Mood:
sadTopic: Aussie Slang
"G'day mate" and "Strewth" are words cemented in the Australian psyche but according to an academic they could soon become obsolete.
Bruce Moore says the change will come about as the nation shakes loose its colonial roots and moves towards a standard national pronunciation.
The Australian National University academic claims the nasal Australian twang - exemplified by the likes of the late Steve Irwin and actor Paul Hogan - will disappear within a few decades."Australians are becoming more confident with the standard Australian accent - and that means there's no longer the need for those sorts of extreme sounds," Mr Moore writes in his new book.
Words like "mate" would no longer be pronounced "mite" as some of the unique characteristics of Australian speech disappeared, he says."There's no doubt the broad accent does carry cultural values. I'm not doubting that. That's why it's used in advertisements," writes Mr Moore.
"But in the future that extreme form of it won't be so necessary because the standard accent will carry those same values."
Broad accents came from the need for cultural distinction in the late 19th Century, while 'posh' accents evolved from the use of Queen's English in education in the late 1800s, Mr Moore says.
The lexicographer makes the claims in his book titled Speaking Our Language: The Story Of Australian English .
"Well throw anotha flamin shrimp on the barbie ya flamin great galah! Blow me down mate like faired income,I know you sheilas think I've got a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock but way back when I was on the grogg me and me old mate would drink castlemaine xxxx for 3 days before we got the courage to ask you sheilas out for a few beers. These days guys like me are a scarce as hen's teeth. gotta skidaddle me old possum. cheers mate!"
