Shakespeare translated into Australian "bogan" speak

[SuperSneak]

How many women do you have?

One...PLENTY!!!

[Alexander's Horse]

Aren't you glad we've evolved, AH?

Well yes and no, I can still put on the flannel shirt and beanie, I own a few, and speak like that - Maaate. In fact the comedian's dialogue is like me talking with my cousin who is amongst my closest friends. I saw him a couple of times when I was back in Sydney last month and it was like I had never been away. We went down the pub and ended up making some highly exotic drunken bets on the horses based on odds, names, numbers and colours...

The hints about cars above suggest I can slip back into the bogan world quite easily. In fact after I retire that is exactly what I plan to do There is a certain earthy honesty and generosity in that world that I really miss. There are no expectations, people take you as they find you, for who you are, not what you have.

The language is brilliantly colourful and inventive, the bogan who is admired is the one who can tell a good story and entertain with language, big Bill Shakespeare would highly approve. He had a good ear for the street language of his time, and used it in his plays. It's on the street that the language evolves, not in the homes of the rich and educated, who are stifled by convention.

People with limited vocabularly have to invent new words and phrases. That is how language grows. It is exciting, my only regret is how swear words have crept in, punctuating every phrase for some people.

[molly bloom]

It is exciting, my only regret is how swear words have crept in, punctuating every phrase for some people.

Or as it's also known, Irish working class Roman Catholic playground speak. I used to love visiting my relatives in Dublin because the profane chatter in the yard amongst the children of the flats would suddenly cease as soon as a nun or priest appeared. 'The Commitments' was spot on...

[Alexander's Horse]

my playground experience is every year, say farting in primary school in about 2nd class, we'd fixate on a new word or term and exhaust all possibilities, then move on to a new one next year, or "form" or "class" as they were called, nice pun in that now that I think of it, by form 12 there was almost a complete education in profanity

[Alexander's Horse]

Of course it's not all fun and games, here a drunk makes trouble at a skate park, I think he is dealt with very effectively by the kids. Fancy behaving like this in front of your partner and little daughter... wonderful crash tackle into the river near the end. Thank goodness we have gun control..

[Alexander's Horse]

Here a tradesman deals with a bogan who has interfered with his work, very skillfully,

Points to watch a. the use of the shirt to blind your opponent, plus the bogan may have hepatitus or worse b. getting him on the ground as quickly as possible, the number 1 rule of street fighting c. the quick kick in the balls as the fool goes down d. bouncing his skull hard off the pavement while saying "I'm not going to hit you" for the benefit of the bystanders, the fight was pretty much over at that point but this idiot keeps going, unsteady on his feet from concussion e. finishing it quickly with a very nice right and walking away f. the Good Samaritan bystander who puts the fool in the recovery position, all achieved in less than two minutes, well done boys!



And why do bogans almost always have some hysterical scrag following them around? Everyone else is on the tradesman's side...you can hear people asking if he needs helps, he says he can handle it, and quiet congrats and pats on the back afterwards. The bogan was probably a known nuisance in the neighbourhood.

I must show this to my cousins, who are tradesmen, exactly how they would have handled it. I've seen this done more than once to a lippy bogan. He's got a rat tail, probably tattoos, on a social security benefit, he shouldn't interfere with a skilled man earning an honest living

[Zevico]

Well yes and no, I can still put on the flannel shirt and beanie, I own a few, and speak like that - Maaate. In fact the comedian's dialogue is like me talking with my cousin who is amongst my closest friends. I saw him a couple of times when I was back in Sydney last month and it was like I had never been away. We went down the pub and ended up making some highly exotic drunken bets on the horses based on odds, names, numbers and colours...

The hints about cars above suggest I can slip back into the bogan world quite easily. In fact after I retire that is exactly what I plan to do There is a certain earthy honesty and generosity in that world that I really miss. There are no expectations, people take you as they find you, for who you are, not what you have.

The language is brilliantly colourful and inventive, the bogan who is admired is the one who can tell a good story and entertain with language, big Bill Shakespeare would highly approve. He had a good ear for the street language of his time, and used it in his plays. It's on the street that the language evolves, not in the homes of the rich and educated, who are stifled by convention.

People with limited vocabularly have to invent new words and phrases. That is how language grows. It is exciting, my only regret is how swear words have crept in, punctuating every phrase for some people.

A point well made. I stopped bogan-speak when I was in grade six though and lost touch with my aussie friends of that time after moving to private school. I've been a smarmy talking bloke ever since. But nowadays I work as a lawyer in general practice so there's plenty of people coming in. Ironically, for a guy who's never referred to people as mate or bloke in his life, I've started using 'Strine because it's a quick and useful way to establish a friendly rapport with people. It's character building too. I used to look down on this kind of language because I was supposedly too smart for it but the reality is that it's just a friendly and kind way of speaking, without pretension.

[Alexander's Horse]

Be careful with calling people mate, I don't like it, if my solicitor called me that, who is Gareth rather than "Gary", I would find another solicitor.

But I see your point. Just because clients speak strine doesn't mean that they are stupid and you do need to connect with them.

In our little Australian meritocracy, language very much defines education attainment. Rudd doesn't speak like he did at Nambour High. But bogan Mums love it, it's what many of them aspire to for their own children.

Some Australians mistakenly believe the officers ordering these suicidal attacks are British. In fact they are Australian officers speaking with an educated Australian accent: