12 posts tagged “australian”
We have recently moved out of a neighbourhood with a large Lebanese-Australian population and my kids are starting to lose their Lebanese accents. My son in particular, who started at the local school at 4.5 years old, was "rolling" his consonants in a very Arabic fashion from quite early on and would be familiar with terms like "Yallah" ("Come on") and "habib" ("darling"). My daughter went through a stage of describing everything as "mad" (which apparently means "good") and would correct my pronunciation of her friends' names.
Growing up in Melbourne in the seventies, my brothers and I had a lot of exposure to Greek-Australian dialect, especially swear words. "Malaka" ("wanker") was always a very popular term of abuse with Greeks and Skips (as we were called) alike. (I won't list any others here in case I offend any Greek voxers who might be reading - we did tend to bandy them about with gay abandon while not really knowing what the terms meant). About the only "clean" Greek terms I know are "Yassou" ("hello/goodbye"), "Kalimera" ("good morning"), "Tikanis?" ("How are you?") and "Ella" (which is actually very similar in meaning to the Arabic "Yallah"). And of course, I still always call a "kebab" a "souvlakia" (I think all Melbournians do)!
I am pleased to report that my children don't know how to swear in Arabic (yet) but certainly know their hummus from their felafel.
Show us who you idolized as a teenager.
Some people will find this extremely sad but I was a huge fan of politician Paul Keating in my late teens (around 17-18 years old). He was Treasurer when I was at high school and just starting to take an interest in politics. I studied a lot of his economic reforms as part of my high school economics course and admired what he was trying to achieve (it probably also helped that I was too young to be affected by some of the negative fallout such as the rising interest rates). After university, I worked in Canberra under both the Hawke and Keating Labor governments and came to admire Paul Keating even more then. Not only was he extremely witty (as evidenced by this archive of some of his more famous insults) but his politics seemed so courageous and forward-looking, including his vision of Australia as a republic and his belief in closer ties between Australia and its Asian neighbours (this latter also benefited me personally as an Asian linguist). I was working in Jakarta when the Howard Government got elected and I honestly felt like not coming home. Sure enough many of my worst fears were realised in the following years and it wasn't long before I packed up and left Canberra for Sydney. I just couldn't stand working for that "dessicated coconut" and his cronies any longer.
What new CD are you looking forward to being released?
This one is defintely worth a plug in the lead up to Christmas.
Proceeds from sales go towards the Buttery which is an drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in Northern NSW.
here are some photos of my daughter meeting some friendly reptiles at a fair a few weeks ago.
Not sure what type of python this was but it was very friendly!
Can you see my daughter getting a bit pinker in the face in this one? Still smiling though!
Thought you might be interested in this book by an Australian Young Adult writer (and lawyer), Randa Abdel-Fattah:
I actually prefer the Australian cover of this as the girl on the front looks more like a normal school girl (rather than a fashion model). It is about an Australian teenage girl who decides to wear hijab full time and all the trials and tribulations she experiences along the way. It is not the best written young adult novel I have ever read (ie, is quite reminiscent of another Australian novel Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta) but is still an entertaining and interesting read and quite valuable in that it explores a particular issue of identity in a way that anyone can relate to. It has been very popular with both Muslim and non-Muslim girls in Australia so that has to be a good thing.
Interestingly (and probably disappointingly for a lot of Australian Muslim women), I saw an interview with Randa Abdel-Fattah a few years after this book was released and it seems that she is no longer wearing hijab herself as she felt it would hinder her career in the legal profession - quite the opposite of what Amal's journey is all about.
Still a good read for anyone who enjoys young adult fiction and/or would like to know more about the practice of wearing hijab and the challenges of being true to ones cultural and religious identity in a place where you are in the minority.
The 'most hated' person in Australia, according to a Zoo weekly (men's magazine) poll is a sports star who defected from his Rugby League team to go and play Rugby in France. He ranks above one of the Bali bombers and the much loathed politician, Belinda Neal. Even the girl from the AAMI ad and Pope Benedict get a mention on this year's list.
Sonny Bill Williams most hated in Australia
Rugby league deserter Sonny Bill Williams has edged out Bali bomber Amrozi to be named Australia's most hated person in a notorious annual poll.
Williams has topped men's mag Zoo Weekly's annual Top 50 People We Hate List, released today.
Zoo editor Paul Merrill said the now French rugby player was the clear winner.
"Sonny Bill is someone who did something no Australian should do [Wait a minute! Isn't Sonny Bill a New Zealander?], he ditched his teammates and walked out," Merrill told AAP.
"We're calling him Money Bill Williams [ooh, cutting!] for scarpering off to another continent just for the cash."
Federal MP Belinda Neal was third, disgraced AFL player Wayne Carey was fourth for "shagging his mate's missus" and "even the name Wayne" while swimmer Nick D'Arcy rounded out the top five.
SA attorney-general Michael Atkinson came in at six for blocking R-rated video games, followed by the Pope for "shutting down our streets and filling them with a bunch of weirdos" during World Youth Day in Sydney.
"Generally we don't like him (the Pope) he's old and looks a bit strange, like he should be in Star Wars," Merrill said.
Based on men's views, the list included everybody from an incest father and daughter couple, bank chief executives and "the girl from the AAMI ads".
Surprise inclusions were pop star Madonna (44), golfer Greg Norman (13) and Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker (32).
Last year's winner Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns is out, while 2006 winner, radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands has slipped to 19.
TV personalities to make the list included the character Toadie from Network Ten soap Neighbours, Johanna Griggs for being "annoying" during Seven's Olympic coverage and Sunrise host David Koch.
"Toadie has just been on the show for too long, he's not a great character and we wish he wasn't on the show," Merrill said.
"And David Koch because he's a bit of an old fart."
Featuring last year, but spared this time were Roseanne Barr, Eddie McGuire, OJ Simpson, Owen Wilson and Gretel Killeen.
And for anyone wondering about the girl from the AAMI ads, here she is (actually think my husband quite likes her!):
I was watching Australian Idol the other night (yes, we started watching it because the kids like it and now we are hooked!) and was quite annoyed to hear Kyle (the obnoxious judge - every country has at least one of these, I think) commenting to one of the singers that he should have been singing the song with an American accent like the original. Isn't it bad enough that so many of the singers on that show simply imitate the original renditions of the song they have chosen without having to pretend not to be Australian into the bargain? One of my pet hates is Australian singers who assume an American (or British) accent when they sing. It is one thing I love about Holly Throsby, ie, not only does she sing beautifully but she sings with an Australian accent. This should not be unusual but unfortunately it is - enough for it to be mentioned in reviews of her concerts and CDs. Missy Higgins is another one. It doesn't seem to have harmed either of their popularity.
What is the most annoying stereotype people say about the country or place where you're from?
Actually, I find the most annoying stereotypes about Australians tend to be those perpetuated by other Australians usually for some kind of political gain or to claim superiority over some other group, eg, those idiots who draped themselves in Australian flags while expressing intolerance towards other Australians (the latest target is Muslim Australians although in the past it has been various other groups including, perversely enough, Indigenous Australians). These people go on about stereotypical Australian notions of "mateship" and "a fair go" while exemplifying the exact opposite.
being force-fed vegemite on their pilgrimage to Sydney. Is this a test of faith? I don't think I have ever met a non-Australian who likes vegemite. Also didn't know that baked beans were traditional Aussie fare. Someone had better tell Mel Brooks.
Pilgrims to tuck into tradition
June 9, 2008 - 3:39PM
Iconic ... the pilgrims' menu will feature typical Aussie tucker.
Pilgrims heading to Sydney for World Youth Day (WYD) next month will get a taste of Down Under courtesy of a traditional Aussie menu.
Over the six-day event from July 15-20, 3.5 million meals will be served, including breakfast at 400 accommodation venues, lunch at 250 sites and evening meals in the city.
To cater for the masses, 210,000 slices of bread, 425,000 chocolate bars, 200,000 meat pies and 300,000 servings of Weet-Bix Crunch have been ordered.
"We want to provide pilgrims with a good feed and a little bit of an Australian taste," WYD director of services Geoff Morris said.
"We have tried to do that by including some of our more iconic items such as Tim Tams, Weet-Bix Crunch, Vegemite, lamingtons and good old baked beans," Mr Morris said.
On the second day of the festivities, 200 barbecues will be held simultaneously, an event dubbed the "WYD Big Aussie BBQ".
An estimated 125,000 international visitors are expected to visit Sydney for WYD.
AAP
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