Na tej stronie będziemy sukcesywnie wypisywać różne przykłady wariacji na temat Queen’s English, którego dopuszczają się Australijczycy. A wierzcie nam, jest tego trochę. Na dobry początek wytłumaczymy adres bloga “poles in oz”.
Oz – potoczna nazwa Australii, jako krainy Oz.
A oto wierszyk z odrobiną słownictwa :)
The Great Aussie Slanguage
‘Tis the everyday Australian
Has a language of his own,
Has a language, or a slanguage,
Which can simply stand alone.
And ‘a dicken pitch to kid us’
is a synonym for ‘lie’,
And to ‘nark it’ means to stop it,
And to ‘nit it’ means to fly!
And a bosom friend’s a ‘cobber’,
And a horse a ‘prad’ or ‘moke’,
While a casual acquaintance
Is a ‘joker’ or a ‘bloke’,
And his ladylove’s his ‘donah’
Or his ‘clinah’ or his ‘tart’,
Or his ‘little bit o’ muslin’,
As it used to be his ‘bart’.
And his naming of the coinage
Is a mystery to some,
With his ‘quid’ and ‘half-a-caser’,
And his ‘deener’ and his ‘scrum’,
And a ‘tin-back’ is a party
Who’s remarkable for luck,
And his food is called his ‘tucker’,
Or his ‘panem’ or his ‘chuck’,
A policeman is a ‘johnny’,
Or a ‘copman’ or a ‘tramp’,
And a thing obtained on credit
Is invariably a ‘strap’.
A conviction’s known as ‘trouble’,
And a goal is a ‘spieler’
And a simpleton’s a ‘tug’.
If he hits a man in fighting
That is what he calls ‘a plug’,
If he borrows money from you
He will say he ‘bit your lug’.
And to ‘shake it’ is to steal it,
And to ‘strike it’ is to beg;
And a jest is ‘poking borak’,
And a jester ‘pulls your leg’.
Things are ‘crook’ when they go wrongly
In the language of the ‘push’,
And when things go as he wants ‘em
He declares it is ‘all cush’,
When he’s bright he’s got a ‘napper’,
And he’s ‘ratty’ when he’s daft,
And when looking for employment
He is ‘out of blooming graft’.
And his clothes he calls his ‘clobber’
Or his ‘togs’, but what of that
When a ‘castor’ or a ‘kady’
Is the name he gives his hat!
And our undiluted English
Is a fad to which we cling,
But the great Australian language
Is a truly awful thing!!!!
W.T. Goodge, 1898
