by Gabrielle Keen

Created on: January 14, 2009

"Gidday Mate!" Welcome to Kiwi Speak 101. Kiwis as we New Zealanders affectionately refer to ourselves are actually one of our most loved national icons, nocturnal flightless birds with incredibly long beaks and very bad eyesight . In Aotearoa ( Maori name for New Zealand) we have our own distinct colloquial language, a mix of our European heritage and farming background sometimes combined with the Maori language of our native people. "Gidday Mate" is a friendly greeting directed at friends and strangers alike and simply means hello friend. The Maori version is "Kia Ora". Gidday is a shortened version of the more formal greeting "Good day" and "mate" is of course a friend, pal or buddy. "Cuz" or "Bro" are also used as an more affectionate alternative to mate. If someone says " Good on ya mate!" it could be taken in either of two ways, as a compliment, or as a sarcastic reference to a mistake or faux pas made by the recipient. Most visitors to our country should understand us well enough although some may be a tad bemused or confused with some of our more unique sayings and slang.

One word we use often may seem offensive to some but to us it's quite acceptable even in polite company and has even featured in a famous Toyota television advertisment. The word is "bugger". For instance if someone was feeling a little tired or below par they may say "I'm buggered". Should you have out stayed your welcome you might hear "bugger off" which translates to go away, sling your hook or take a hike. A response to an unexpected surprise might be " well, bugger me" or " bugger my days" alternated with another common expression of disbelief " stone the crows" . " You little bugger" is more a derogatory term but can also be used affectionately depending on the situation and the tone of voice used. Another common utterance is " buggered if I know" which means we have no idea when faced with a question or dilemma.

A term of comfort or optimism is " she'll be right, mate" meaning everything will be alright, although I'm buggered if I know who "she" could be. In response to a request for a favour you will often hear the reply " no worries" or " not a problem" testiment to the laid-back and generous nature of the average Kiwi. If we were referring to someone of dubious mental stability we might descibe them as being " a sandwich short of a picnic", " a tinny short of a six pack" ( a six-pack of cans of beer). On the subject of beer it would be handy to note that when ordering a beer

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