These notes on “strine” (non-standard Australian English) are useful for both “informal language” and its role and social purpose (Unit 3) and Unit 4: Language variation and identity
Area Study 1: Language variation in Australian society
- users of informal language may be idiosyncratic in their linguistic choices
- both written and spoken informal texts may contain non-fluency features, ellipses and shortened lexical forms.
- linguistic innovation is integral to “strine”; (stylistic features)
- strine: the ways in which a variety of Australian identities are constructed and reflected in a range of texts; there are numerous links between “strine” and face needs: the anti-authoritarian streak and its social-levelling function takes into consideration positive and negative face needs
- witticisms and humour also play a role in strine which also have face considerations.
“G’day mate”, “all the best, mate”, Well done, mate” : the cricket commentators to the cricket players.
As Aussies, we pride ourselves on our “mateship” and “fair go” spirit which is evident in many of our linguistic conventions – our vernacular sets us apart from other national speakers of English. Our “twang”, and our unique way of blending words and consonants that form our Aussie accent, as well as our penchant for inventing and using colloquialisms in every facet of life – sets us apart.
A “dinky di” Aussie peppers his discourse with idiomatic expressions, that are often irreverent, humorous. Idioms such as to “cop it sweet”, to “kick the bucket”, to have a “bonzer” time; to “drum an ounce of sense into him”; to “drop a bombshell”, “look what the cat dragged in”, reflect what Dr Robert Burchfield refers to as “ragged trousered informality”.
According to Nina Evason (“Communication”), Australians speak with slang spattered throughout their speech. The relevance or understandings of certain slang words varies between age groups and areas, but Australians frequently shorten any words that seem overly complicated by using diminutives. Sometimes these are spontaneous inventions that are not commonly known, but many are commonplace (e.g. “arvo” – afternoon, “uni” – university). (Nina Evason, ‘Communication’, SBS Cultural Atlas, , 2021)
A “true blue” Aussie is characterised by is an anti-authoritarian streak which levels the social distance. This trait is captured in familiar terms of address, diminutives and reductions, such as -ie, -y, -o, and –a which are common in in everyday words such as “brekkie”, “telly”, “arvo” and “cuppa” and in soubriquets such as “Robbo”, “Richo”, “Bucks”, “hughsie”
Gary Nunn notes, “nowhere else in the English-speaking world are MPs referred to as “pollies” and serious documentaries as “docos.”
Australians love a “barbie”; they cook “snags”, and get the “tinnies” out of the Esky while fending off the “mossies”.
Distinctive discourse markers such as “no worries”, “too easy” and “she’ll be right” reflect our laid-back personality.
Lenie Johanson, the editor of the dictionary on Australian Slang, notes: “It is this extensive use of idiomatic expressions in the printed as well as the spoken word which astonishes most non-Australians.” Australians have a “quickness for inventing new ways of saying what they mean: ways that are hilarious, serious, disrespectful – and often vulgar and profane”.
Anna Weizbicka points out that the abbreviation of complex lexemes makes them more familiar and common and reflects an informal streak.
Australian sports fans tend to use reductions, hypocorisms (nicknames), soubriquets (nicknames) to refer to their sporting fans. Linguistically they reflect our “mateship” spirit, our desire to embrace our sporting fans on an equal and familiar level, and an attempt thereby to lower the social distance.
Broad – Phonology: In Broad Australian, vowels tend to be drawn out and the dipthongs are elongated. For example, the phoneme /i/ is pronounced /əi/ as in … Many Australians pronounce Australian “Austrayan” as though the /l/ were a /y/. Elongated vowels – “Monda=y” For example, a broad speaker would pronounce the word “buy” closer to the American “boy” (i.e. IPA bɒe). A “Broad” speaker might pronounce the “e” in “dress” closer to an “eh-aw” sound (i.e. IPA ɛɔ). Assimilation often occurs with an ending in “t’ or “d”; the vowel preceding a nasal sound like m / or / n will become more nasal.
“Strine” is often the preferred mode of discourse between diverse communities such as “tradies”, spectators at the football and older members of rural communities.
When a “tradie” comes to fix the plumin’ he’ll use linguistic features of “strine” (non-standard Australian) to connect with his client (his “mate”) and to establish a shared, familiar and “blokey” “dinky-di” relationship.
- From a semantic perspective, he’ll use colloquialisms, “he’ll have a yarn” about his “clapped out” ute, or the “claptrap” that’s been spinning on the radio.
- He’ll use idioms and clichés in his declarative sentence (“He’ll clock y’a if you don’t pay”. ).
- He’ll use some familiar reductions of names about football players (“Bucks” and “Richo”) to further cement a shared interest in football – the identity “glue” that bonds Victorians. He’ll also sprinkle his speech with some profanities when he wonders which “bugger” didn’t do the job properly on a previous occasion and
- “Just “let’in y’a know” that it’s a “bastard” of a pipe to clear.
- Profanities – Australian English has a distinctive colloquial language, a unique and iconic vernacular including words like crikey, bogan and ‘the great Australian adjective’, bloody.
- Many Australians no longer see oaths like “God damn” and “Jesus Christ” as overly offensive when used as slang
discourse features: Australians use witticisms and self-deprecating linguistic features which are irreverent and anti-authoritarian. Such language also helps to close the social distance.
Face needs: Tenor and humour
“Australians are quite self-deprecating in conversation in an effort to come across as humble, honest and relaxed about themselves. Feel free to join in with the jokes by criticising yourself in a similar manner. That being said, avoid finding jokes too funny, adamantly agreeing to their self-deprecating comments, as this can become insulting.”
“Humour is used in much Australian communication, so expect some light-hearted joking in most conversations. Jokes about situational circumstances are often used to lighten moods or approach difficult topics in an indirect way. Australian sarcasm can be very dry, witty and direct. It is sometimes difficult for foreigners to detect when people are kidding as Australians do not always break from a joke to clarify.” (Nina Evason, ‘Communication’, SBS Cultural Atlas, , 2021)
(Leni Johanson): “Australians seem to take exceptional delight in the art of ‘knocking’ (criticising) or giving praise in a back-handed manner. However, much of what sounds cutting, abusive, unkind, spiteful or lewd is intended to be taken in fun and Australians expect their friends, loved ones and acquaintances to ‘cop it sweet’ when they utter such jocular insults as: “Look what the cat dragged in”.”… “So much Aussie English is punctuated by crude and often vulgar words and expressions.”
Australians also have a habit of “cutting down the tall poppy”. Notable and successful Aussies are often reluctant to “brag” and so try to appear humble in their interviews. This is because of the “tall poppy syndrome”, – the public’s tendency to criticise and scrutinise famous or well-known Australians and to “bring them down to size”.
According to Nina Evason, swearing is more common in Australia than in many other cultures. “Television programmes are less censored and mainstream society is largely desensitised to words that foreigners may find vulgar. It is normal to hear an Australian swear at some point during a conversation. Doing so yourself is unlikely to hurt your chances with them – the informality of it can actually make them feel more comfortable around you.” ((Nina Evason, ‘Communication’, SBS Cultural Atlas, , 2021)
See “Mateship” narrative and Henry Lawson
Non-fluency features and discourse markers and politeness conventions and swearing
“Students consider features of ‘chat’ associated with both speaking and writing, such as a reliance on sequencing, cooperation and turn-taking, as well as features that are particular to each language mode. Students learn that speakers have at their disposal a support system of prosodic and paralinguistic cues that they can use to organise and present information.” (Unit 3 Area of Study 1: Informal Language )
These notes on “strine” (non-standard Australian English) are useful for both “informal language” and its role and social purpose (Unit 3) and Unit 4: Language variation and identity
COVERT AUSSIE NORMS: Sports personalities; “Aussie battlers”
In a more relaxed social context, in a covert sense, to be considered a “true blue” “dinky di” Australian, one must, almost by necessity, conform to covert Australian linguistic norms associated with “strine”. These include slang, idioms and clichés which are often uttered humorously and sarcastically as a reflection of an Australian’s laid-back personality. More than anything else, “slang shows we belong, providing the most natural badge or symbol or public and private identity” (Crystal). Likewise, Kate Burridge states, “bad language can have a prestige of its own, a covert or hidden prestige”.
Various jocular and often crude slang, idioms and clichés act as a ‘gatekeeper’ of the Australian ‘Strine’ Identity, enforcing the conviction that in order to accepted as an Aussie, on must conform to the non-Standard Australian covert norms.
Many Aussies love to praise our “larrikin” spirit which is often evident in sportspeople.
Sportspeople typically reflect non-standard linguistic features as an expression of the Australian personality, especially giving the impression of bravado, risk-taking, irreverence, stoicism and endurance.
This mildly profane adjective “bloody” recognises our anti-intellectual and anti-authoritarian ideals as well as Australians’ disregard for social and economic hierarchies – which is why, despite Nick Kygrios’ antics, the public recognise in him a cherished “larrikin” personality.
Australian sports fans tend to use reductions, hypocorisms (nicknames), soubriquets (nicknames) to refer to their sporting fans. Linguistically they reflect our “mateship” spirit, our desire to embrace our sporting fans on an equal level, and an attempt thereby to lower the social distance.
In a post-match media conference responding to the Swan’s record-breaking 171 point margin victory against the West Coast Eagles, John Longmire (Sydney Swan’s Coach) praised the team spirit by tapping into the ethos of Australian mateship: “Everyone contributing when they needed to and everyone sharing the load. It was a high-quality team performance which was the biggest thing.” “The thing that stood out to us the most was making your teammate look better.”
Longmire also uses colloquialisms and idioms that reflect an adherence to non-standard codes. He refers to Lance Franklin’s ability to “pull up”, meaning recover. He declaratively states: “The good thing is he was able to train today – and we’ll see how he pulls up after that.” In response to the Swan’s game against West Coast Eagles (Round 15) he said: “When you’re winning contests like we were and contested footy, our pressure was through the roof even though we had so much of the ball which is a really good sign.”
Using semantic phrases such as, “through the roof”, also reflects Australian non-standard expressions such as “very intense”.
On Errol Duiden, “I’m sure he’ll put tonight aside and get his head into next week like he always does.” The phrase, “to get his head into” is also colloquial.
Longmire uses assonance – “from go to woe”: is an Australian expression meaning “from start to finish”. “From our perspective – from go to woe – it was really good quality team football. A really high-quality game.”
Australian sports people often use profanities such as the adjective “bloody” as an intensifier; it includes socially acceptable and often positive connotations, stripping the adjective from its offensive nature. For instance, the non-standard phrase “fan-bloody-tastic”.
“All things considered it was a bloody good effort tonight” (typical comment from Ash Barty after winning her Grand Slam Final). (“Bloody” has been dubbed as the “Great Australian Adjective”)
Bill Hornadge (Slanguage) states, “It has been said that the language of Australians is peppered with the three indispensable Bs – Bastard, Bloody and Bugger”. (154) These terms are used to consolidate a broad Australian membership , and in particular separate Australians from other nationalities.
The bush-philosopher, Michael Sawtell, summed up the nuances of the word “bastard” as: If we wish to praise a person, we say: “He’s a good bastard”, meaning that he is a good fellow”. (154)
See “larrikin”image/ personalities.
Linguistic features
- Reductions: ambos; docos; pollies
- Names: reductions: Tamey; ash; “Richo” and “Bucks” Such terms are used to bond people together with common interests and a shared background.
- idiomatic expressions: fair dinkum; dinky di; true blue (idioms and clichés that are irreverent, witty and down-to-earth.) ;
- Idioms: (“to kick the bucket”, have a “bonzer” time; to “drum an ounce of sense into him”; to “drop a bombshell”); cop it sweet
- colloquialisms; ellipsis and assimilation;
- distinctive discourse markers such as “no worries”, “too easy” and “she’ll be right” reflect our national psyche.
- An anti-authoritarian streak is captured in familiar terms of address and diminutives, such as -ie, -y, -o, and –a which are common in in everyday words such as “brekkie”, “telly”, “arvo” and “cuppa” and in nicknames such as “Robbo”.
- Broad Australian accent: vowels tend to be drawn out and the dipthongs are elongated. For example, the phoneme /i/ is pronounced /əi/ as in … Many Australians pronounce Australian “Austrayan” as though the /l/ were a /y/. Elongated vowels – “Monda=y” For example, a broad speaker would pronounce the word “buy” closer to the American “boy” (i.e. IPA bɒe). A “Broad” speaker might pronounce the “e” in “dress” closer to an “eh-aw” sound (i.e. IPA ɛɔ). Assimilation often occurs with an ending in “t’ or “d”; the vowel preceding a nasal sound like m / or / n will become more nasal.
Mateship and Australian values
To gain an in-depth understanding of the concept and evolution of “mateship”, read some of Henry Lawson’s short stories and poems and bush ballads of Banjo Patterson and C.J.Dennis.
The values of “mateship” were forged in the late 1800s and early 1900s by the bush-settler-battlers. See Henry Lawson’s poem, “the Shearers“.
According to Russel Ward, who was one of the first to elucidate “The Australian Legend” (1958), the ‘typical Australian” is a practical man, “rough and ready in his manners and quick to decry any appearance of affectation in others”. He is “a fiercely independent person who hates officiousness and authority”. He will also “stick to his mates through thick and thin”.
The view of mateship: the lexeme “mate” is used in conversations between strangers as a means of creating an affable atmosphere; it has “culturally ingrained connotations of egalitarianism and mutual respect”, which enables the interlocutors to feel an equal amount of regard for each other. The term “mate” also helps to minimise the initial awkwardness that can arise when communicating with a stranger, but it also leads to greater approachability and accessibility..
In numerous speeches when he was Prime Minister, John Howard claimed “mateship” to be one of the enduring values of what he variously called the Australian ‘way’ or national ‘character’, embodied in Australia’s ‘fair go’ laconic egalitarianism. (So obsessed was he with “mateship” that he wanted to enshrine it in the Australian Constitution.)
The emphasis is on social solidarity, equality and unpretentiousness. (Discourse features) Lawson prefaces his story, “Send Around the Hat” with a poetic gem: “If a man’s in a hole you must pass around the hat/ Were he jailbird or gentleman once”.
Some quotes from Lenie Johanson:
- “Non-Australians are simply not familiar with the Australian penchant for inventing and using colloquialisms for every facet of life”.
- “It is this extensive use of idiomatic expressions in the printed as well as the spoken word which astonishes most non-Australians.”
- Australians have a “quickness for inventing new ways of saying what they mean: ways that are hilarious, serious, disrespectful – and often vulgar and profane”.
- “Australians seem to take exceptional delight in the art of ‘knocking’ (criticising) or giving praise in a back-handed manner. However, much of what sounds cutting, abusive, unkind, spiteful or lewd is intended to be taken in fun
- Johanson also notes that what is particularly baffling to non-Australians is that one word may have multiple different meanings depending upon the context and the intonation of the speaker. (eg. “he’s done bugger all”; “bugger me dead!”; “I’ll be buggered!”; “buggered up his chances of stayin’”; “done bugger-all work today”.)
- As Gary Nunn states, “Nowhere else in the English-speaking world are MPs referred to as pollies and serious documentaries as docos”.
A profile of a “dinky di” Aussie: a plumber
- He’ll clear the decks before he gets started and clear the air as well in case there’s any confusion about the task
- He’ll make sure no one has clogged the works before he starts; he’ll probably talk a a bit about Bucks and Richo before he gets started and he’ll come out of the drain talking about the bugger who didn’t do the job properly the last time.
- He’ll definitely note that it’s a “bastard” of a pipe to clear; but he’ll get it done before the missus goes berko if he’s too late home. He’s not one to get ‘cold feet’ if the drains too hard. But if he’s in a hurry, he’ll often go off half-cocked.. “I’ll drink to that’ he’ll say as he quickly nicks off.
- Return to: Contemporary Formal Examples
- See a Summary of Contemporary Informal Examples
- Return to Unit-4-language-variation-and-identity/
- Return to Essays Made Easy: English Language
- References to linguists and relevant commentators (which ones?)