lessons can be Quite Interesting.

Wasn't aware of Hans Island, so my knowledge of trivia (likely useless, outside of word puzzles) is now expanded. Thank you.  :-)

I hope their shared border doesn't become a point of contention and, possibly, war. I think we have enough of those happening for now.

(I did learn another lesson earlier in the day: Don't wear shorts and slip-ons when repairing flood-flattened farm fences and trudging through head-high crops and weeds that had been woven and matted by a raging flash flood a few months earlier. The flood had reached a depth of 3–4 metres where we were fixing fences. I usually carry farmyard clothing – gloves, overalls, boots, etc – in my ute, but had recently cleaned out the cluttered cabin and so was unprepared for this morning's fencing expedition. Poorly shod, so constantly losing my balance and tripping/staggering backwards, and legs poorly shielded against the vicious barbs of crops and weeds.

(And perhaps there was a second lesson there: don't be too tidy. Chill!)

At least the trivium of Hans Island hasn't cost me any discomfort! lol

[Verbivore]

Bum nuts and chickens in pyjamas: the words Australians use for food.