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I assume you are a tourist and you want to communicate with Australians using Australian slang. My advice to you is not to even try. The Australian accent is unique and any attempt to imitate it will stick out like the proverbial gonads on a male bulldog. Unless you are going to live in Australia then there is no point in learning the slang.

Australians like to think they speak English just as much as Americans like to think they speak English. Really you would expect the English to speak English but even the English as spoken by the English is full of slang. I would not even try to learn the slang of America or England unless I intended to live there. There are so many accents in both countries from different parts of the land that even if you knew the slang you would not be able to pass yourself off as a local if you tried to speak the slang in conversation.

The majority of Australians are a friendly lot who in the main welcome tourists. If you must use Australian slang then all you really need to know is "G"day" which is the first word spoken by any Australian when greeting another person. You could even combine it with "Mate" so that it becomes "G'day Mate" but that address is generally used for a person already known. That is all you need to know really. Buy a book on Australian slang if you must or read the articles such as those appearing on the Helium site for an in depth list.

If you are American your accent will give you away as soon as you speak more words than "G'day" Because of so much American television programs being on Australian television , a lot of the American slang has been absorbed by the Australians. A lot of Australian slang is not now used in everyday conversation and is rapidly disappearing. Use of broad slang can be considered vulgar.

For instance,if you as as American ask to visit the bathroom most Australians will understand you want to use the toilet.Now this is where a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Assuming that you as an American knew one of the Australian slang words for a toilet was "Dunny" you would not offend Australians if you were amongst people you knew and you asked asked "G'day mate, where's your dunny?" However there is a time and place for that sort of slang. If you were on a tourist bus full of elderly people and you came up to the driver in full hearing distance of the entire bus passengers and asked him , "G'day mate , when's the next dunny stop? I've got a massive load to drop," you may find yourself the subject of disgust rather than be praised for using the Australian slang . Even Australians don't usually resort to crude slang unless they are relaxed and amongst friends. Certain slang words are not used in public.

New Zealanders also have an accent which Australians can detect with ease. Six as pronounced by a New Zealander sounds remarkably similar to the Australian pronunciation of sex or sucks. Small bottles of alcoholic beverages are packed in a cardboard holder and are referred to by Australians as a six pack. Can you imagine a bottle shop attendant being asked by a lovely New Zealand girl tourist for a "sex" pack?

So never mind if you can't use Australian slang like a local if you come as a tourist. A simple "G'day" will do and you will soon be everyone's " Mate." As long as you have a "bonzer" time , don't get too "pissed" at a "barbie" and "chunder" all over the "shielars"
then you'll do. Actually , to put it another way, if you want a good time , don't get intoxicated when invited to a barbecue and don't end up vomiting all over the female guests then you can start to use Australian slang like a local.

Learn more about this author, Barry Williams.
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