18 апр. 2009 г.

Еще об Австралии

Пост об Австралии оказался очень продуктивным на комментарии. Пожонглировав комментариями, получилось небольшое приложение к оригинальному посту. Посмотрите, как это выглядит после моей обработки:

Парочка интересных австралийских выражений…

Australian English has also produced many colorful figures of speech. For example, to say that someone's blood is worth bottling is a term of high praise.

An exceptionally brave person is said to be as game as Ned Kelly. Ned Kelly was a famous Australian outlaw of the 1870's.

She's apples means that she is all right, quite reliable.

If someone turns lemony on you, or goes crook on you, he or she is very angry with you.

"Waltzing Matilda", the title of Australia's most famous song, refers neither to a dance nor to a woman. A matilda is a blanket roll. "To waltz matilda" means "to tramp the roads."

Here are the other examples of Australian colloquial sayings:

to have kangaroos in the top paddock - to be crazy;
Sydney or the bush - all or nothing;
up a gumtree - in all sorts of trouble;
as happy as a possum up a tree - very happy;
as bald as a bandicoot - with no hair at all :-)

Many of the British settlers borrowed words from the Aborigines. Such Aboriginal words as kangaroo, kookaburra, dingo and koala were introduced into English. Many aboriginal words are tongue twisters, such as Cadibarrawirracanna, the name of a lake in South Australia.

Затем комментарий к выражению Waltzing Matilda:

Waltzing Matilda probably came to Australia with German-speaking settlers in the late 19th century. In the German army a soldier's rolled blanket was known as a 'Matilda', and traveling from place to place was to be 'on the waltz'.

Потом спросили:

What are Australians like? "What beefsteak is to Argentina, flamenco to Spain, cool reserve and self-control in all situations to an Englishman, what vodka is to a Russian and beer to a Bavarian, what money to a Swiss, that is ............ to an Australian". How would you fill the gap?

Мой ответ однозначен: outdoor life :) Если не так, поправьте меня.

Закончить тему Австралии хочу ответом на вопрос:

Will you advise how to find a pen pal (key pal) from Australia or any other English-speaking countries? I guess it could become a good hobby for me.

Просторы интернета безграничны. Перед поиском друга по переписке, определитесь с полем деятельности, которое вам по душе. Так можно будет обсуждать обоюдно интересные вещи. А способов найти друга сколько хотите: здесь, например, или здесь.

Только не нарвитесь на какого-то продавца супер-пупер продукта, который попытается вам его протолкнуть.

Всем, кто участвовал в обсуждении темы Австралии, отдельное спасибо!

8 комментариев:

  1. Классно получилось! :-)

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  2. A matilda - обычно такое одеяло было синее или голубое, отсюда в австралийском словаре blue означает одеяло, независимо от цвета.

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  3. Sayings which have a regional origion are used widely. For example, "Albany doctor" (резкий холодный ветер), "back o'Bourke" (глубинка, глушь), "Buckley's chance" (шанс Баркли, т.е. никакого шанса), "doesn't know whether it's Pitt Street or Christmas" (быть сбитым с толку, не понимать, что к чему).

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  4. Australian "day" sounds like "die";
    Australian "buy" sounds like "boy";
    "daylight" ends up something like "die-loyt". Scientists distinguish three different Australian accents: Cultivated, General and Broad. Australian English, especially its oral and not very educated variation is called Strine.

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  5. Aussie - это сокр. от Old Australian (потомок переселенцев из Великобритании и Ирландии, родившийся в Австралии)?

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  6. G'day! I've been to Australia on business trip for several times. Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The beach is a way of life for many Australians. Bondi Beach (in Sydney) is famous for surfing and is a popular place for many tourists and inhabitants to go on Christmas Day and have a barbecue.
    There are many animals in Australia that you can't find anywhere else. Kangaroos and koalas are the most famous. A common place to see a kangaroo is on a golf course. They stand and watch! That's so funny! :)

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  7. The both posts about Australia are very interesting, informative and educational. I've heard Scottish English has unique expressions too.
    Will you tell us about it please? Thanks in advance.

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