Discover Australia - Strayan Slang

A BRIEF INTRO

G'day reader! I decided to write this guide to Strayan slang, Australian English, to help people from around the world understand some of the weird and wacky things us aussies come out with. There are many such dictionaries and guides but I've tried to keep this one relevant to the tales I'm writing based in Arnhem Land, Down Under, Australia or many other names this gorgeous, diverse country is known as.

Australia is a very diverse country both culturally and environmentally. With some of the harshest weather, spectacular sights and unique flora and fauna in the world we have it all. The cultural influences of European settlers as well as the Aboriginal people, the original custodians of the land, have created a unique people as well.

Because of the sheer size and various cultural influences in areas, some things common and understood in one part of the country may not be in the others, or could even be completely different. From personal experience things in the South East of the country, in Victoria (Vic), New South Wales (NSW), South Australia (SA) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), are different compared to up north in Queensland (QLD) or the Northern Territory (NT) then a whole other aspect in Tasmania (Tas) or Western Australia (WA).

Accents also vary around the country but as a whole we tend to abbreviate our words, a lot. A common example of Australian English is cutting down a word and adding an -o on the end. For example Bizzo - Business and Journo - Journalist. Another typical example is adding an -ie, or -y, at the end. Eg. Relly - A relative, Tradie - Tradesperson and Truckie - Truck Driver.

Some of the movies and music listed here may have been made or influenced by another country or culture, but they have some true blue Aussie facts or artists. I have chosen some of my favorites and Aussie icons but there are many other greats out there.