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Western Australian English, or '''West Australian English''', is the collective name given to the variety or varieties of English spoken in the Australian State of Western Australia (WA). As with the other Region al varieties within Australian English , these have distinctive Vocabularies . While there is no well-known "West Australian accent", some linguists have suggested that Western Australians tend to pronounce words such as beer with two syllables ("bee-ah"), in cases where other Australians use one syllable. {Link without Title} According to the English''; ''Central West Australian English'' and ''Northern West Australian English''. While there are many commonalities, each has its own variations in vocabulary. {Link without Title} Some common British usages, which are rare in other parts of Australia, have survived, such as ''verge'' (meaning the area between a road and a paved footpath), which is known by the term ''nature strip'' in the rest of Australia. Some US terms, such as '' Crosswalk '' (also known as a ''pedestrian crossing'' or ''zebra crossing'') have also found a niche in WA. Many words from Aboriginal languages have found their way into West Australian English. One example is ''gidgee'' (or ''gidgie''), a Noongar word for spear, as used in modern spear fishing. Another (or possibly an invented word intended to sound "Aboriginal") is ''boondie'' which means a small stone (and is pronounced with an initial Near-close Near-back Rounded Vowel , like that in "bull"). There are also many unique, invented Slang words, such as ''ding'', meaning an Italian immigrant. (This word is often considered derogatory and/or offensive). SEE ALSO
REFERENCES Maureen Brooks and Joan Ritchie, ''Words from the West: A Glossary of Western Australian Terms.'' Oxford University Press (1994). ISBN 0195536282 Rhonda Oliver, Graham McKay and Judith Rochecouste, "Lexical Variation among Western Australian Primary School Children", ''Australian Journal of Linguistics'', vol. 22, no. 2 (October 01, 2002) pp. 207 - 229. |
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