Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: 2651-2655 (March 3-7, 2014) Weekly Comics Discussion Thread
Barmymoo:
I got incredibly northern or something, but "northern" appeared to encompass the entire top half of the UK, including the Midlands where there is quite a distinctive dialect which bears no resemblance to, for instance, the Yorkshire or Newcastle dialects. It's oversimplified, basically.
Akima:
I got Spectacularly South-East in the quiz compared to England (and let's face it, you don't get much further South-East unless you're a Kiwi), but I got rather odd results when I did an on-line quiz relating my English to the USA. I just seem to be vaguely "coastal urban"?
--- Quote from: Barmymoo on 05 Mar 2014, 10:47 ---We shake sticks at things in the UK too.
--- End quote ---
Many, probably most, "Australianisms" originated in the UK, I think. Even so Australian expression as "fair dinkum" originated, I believe, in an English dialect. To describe a person/action as "not fair dinkum" is a fairly serious insult to, or criticism of, their/its honesty. Don't throw it in someones face here unless you intend to provoke a confrontation.
A few Australian words, like "cooee" (a bushman's shout; a moderate distance, usually in the context "within cooee of <object>"), "yakka" (work, especially in the form "hard yakka"), "billabong" (pond or pool, often transitory following heavy rain, river-flooding etc.), "gibber" (a boulder or stone) etc. are drawn from indigenous Australian languages. So, of course, are the names of many places (Woolongong, Oodnadatta), animals (kangaroo, koala), and cultural artefacts (boomerang, digeridoo).
Method of Madness:
What does "dinkum" mean by itself?
Akima:
I believe "dinkum" was originally an English dialect word meaning "work". "Fair dinkum" related to fair pay for work, or a "fair go" (another important Australian idea), and mutated to meaning "honest dealing" generally. Nowadays "dinkum" used alone in Australia is just an abbreviation of "fair dinkum" and means "genuine", usually in the expression "Dinkum Aussie". Sadly, the sort of person who uses that expression generally would not apply it to Australians like me.
Pilchard123:
Apparently, I'm spectacularly south-east for the UK one, or from Jersey City, Baltimore or Honolulu for the US.
I actually live in Somerset, becoming Wurzel/Cornish when driving.
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