Wednesday, 10 October 2012

responding to Emily

http://emilyj1988.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/i-hate-bloody-spiders-harry.html

Comment 3

Hey Emily, yeah as Aussies it seems we love to be rough about language and to shorten everything. No wonder when my dad migrated to Australia, he said it was the single hardest experience of his life to adapt to life here. He wouldn't have understood Australian values, attitudes and culture that so heavily impacted on Australian colloquial language. I mean sometimes even I think when I've said something to a friend - Did I just make that word up or Did I just overhear It and reproduced the phrase? - Nevertheless, my friends never seem misunderstand; the context is always well understood and appreciated. In fact, I think this sort of language use is greatly encouraged and is a sign of an allegiance to traditional Australian values and attitudes. I mean it's no wonder Kevin Rudd was so popular with Australian voters with his quirky use of colloquial idioms like 'a fair go' and the otherwise never heard previously 'fair shake of the sauce bottle, mate'
In the reading for that week, Anna W. talks about how politicians use such phrases to portray traditional Australian values of mateship – and that they are also ‘appealing to certain cultural scripts’. It is interesting, how much these terms can impact on likability and acceptance. In case her analyse of the many meanings of the word ‘Bloody’ as a discourse just goes to show how Aussie language is indicative of traditions and changes in Australian culture and society.
All I know is I’ll be watching out the next time someone says the word ‘Bloody’. 

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