Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Australian |
AustralianAdjective1. Of or relating to or characteristic of Australia or its inhabitants; "Australian deserts"; "Australian aborigines". Noun1. A native or inhabitant of Australia. 2. The Austronesian languages spoken by Australian aborigines. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "Australian" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1822. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Geography | Inhabitant of Australia. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Australia is both the name of the world's smallest continent, and the short form of the Commonwealth of Australia.The Commonwealth of Australia is the sixth largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in Australasia. New Zealand is to the southeast; and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor to its north. The name 'Australia' comes from the Latin phrase terra australis incognita ("unknown southern land", see Terra Australis).
Commonwealth of Australia
(In Detail) National motto: None Official language English Capital Canberra Largest City Sydney Queen Elizabeth II Governor-General Michael Jeffery Prime Minister John Howard Area
- Total
- % waterRanked 6th
7,686,850 km²
1%Population
- Total (2003)
- DensityRanked 53rd
19,993,204
3/km²Independence
-Constitution Act
-Australia ActFrom the UK:
1 January 1901
3 March 1986Currency Australian dollar Time zone UTC +8 to +11 National anthem Advance Australia Fair Internet TLD .AU Calling Code 61
History
Main article: History of AustraliaAustralia has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years, since the remote ancestors of the current Australian Aborigines arrived from present-day Southeast Asia. The land was not discovered by Europeans until the 17th century, when it was sighted and visited by several expeditions. The eastern two-thirds of the continent was claimed for the United Kingdom in 1770, and first colonised in New South Wales on 26 January 1788 as an British penal colony. The rest was claimed by the United Kingdom in 1829. Most of the states that later federated to form Australia were not penal colonies.
On 1 January 1901, the Commonwealth, or federation of Australia was born, as a dominion, within the British Empire. Australia was now independent, although the last legal ties with the United Kingdom were not severed until 1986). Australia is a Constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II reigning as 'Queen of Australia'. In 1999, a referendum was held on consitutional change to a republic, with an appointed President replacing the Queen as head of state, but this was rejected.
See also: Australian Constitutional History
Politics
Main article: Politics of AustraliaThe Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy: the Queen of Australia is the official head of state and is represented by the Governor General. In practice the role of the Crown (and thus that of the Governor General) is largely ceremonial. The executive power theoretically vested in the Crown is exercised by an elected cabinet headed by a prime minister.
The prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives, the 150-seat lower house of the bicameral Commonwealth Parliament. Members of the House of Representatives, or MHRs, are elected from single-member constituencies, known as divisions. The upper house is the 76-seat Senate, in which each state is represented by twelve Senators, regardless of population size, and each territory by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years, usually with one half of the Senate being eligible for reelection.
See also: Republicanism in Australia
States and Territories
Main article: Australian States and TerritoriesAustralia is divided into six states and several territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia; the territories, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
Australia also has an additional minor internal territory, Jervis Bay Territory (a naval base in New South Wales), several inhabitated external territories (Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and several largely uninhabited external territories: Coral Sea Islands Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The Australian Capital Territory was created at the chosen site of the capital city Canberra. Canberra was founded as a compromise between the two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney.
Geography
Main article: Geography of AustraliaBy far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-desert—40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate: part is tropical rainforests, part grasslands, and part desert. The Great Barrier Reef, by far the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast.
See also: Protected areas of Australia
Flora and Fauna
Main articles: Australian fauna, Australian floraAlthough most of the continent is desert or semi-desert, Australia nevertheless includes a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests. Because of the great age of the continent, its very variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique.
See also: Australian birds
Economy
Main article: Economy of AustraliaAustralia has a prosperous Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant Western European economies. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn, with steady growth.
See also: Australian dollar
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of AustraliaMost of the Australian population descends from 19th and 20th century immigrants, most from the United Kingdom and Ireland to begin with, but from other sources in later years. Many inhabitants are of Greek, Italian or Asian descent. Descendants of the original population, the Australian Aborigines, make up 2.2% of the population, according to the 2001 Census. In common with many other developed countries, Australia is currently experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retired people and fewer of working age.
English is the spoken language in Australia, although some of the surviving Aboriginal communities maintain their native languages, and a considerable number of first and sometimes second-generation migrants are bi-lingual. Although the nation is broadly secular and few are church-goers, three-quarters of Australians are nominally Christian, mostly Catholic or Anglican. A diverse range of other religions is practised.
See also: List of cities in Australia
Culture
Main article: Culture of AustraliaRelated topics:
See also: Australian public holidays
- Cinema of Australia
- Music of Australia
Miscellaneous topics
- List of Australians
- Communications in Australia
- Transportation in Australia
- Foreign relations of Australia
- Military of Australia
- List of Australian Awards
- Australian of the Year Award
External links
- Australian Tourist Commission
- Australian History -- from the Washington Embassy
- Country of Australia -- Sunnybank web directory
- Worldwide press freedom index - Ranked 12 out of 139 countries (2 way tie)
- Gallery of Australia Photographs Attractions primarily in Queensland and the Northern Territory
- Guide to Australia Provides essential information about Australia
Countries of the world | Oceania simple:Australia
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australia."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Australian English is the form of the English language used in Australia.
Differences with other variations of English
Australian English is similar in many respects to British English, but there are a few cases where Australian English is closer to American English. For example: Australian English uses the American English truck instead of the British English lorry and the American English freeway instead of British English motorway. Like American English and unlike British English, Australian English uses singular verbs with singular collective nouns. The British English use of the plural verb - for example, "the Government are committed" - sounds quite odd to an Australian (or American) ear.
Many Americans struggle to distinguish an Australian English speaker from a New Zealand English speaker, or even a British speaker (just as Canadian and other North American English speakers are often indistinguishable to Australasian ears and are only identified as American). The difference between Australian English and New Zealand English is immediately obvious to a speaker from either country. Australian English is sometimes called "Strine" and New Zealand English "Newzilid" - "strine" being the way "Australian" is pronounced with a heavy Australian accent, and "Newzilid" the equivalent for New Zealand - which embodies the essential pronunciation differences. Where Australian English has the lax vowel notated in SAMPA as /I/, New Zealand usually has the unstressed vowel of Standard English about, even in stressed positions, hence the frequent joke among Australians that New Zealand speakers like "sux buts of fush and chups".
Due to the predominence of foreign mass media products in Australia, most Australians are familiar with at least some of the variants of modern British English and American English, and many have adopted some of the distinctive vocabulary and idioms of those languages. The exposure to the different spellings of British and American English leads to a certain amount of spelling confusion - for instance, "organize" as opposed to "organise". Generally, either variant is accepted. Some other differences are less known to both cultures e.g. behavior/behaviour and this does provide a dilemma for any Australians (or English) who communicate with Americans, since most Americans are even less aware of these variations and (ironically) presume the non-Americans are poor spellers.
In 1981 the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English was published after 10 years of research and planning. Editions have been published ever since.
Unique Australian traits
Australian English also incorporates several uniquely Australian terms, such as outback to refer to remote regional areas, walkabout to refer to a long journey of uncertain length and bush to refer to native forested areas, but also to regional areas as well. Fair dinkum can mean are you telling me the truth? this is the truth!, or this is ridiculous! depending on context - the disputed origin (see http://www.anu.edu.au/ANDC/Ozwords/November_98/7._dinkum.htm ) dates back to the gold rush in the 1850s, "dinkum" being derived from the Chinese word for "gold": "fair dinkum" is the genuine article. G'day is well known as a stereotypical Australian greeting - it is worth noting that "G'day" is not synonymous with the expression "Good Day", and is never used as an expression for "farewell". Many of these terms have been adopted into British English via popular culture and family links.
Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been incorporated into Australian English, mainly as names for the indigenous flora and fauna (e.g. Dingo, Kangaroo), as well as extensive borrowings for place names. Beyond that, very few terms have been adopted into the wider language. A notable exception is Cooee (a musical call which travels long distances in the bush and is used to say 'is there anyone there?'). Though often thought of as an Aboriginal word, Didgeridoo/Didjeridu (a well known wooden musical instrument) is actually an onomatopoeic term coined by an English settler.
Australian English has a unique set of diminutives formed by adding -o or -ie to the ends of (often abbreviated words). There does not appear to be any particular pattern to which of these suffixes is used. Examples with the -o ending include abo (aborigine - now considered very offensive), arvo (afternoon), fisho (fishmonger), fruito (fruiterer), servo (service station/gas station), devo (deviant/pervert), ambo (ambulance office) and bottle-o (bottle shop/liquor store). Examples of the -ie ending include barbie (barbeque), aggie (student of agricultural science), beautie (beautiful, stereotypically pronounced and even written bewdy), bikkie (biscuit), blowie (blowfly), and bookie (bookmaker). Occasionally, a -za diminutive is used, usually for personal names. Barry becomes Bazza, Karen becomes Kazza and Sharon becomes Shazza.
Phonetics of Australian English
The "cultivated" and "general" accents use 24 consonants, 11 vowels and 8 diphthongs. (The "broad" accents employ a myriad of different vowels and diphthongs). IPA symbols of the sounds are as follows (where similar or no characters can be provided in unicode, names of the symbols are included for clarification):
Consonants:
plosives/stops: p, b, t, d, k, g fricatives: f, v, θ, ð, s, z, S (esh), Z (yogh), h affricates: tS (tee-esh), dZ (dee-yogh) nasals: m, n, ŋ semivowels: j, w liquids: l, rVowels:
short vowels: I (small capital i), æ, ε, A (inverted v), υ, @ (turned cursive a) long vowels: i, a, u, 3 (reversed epsilon), ) (open o) special status: əThe symbols /e/ and /o/ are also used, but only in diphthongs.
Diphthongs:
aI, eI, )I, aυ, oυ, Iə, εə, υəNote: /ə/ is the only short vowel that appears at the end of a word
Allophones:
There are many allophones in Australian English. Here are some examples:"Noeline's notes" /oυ/ -> [)υ], [əυ]
"I can open the can" /æ/ -> [æ] or [ə], [æ:]
Vocabulary
- abo - derogatory term for Aborigine
- Anglo-Celtic - Australian of British or Irish descent
- banana bender - Queenslander
- Asian - usually East Asian rather than South Asian
- division - parliamentary constituency
- dob - to tell on
- dole bludger - workshy person living on welfare
- 'crow eater- South Australia (seen on car number plates)
- footy - football, Rugby League in New South Wales or Queensland, Australian Rules in other states, but not soccer
- New Australian - Immigrant, usually from continental Europe
- Pom- (also pommy) mildly derogatory word for English person. Origin uncertain.
- Premier - elected head of a state government
- rort - scam
- sandgroper - Western Australian
- 'tothersider - someone from eastern Australia (used by Western Australians)
- tall poppy - someone who gets ideas above his station
- wog - derogatory term for Italian, Greek or other southern European
Spoken Australian English
According to stereotype, spoken Australian English is thought to be highly colloquial, possibly more so than other spoken variants. Various publishers have produced "phrase books" to assist visitors. These phrasebooks reflect a highly exaggerated and outdated style of Australian colloquialisms and they should be regarded as amusements rather than accurate usage guides. Perception has it that a common trait is the frequent use of long-winded similes, such as "Slow as a wet weekend", "Built like a brick shit-house", "mad as a cut snake" or "flat out like a lizard drinking". Whether this perception is based in reality or has been produced by popular culture items of fiction such as television series Neighbours and the films of Paul Hogan remains in question.
A substantial collection of unique or unusual words are in common spoken usage - e.g. "dacks" (trousers), "dag" (unfashionable person), "bludge" (to shirk), "ute" (a utility vehicle or pickup truck). Another well-known Australianism, "wowser" (a killjoy), has now fallen out of use. An even larger vocabulary is derived from recognisable words with entirely new meanings - "to bag" (to criticise), "blue" (either a fight or heated argument, or an embarrassing mistake), "crook" (unwell, also unfair), "to wag" (to play truant), "cactus" (non-functional), "cut" (angry) and especially "root" (a euphemism for sexual intercourse, which has caused social embarrassment for American women who innocently declare that they "root" for a particular sports team). Note that the slang term "root" was common in the 1970s but is rarely heard today. Also, the term Australians use for "fanny pack" is "bum bag" since in Australia fanny is a slang term for a woman's vagina.
Spoken Australian English is also generally far more tolerant of expletives than other variants: the former Prime Minister Paul Keating would openly refer to his parliamentary opponents as as "mangy maggot piss ants".
Australians are known for ther directness or "calling a spade a spade", which can lead to misunderstanding and offence on the part of Australia's Asian neighbours. Prime Minister Keating's description of the Prime Minister of Malaysia as "recalcitrant" in 1993 caused considerable offence in that country.
Another notable trait of Australian English usage, inherited from Britain, is the use of deadpan humour, in which the joker will make an outrageous or ridiculous statement without explicitly indicating they are joking. Americans visiting Australia have gained themselves a reputation for gullibility and a lack of a sense of humour by not recognising that tales of kangaroos hopping across the Sydney Harbour Bridge are examples of this propensity.
Myths about Australian English
Negative evaluations of Australian English, like those of many other English dialects, tend to centre on the belief, or come from the perspective that other forms of English (especially RP British English) are superior for some reason. These evaluations of Australian English are simple value judgments and essentially meaningless.
Australian English is sometimes described as "high-pitched", "nasal", and often "lazy" or "drawling". It is a matter of opinion whether high pitch is inherently undesirable, and the charge of nasality is simply not true. Linguistic laziness is impossible to test objectively: the assertion is simply based on prejudice. If anything, the tendency for Australians to turn pure vowels into diphthongs requires more work from the speech organs rather than less.
Talking about food
With foodstuffs Australian English tends to be more closely related to the British vocabulary, eg. biscuit for the American cookie. However in a few cases such as zucchini, snow pea and eggplant Australian English uses the same terms as the Americans, whereas the British use the equivalent French terms courgette, mange-tout and do not care whether eggplant or aubergine is used. This is possibly due to a fashion that emerged in mid-19th Century Britain of adopting French nouns for foodstuffs, and hence the usage changed in Britain while the original terms were preserved in the (ex-)colonies. For some uncertain reason, Australia uses the botanical name capsicum for what both the British and the Americans would call (red or green) peppers.
Regional variation
It is sometimes claimed that regional variations in pronunciation exist, but if present at all they are very small compared to those of British and American English - sufficiently so that linguists are divided on the question.
However, there used to be a significant regional variation in Australian English vocabulary between different states. For example, Queenslanders say "port" while New South Walians and Victorians say "school bag". "Football" refers to the most popular code in the state. Western and South Australians start a game of Australian rules football with a "bounce down", New South Walians and Queenslanders start a game of Rugby League with a "ball up". The steadily increasing affect of centralised film, TV and even radio production, however, is rapidly blurring these distinctions.
Regional Phonetic Variation
Studies have shown that there are limited regional variations in Australian English. This chart shows the percentage of speakers from different capital cities who pronounce words in a certain way, concentrating on the usage of /æ/ vs. /a/.
Hobart Melbourne Brisbane Sydney AdelaideSource: David Crystal, Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge UP, 1995graph græf (100%) græf (70%) graf (56%) graf (70%) graf (86%)
chance tSæns (100%) tSans (60%) tSæns (75%) tSans (80%) tSans (86%)
demand dəmænd (90%) dəmand (78%) dəmand (78%) dəmand (90%) dəmand (100%)
dance dæns (90%) dæns (65%) dæns (89%) dæns (60%) dans (86%)
castle kasl (60%) kæsl (70%) kæsl (67%) kasl (100%) kasl (86%)
grasp grasp (90%) grasp (89%) grasp (89%) grasp (95%) grasp (100%)
contrast kəntrast (100%) kəntrast (100%) kəntrast (100%) kəntrast (100%) kəntrast (71%)
See also: Distinguishing accents in English#Australia for accent description.
External links
- Macquarie Dictionary
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australian English."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Jarkko Niemenen on Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, can be seen in the background.
Larger versionThe Australian Open tennis tournament, held annually in mid-January, is one of the world's four Grand Slam in tennis tournaments.
Originally based at the grass courts at Kooyong in the city of Melbourne's inner south-east, the tournament was in danger of fading into irrelevance, but was revived in the 1980s with a shift to Melbourne Park, a new hardcourt venue next to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the southern fringe of the central business district.
Like all the Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's singles competitions, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, as well as junior and master's competitions.
Two tournaments were held in 1977; the first in January, the second in December. The tournament moved back to January in 1987, so no championship was decided in 1986.
The centre court, Rod Laver Arena, and the first show court are unusual in that they feature a movable roof which can be shut in case of rain or extreme heat. It is the only Grand Slam tournament that can feature indoor play.
Australian Open Champions since 1905
See List of Australian Open champions
External link
- Australian Open official website
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australian Open."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Australian Survivor was a television series based on the popular American reality show Survivor. The series was filmed in November and December 2001 and aired weekly from February 13 - May 15, 2002 on Australia's Nine Network. It was set at Whalers Way, a coastal nature reserve in South Australia. The show's host was Lincoln Howes. The grand prize of 500,000 Australian dollars was won by Robert Dickson. The two initial tribes were Kadina and Tipara.Contestants included (in order of how they finished, starting from the first one eliminated and ending with the winner):
- Lucinda Allen, 43, Mother and interior/exterior designer (Kadina)
- Tim Duggan, 42, Contract painter (Kadina)
- David Haas, 34, IT consultant for a system integration company (Kadina)
- Jeff Brown, 53, Federal police superintendent (Tipara)
- Deborah Peart, 26, Television post-production supervisor (Kadina)
- Sylvan Dokney, 25, Writer (Kadina)
- Caren Shaw, 29, Promotions manager/radio co-host (Kadina)
- Naomi Knight, 22, Physical Education teacher (Kadina)
- Craig Abbot, 27, Electrician (Kadina)
- Lance Brooks, 40, Self employed marketing and promotions company (Tipara)
- Jane Dalton, 18, Student (Tipara)
- Sophie Woods, 31, Mother of two (Tipara)
- Katie Gold, 24, Professional athlete (Tipara)
- Joel Betts, 22, University Graduate (Tipara)
- Scioa Browne, 49, Managing Director (Tipara)
- Robert Dickson, 28, Ex AFL footballer (Tipara)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australian Survivor."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Australian cinema is Australian related film movies, actors and directorss.
Notable films
- Brides of Christ (1991)
- The Castle (1997)
- Crocodile Dundee (1986)
- The Dish (1997)
- The Interview (1998)
- Lantana (2001)
- The Last Wave (1977)
- Mad Max (1979)
- Muriel's Wedding (1994)
- My Brilliant Career (1979)
- Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
- Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
- Proof (1991)
- Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
- Strictly Ballroom (1992)
- The Thorn Birds (1983)
- Walkabout (1971)
- The Wog Boy (2000)
Filmed/Made in Australia (but without a theme specifically including Australian culture)
- The Blood of Heroes (1990)
- Dark City (1998)
- A Date with Destiny (1990)
- Dead-End Drive In (1986)
- Escape 2000 (1981)
- Fortress (1993)
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- Moulin Rouge (2001)
- Pitch Black (2000)
- Red Planet (2000)
- Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Thirst (1979)
- The Time Guardian (1987)
- Zone 39 (1997)
Notable directors
- Gillian Armstrong (1950- )
- Bruce Beresford (1940- )
- Jane Campion (1954- )
- Peter Clifton (1949- )
- Roger Donaldson (1945- )
- Stephen Hopkins (1958- )
- Baz Luhrmann (1962- )
- George Miller (1945- )
- Phillip Noyce (1950- )
- Fred Schepisi (1939- )
- Carl Schultz (1939- )
- Peter Weir (1944- )
- Simon Wincer (1943- )
Notable actors
- Eric Bana (1968- )
- Claudia Black (1972- )
- Cate Blanchett (1969- )
- Bryan Brown (1947- )
- Rose Byrne (1979- )
- Toni Collette (1972- )
- Vince Colosimo (1966- )
- Russell Crowe (1964- )
- Judy Davis (1955- )
- Alex Dimitriades (1973- )
- Gosia Dobrowolska (1958- )
- Joel Edgerton (1974- )
- Errol Flynn (1909-1959)
- Nick Giannopoulos (1963- )
- Paul Goddard
- Rachel Griffiths (1961- )
- Virginia Hey (1962- )
- Paul Hogan (1939- )
- Bill Hunter (1940- )
- Hugh Jackman (1968- )
- Nicole Kidman (1967- )
- Heath Ledger (1979- )
- Sophie Lee (1968- )
- Ben Mendelsohn (1969- )
- Miranda Otto (1967- )
- Guy Pearce (1967- )
- Geoffrey Rush (1951- )
- Noah Taylor (1969- )
- Jack Thompson (1940- )
- John Waters (1948- )
- Naomi Watts (1968- )
- Hugo Weaving (1960- )
- Peta Wilson (1970- )
External links
- K. Stockwell's Australiana Films Site
- IMDb keyword australia
- IMDb keyword australian
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Cinema of Australia."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The original culture of Australia can only be surmised: cultural patterns among the remote descendants of the first Australians cannot be assumed to be unchanged after 53,000 years of human habitation of the continent. Much more is known about the richly diverse cultures of modern Aboriginal Australians, or at least of those few who survived the impact of European colonisation. (For more on this, see Australian Aborigine and related entries.) Although the effect of the arrival of Europeans on Aboriginal culture was profound and catastrophic, the reverse is not the case: broadly speaking, mainstream Australian culture has been imported from Europe, the United Kingdom in particular, and has developed since that time with very little input from Aboriginal people.
Australian culture: schools of thought
As to culture in the narrow sense - culture as voluntary, often non-economic activity - there are several schools of thought. One maintains that Australia has no real culture outside of second-hand imports from Europe and the USA. Proponents of this view point to the predominance of foreign books, music, and art, and claim that home-grown products are largely derivative.
For years, many Australians suffered from an inferiority complex or "cultural cringe" about other countries, particularly European ones, believing that anything from overseas was inherently superior to anything Australian. This was especially true in Australia's relationship with Britain, but as Australians have travelled more widely, and their country has been exposed to cultural influences from other countries, this has waned. Australians still have "love-hate" relationship with Britain. On the one hand, they ridicule the so-called 'Old Country' as snobbish, class-obsessed and backward-looking. On the other, there is a large Australian expatriate population in London, including the writers Germaine Greer and Clive James, who are sometimes better known in the UK than they are in Australia.
Others seize eagerly on each small point of difference, and brandish relatively small parts of the Australian cultural experience (such as the poetry of Henry Lawson, Australian Rules football, or the pie floater) as if these were sufficient to demonstrate that a new and vital culture has emerged in the two centuries since European settlement.
Somewhere in between these two views may be found the great central thread of debate about Australian culture: the perennial attempt to ask and answer the question, "Does Australia 'have' a culture, and if so what is it?" The obsessive preoccupation with this question has lasted decades, and shows no sign of fading.
Finally, there is what might be termed a culturally agnostic view, which holds that endlessly debating Australian culture is futile and pointless, and that the important thing is to simply get on with living and creating it. This last viewpoint is expressed in intellectual terms from time to time, but is mostly evident in the practical activities of Australians in a wide range of fields.
"Popular culture" vs "high culture"
Traditional European "high culture" is little valued by most Australians, but thrives nevertheless, with excellent galleries (even in surprisingly small towns); a rich tradition in ballet, enlivened by the legacy of Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Robert Helpmann; a strong national opera company based in Sydney; and good symphony orchestras in all capital cities--the Melbourne and sometimes Sydney symphony orchestras are said to be worthy of comparison with any. Despite the excellence to be found in these activities, most Australians pay them no attention.
In Australia, popular culture rules supreme: in particular the film and television industries (now both seriously threatened by proposed changes to trade laws), and the music industry, which can make at least some claim to developing an indigenous style. Until the late 1960s, Australian popular music was barely distinguishable from imported music: British to begin with, then gradually more and more American in the post-war years. The sudden arrival of the Sixties underground movement into the mainstream in the early 1970s changed Australian music permanently: the Skyhooks were far from the first people to write songs in Australia, by Australians, about Australia, but they were the first ones ever to make money doing it. The two best-selling albums ever made (at that time) put Australian music on the map. Within a few years, the novelty had worn off and it became commonplace to hear distinctively Australian lyrics and sometimes sounds side-by-side with the imitators and the imports.
Diversity of influences
In practice, however, it is difficult to discern much about Australian culture by examining the isolated peaks of music, dance or literature. Just as the Australian landscape is defined not by the small mountains in the south, but by the vast barren plains elsewhere, Australian culture is best defined by looking at the less prominent, by considering the more subtle and pervasive aspects.
First, there is the initial European heritage, followed by an overwhelmingly city-based society that although British in origin now receives all but a small proportion of its cultural communication from either Hollywood and American TV networks, or from home-grown imitations of either of them. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), like the BBC in Britain, is a non-commercial public service broadcaster, showing many BBC or ITV productions from Britain. Debate about the role of the ABC continues, as many assign it a marginal role, and claim that American-influenced commercial TV and radio stations are far more popular choices. These critics claim that Australian children grow up watching Sesame Street and The Simpsons, eating fries at McDonalds, wearing baseball caps, speaking American slang , and many have never heard of Blinky Bill or the Magic Pudding. Television ratings are cited as backing this view, but it less clear that these ratings tell the whole view. Certainly there have been many local television shows that have been wildly successful, such as Neighbours and Home and Away, which have sometimes been even more successful abroad. Although it holds sway to a lesser extent than in the United States, there is a belief in Australia is that bigger is better, be it houses, often with a swimming pool in the back, or cars, such as the best selling models, Ford's Falcon or GM's Holden Commodore.
Then there is the great post-war influx of non English-speaking migrants from the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Middle East, and finally South-East Asia. Australia's cities are melting pots of different cultures and the influence of the longer-established southern European communities in particular has been pervasive. The publicly funded Special Broadcasting Service carries TV and radio programmes in a variety of languages, as well as world news and documentary programming in English, and is seen as less highbrow than the ABC. SBS does have a small following, having the distinction of being the TV channel most likely to show soccer, a minority sport in Australia.
Myths and contradictions
On top of this, are Australia's myths - shared beliefs and as such have a cultural significance quite independent of their empirical truth or falsehood. Australians, according to myths, are relaxed, tolerant, easy-going and yet cling dearly to the fundamental importance of common-sense justice, or to use the classic expression, a "fair go". It is the land of the long weekend: a country that declares a universal holiday for a horse race, that pioneered the eight hour working day, that takes pride in never working too hard and yet idolises the "little Aussie battler" who sweats away for small reward. Australians respect "hard yakka"; to be "flat out like a lizard drinking" is to be extremely busy, or sometimes the exact opposite. Australians, according to myth, make great sportsmen and superb soldiers. To outsiders it seems quite extraordinary that a nation with several major military victories should chose to forget them and celebrate the bloody defeat of Gallipoli instead. Clearly, the myth is contradictory (as most of the best myths are).
Australian language is contradictory too: it combines a mocking disrespect for established authority, particularly if it is pompous or out of touch with reality, with a distinctive upside-down sense of humour: Australians take delight in dubbing a tall man "Shorty", a silent one "Rowdy" a bald man "Curly" - and a redhead, of course, is "Blue". Politicians, or "pollies", be they at state or federal level, are universally disliked and distrusted. Ironically, the failure of the 1999 referendum on becoming a republic was more about the prospect of a President chosen by and from the "pollies", than about any vestigial loyalty to the British monarchy.
Australia's myths come from the outback, from the drovers and the squatters and the people of the barren, dusty plains, yet very few Australians little of the outback, or even of the milder countryside that is never more than an hour or two's drive from the cities that they live in. This was true even of the Australia of a century ago - since the gold rush of the 1850s, most Australians have been city-bound. Nevertheless, after a century or more spent absorbing the bush yarns of Henry Lawson and the poetry of Banjo Patterson from the comfort of armchairs in the suburbs, the myths are real. Lawson himself - the iconic poet of the outback - was himself a city boy.
Relevant articles
- Music of Australia
- Cinema of Australia
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Culture of Australia."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| AUD | English | Australian Dollar | Finance |
| AU | Finnish | Australian liittovaltio | Geography |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: AustralianSynonyms: Aboriginal Australian (n), Aussie (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Australian |
| English words defined with "Australian": Aboriginal Australian, Australian grass tree, Australian heath, Australian nettle, Australian nettle tree, Australian pine, Australian reed grass, Australian turtledove. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Australian": Australian kino, Australian Wheat Board, AWB ♦ Blake Dawson Waldron, Bushrangers ♦ Caerulein, cane toad, commemorative special issue stamp, commemorative stamp, Corroboree, crimson spotted rainbowfish ♦ Elapid Venoms ♦ laser chicken, longbeak eucalyptus ♦ Oz ♦ Prolog-Linda ♦ Smelts, Software Verification Research Centre, Sons of Gwalia, spinifex texture, State trading enterprises, Stuck Up ♦ tammar wallaby ♦ victim's occupation ♦ wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "Australian": Wulfenite. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Australian" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Albanian (australian, digger), Romanian (aussie, australian, digger). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | It runs from here, up to the tip of India, veers off towards Indonesia, and terminates off the Australian continental shelf (Crack in the World; writing credit: Jon Manchip White) Don't use that Australian pig Latin on me. (The Osbournes; writing credit: Liliana Abud; Jaime García Estrada) ! We're Australian! Skase is throwing a party, right (Let's Get Skase; writing credit: Matthew George; Lachy Hulme) You're as mindlessly sentimental as an Australian soap opera (Maid Marian and Her Merry Men; writing credit: Tony Robinson) | |
Lyrics | I woke up with an Australian breeze (Runaway; performing artist: Janet Jackson) | |
Movie/TV Titles | A Personal History of the Australian Surf (1971) The Pictures That Moved: Australian Cinema 1896-1920 (1968) A Tale of the Australian Bush (1911) | |
Song Titles | Australian Table Wines (performing artist: Monty Python) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
| ||
Books | |||
Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
High Tech |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Australian Department of Science and U.S. Air Force Solar and Radio Observatory at Learmonth. Looking east. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Key Island Before -- Australian pines took over the barrier island, shading out native vegetation and displacing sea oats, a native fore-dune stabilizer, and other native plants. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR). |
 | C-141 at Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base. |  | Operation Stabilise - C-5 lands at Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base. |
 | [Anti-polio vaccine for Australian children]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Only Dags Need Fags! / Health Promotion Branch, South Australian Health Commission.... Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | Exercising with a U.S. and Australian cruiser force, off Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, circa August 1945. The ship beyond Hobart is either HMAS Australia or HMAS Shropshire. Credit: NAVY. |  | Firing offset gunnery practice inside the Great Barrier Reef about ten miles north of the Palm Islands, off the Australian coast, 9 October 1942. The two ships are USS Mugford (DD-389), at left, and USS Patterson (DD-392). Photographed from USS Helm (DD-388). Credit: NAVY. |
 | Australian light horse. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Six Australian soldiers with tommy guns crossing jungle waters in inflated rafts, during war in Malaya. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Australian blu" by Mark Bligh Commentary: "Sydney Olympic Stadium." | "Australian Hospital 4" by Kat Gruber Commentary: "Sharps container." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | Stereotypical almost Australian texture created by the ensemble. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | The genus Lyssavirus includes rabies virus, Lagos bat, Mokola virus, Duvenhage virus, European bat virus 1 & 2 and a newly discovered Australian bat virus. (references) | |
Disagreement occurred between those who favored a more restrictive approach (using several symptom criteria), as was done in the 1988 chronic fatigue syndrome working case definition, and those who favored a broader definition of chronic fatigue syndrome (using fewer symptom criteria) as was done in the Australian and British chronic fatigue syndrome case definitions. (references) | ||
Business | Intra-oral cameras are already available in the Australian market. (references) | |
Mexico is the principal supplier to the Australian market of dental fillings. (references) | ||
A large percentage (63.4%) of the Australian population lives in capital cities. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Solomon Islands | A private company transmits one Australian television channel to the country. (references) |
Indonesia | In the first half of the year, the Government deported Australian missionaries who did not inform the regional government of their activities. (references) | |
Burma | For instance, a journalist who wrote an article regarding Burma in an Australian newspaper reportedly was placed on a blacklist by the Government, which effectively barred his entry into the country. (references) | |
Economic History | Kiribati | Currency: Australian dollar (A$). (references) |
Australia | Statistics for the Australian market are shown in the table below. (references) | |
Australia | Some Australian importers prefer to deal directly with manufacturers. (references) | |
Human Rights | Burma | The Government also participated in workshops on human rights in Burma that were sponsored by the Australian government. (references) |
Lithuania | Also in 1999, a genocide case was initiated against Antanas Gudelis, an Australian citizen; however, he died in August 2001, and the case was closed in October. (references) | |
Australia | In June a West Australian court sentenced a detainee at the Curtin Detention Center to 4 years in jail for inciting a riot that caused property damage and risk to detainees. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Australia | Under the agreement, the federal-state Council of Australian Governments (COAG) will monitor progress toward these goals. (references) |
Australia | A 1993 survey indicated that 14.25 percent of Australian land is owned or controlled by Aboriginal people, according to the Australian Surveying and Land Information Group. (references) | |
Minorities | India | In January 1999, Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were killed by a mob shouting Hindu slogans in Manoharpur, Keonjhar district, Orissa. (references) |
Political Economy | Australia | It has been in power since March 1996. The Australian Labor Party is the main opposition party. (references) |
Palau | The country also has a Marine Law Enforcement Division that patrols its borders with assistance from the Australian Government. (references) | |
Australia | The issue of whether Australia should become a Republic (with an elected head of state) is a long-standing one in Australian politics. (references) | |
Political Rights | Australia | There also were elections in four of the country's eight states and territories during the year; the Australian Labor Party won all four elections. (references) |
Australia | During the year, an Aboriginal woman was elected to the West Australian state parliament (the first indigenous woman to be elected to a state legislature) and four Aboriginals, including a woman, were elected to the Northern Territory legislative assembly. (references) | |
Trade | Australia | All produce should have an Australian import permit and a U.S. phytosanitary certificate. (references) |
Travel | Australia | Not all Australian states have daylight saving. (references) |
Australia | Frequent interstate flights connect the five major Australian cities. (references) | |
Indonesia | Note: New clinic operated by an experienced Australian health care company. (references) | |
Women | Australia | A 1996 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) study (the latest year for which statistics are available) found that 2.6 percent of 6,333 women surveyed who were married or in a common-law relationship had experienced an incident of violence by their partner in the previous 12-month period. (references) |
Worker Rights | Australia | The Workplace Relations Act also provides for the negotiation of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA's) between employers and individual workers. (references) |
Australia | Unions carry out their functions free from government or political control, but most local affiliates belong to state branches of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Australian" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 97.35% of the time. "Australian" is used about 2,342 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 97.35% | 2,280 | 3,891 |
| Noun (singular) | 1.71% | 40 | 54,274 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.9% | 21 | 76,261 |
| Noun (common) | 0.04% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 2,342 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Australia | Australian Energy Limited | United Kingdom | Australian Opportunities Investment Trust Plc |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "Australian": aboriginal Australian ♦ australian Aborigine ♦ Australian ballot ♦ Australian bear ♦ australian blacksnake ♦ australian capital ♦ Australian Capital Territory ♦ australian cockroach ♦ australian coral snake ♦ australian crawl ♦ australian Desert ♦ australian dollar ♦ Australian fever ♦ Australian Fevertree ♦ australian grass tree ♦ australian hare's foot ♦ australian heath ♦ Australian honeysuckle ♦ Australian kino ♦ Australian lancewood ♦ australian magpie ♦ Australian manna ♦ Australian nettle ♦ australian nettle tree ♦ Australian oak ♦ Australian or Native ♦ Australian or She ♦ australian pea ♦ australian pine ♦ Australian pitcher plant ♦ Australian plum ♦ australian reed grass ♦ Australian sassafras ♦ australian sea lion ♦ Australian sloth ♦ australian state ♦ australian stilt ♦ australian sumac ♦ australian sword lily ♦ Australian tea ♦ australian terrier ♦ australian turtledove ♦ Australian winter disease ♦ native Australian. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "Australian": australian-based, australian-born, australian-designed, australian-funded, australian-japanese, australian-led, australian-made, australian-owned, australian-quoted, australian-style. | |
Ending with "Australian": anglo-australian. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "Australian"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | Australies. (various references) | |
Albanian | australian (digger). (various references) | |
Arabic | الأسترالي, أسترالي. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | австралийски, австралиец. (various references) | |
Chinese | 澳大利亞 (Australia), 澳大利亚 (Aussie). (various references) | |
Czech | australský. (various references) | |
Danish | australier. (various references) | |
Dutch | Australisch, Australiër. (various references) | |
Esperanto | aŭstraliano, aŭstralia. (various references) | |
Finnish | australialainen. (various references) | |
French | Australien. (various references) | |
German | Australier, australisch, australierin (Australian woman). (various references) | |
Greek | αυστραλόσ, Αυστραλός, Αυστραλέζος. (various references) | |
Hungarian | ausztrál (Australian woman). (various references) | |
Icelandic | Ástralíubúi, ástralskur. (various references) | |
Indonesian | orang australia. (various references) | |
Italian | australiano. (various references) | |
Korean | 오스트레일리아 (Aussie). (various references) | |
Manx | Austrailagh. (various references) | |
Norwegian | australier. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | australianay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | australiano (austral, digger, wallaby). (various references) | |
Romanian | australian (aussie, digger). (various references) | |
Russian | австралийский (Austral Australian), австралиец австралийский, австралиец (aussie, wallabies), а (agronomics, amputation, anatomist, and, arbitration, Asian, assailant, but, but to, crude, renter). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | australijski, australijanac. (various references) | |
Spanish | australiano (aussie, digger). (various references) | |
Swedish | australier, australisk. (various references) | |
Thai | ชาวออสเตรเลีย, ที่เกี่ยวกับออสเตรเลีย. (various references) | |
Turkish | Avustralyali, avustralyalı (aussie), avustralya (aussie, Australia). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | австралієць (aussie), австралійський (aussie, austral), австралійка (aussie). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | người Uc. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Australian" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: austraila, austrailan, Australias, australoid, Austrapius, Austrialia, Austrlia. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: saturnalia. | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-a-i-l-n-r-s-t-u" | |
-1 letter: artisanal. | |
-2 letters: naturals, salariat. | |
-3 letters: antiars, anurias, artisan, austral, insular, lariats, latrias, natural, nutrias, ranulas, ratlins, rituals, saurian, sultana, talaria, tsarina, uranias, urinals. | |
-4 letters: alants, altars, antiar, antral, anural, anuria, arista, aslant, astral, atrial, aurist, instal, instar, insult, lanais, lariat, latria, lauans, lauras, lianas, lunars, lustra, nairas, narial, nasial, nutria, ranula, ratals, ratans, ratlin. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-a-i-l-n-r-s-t-u" | |
+1 letter: saturnalian, saturnalias. | |
+2 letters: salutatorian. | |
+3 letters: astronautical, equalitarians, intravascular, salutatorians, saturnalianly, supranational, suprarational. | |
+4 letters: transvaluating, transvaluation. | |
+5 letters: astronautically, equalitarianism, intravascularly, latitudinarians, naturalizations, transubstantial, transvaluations, valetudinarians, vascularization. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Names: Company Usage | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Abbreviations | 17. Acronyms 18. Derivations 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
