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[ktnflag]

I'm a Canadian who's lived in Australia for four years. In that time, I've incorporated a large number of Aussie slang words and phrases into my lexicon. The prosody of my speech has even become more Australian - although, of course, I still have an identifiably Canadian accent

Comments

[labelledcaustic]

Yes I have.

I pick up accents easily. I lived in Indonesia, Canada, and then the Philippines so I had this weird mixture of accents, and on top of that, I learnt 'slang' or words that random other nationalities would use--just cos I go to an international school--people would just sit and listen to me talk. Some of my closest friends are from all these other places so I just...pick them up I guess.

I say "reckon", "petrol" and "fortnight". I've been known to say "pop the boot" (if you're from Australia you'll know what I mean) and I say "ciao" when I go. And sometimes "ta" for thanks.

[ruadh1888]

The first (and, often, only) thing that changes in an expat's speech is vocabulary.

[ktnflag]

True, but what I found particularly interesting was that people "back home" found the vocabulary changes pretentious, rather than viewing them as just a natural part of living abroad.

[bustamina]

One of my friends who was treating me VERY badly when I came back from living in Spain the first time told me the reason she got mad at my talking about my time abroad was because she was jealous, knowing that she would never take the initiative to move to another country.

[ktnflag]

Ah, good point. I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're right.

I've encountered that kind of hostility as well [not in the context of a language dicussion, though], usually from people who would love to live in another country but don't have the skills/training to emigrate in the same manner I did. Jealousy rears its ugly head, I suppose.

[kezkeflar]

Whenever I return to the US, I am accused of being pretentions for saying rubush bin, instead of trash can, and everyone seems to dislike my use of bloody. The slang just has naturally become part of my vocab, and I don't notice it when I am in Sydney, but I think that it has alot to do with both people associations with the words there, as well as getting used to someone vocab changing.

My mum also constantly makes fun of the word dodgey, but I think thats somethign entirly different.

[ktnflag]

Yeah, "bloody" seems to get the universal thumbs-down in North America. Even my mom, who's been married to my very British dad for 30+ years, thinks the word is borderline swearing.

Speaking of parents, my mom has wholeheartedly embraced Aussie slang, even though she's never lived here and has only visited once. I guess she's picked it up from me and re-runs of Water Rats and McLeod's Daughters. The cutest part is that she writes phrases in emails that are normally spoken, which is always good for a laugh. :-)

[gracefruit]

Oh absolutely. I feel affected most of the time.

It's so much easier to learn the lingo than to explain yourself 10 times a day.

[ktnflag]

Exactly. After four years here, I'm awfully sick of having someone interrupt a serious conversation just to comment on my accent. No point in calling more attention to my foreign-ness by using Canadian vocabulary!

[miastarrx]

Oh FUCK do I hate that! I' m an Aussie living in the US and nothing is more eyerollingly bothersome than to have someone interrupt me just to comment/gush about how "cute" my accent is. It used to really bother me, because then it would become a conversation about my accent amongst the other Americans and whatever I was saying just went out the window because the Americans were too distracted by accent that now they have to have a discussion about how cute it is! Gah! Way to make me feel like a total freak. Yep. I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but there was a time where I felt like I couldn't have a normal conversation with anyone because halfway through it would become this whole gushing thing about my "adorable" accent... As if I'm a child or something, with nothing interesting to say, because no one actually listened or responded to what I actually said! Anyway, that was more of a Sacramento thing, it doesn't really happen at all in Miami. Probably because it's much more of a cosmopolitan city and people aren't totally floored

[miastarrx]

I meant, I have them SAYING "sucked in"... heh.

ditto that mate!

[thibodeaux]

I've run into both attitudes.
One worldcon not too long ago I used the words 'dawdle' and 'lift' in a convo and the fellow I was talking to said "You're one of the few people I know who can get away with salting your speech with British terms because you've actually been there. You're not a poser you're an ex-pat."

Compare this to my son, who rolled his eyes when I tried to convince the waitress at Bob Evans I wanted mushrooms and beans with my breakfast. I think I had also annoyed him with the term 'boot' on the way there. He said "Dad, you're never gonna be British!" I replied back with "No, I can't be British, but I can be a Londoner."
I've even had Brits tell me I have a very British sounding 'Sorry..." that's probably the one word I say most to people here in a day, what with traveling on crowded trains and buses...