Re: Word usage in English dialects // was Slang, curses and vulgarities

Tristan McLeay wrote:

> Really? So you're not getting the 'Only a little bit over?' ads, then?
> I spose not, the TAC's a state thing.
No. I believe (at least, the media strongly implied this) that
research showed those advertisements to be, however philosophically
appropriate, simply not effective.

Most later ads have emphasised the diligence and sophistication of the
police in regards to catching drink-drivers.

Linguistic aside: I believe that in foreign places they sometimes talk
about "drunken driving" (well, it says so on Yes Prime Minister so it
must be true) or "drunk driving", but here in Australia the usual term
is, of course, "drink driving". Thus leading to the old joke that
still makes me laugh - "Don't drink Drive: it's a washing detergent".

> > I don't agree with this: "a chicken" is perfectly grammatical to me in
> > the context of "Shall I go down the shop and get a chicken for tea?"
>
> Yes, well, the article's not the only thing wrong with that sentence...
> (I'd never use the word 'shall' unless I was purposefully affecting a
> British style.
This is very interesting. I assure you that 'shall' is alive and well
in questions over here.

(I've never thought about it before, but it's worth asking whether the
same is true of other English dialects internationally: i.e. that
"shall" is common in questions but only in questions, so that hardly
anybody would say "I shall go" but most people might say "Shall I
go?".)

I've emailed my uncle who lives in Melbourne in order to find out
whether he (or perhaps the younger generation members of the family)
agree with you about this sentence.

> > A few people say "chook" for all purposes, including references to
> > food. My cousin, for one.
>
> Yeah, that's the definition that seems derogatory to me, to which I
> alluded at the end of my sentence.
It just gives me a mental image of eating it raw with its feathers
still on.

Keith Gaughan wrote:

> P.S. I like Australia, just not the soaps. And they're everywhere here!
Most Australians don't like those soaps either. "Home and Away" and
"Neighbours" are both produced primarily for the British audience.

Adrian.

Replies