Product Description

Toss another shrimp on the barbie, crack open a tinny or pour yourself a chardy while you traverse Australia's vast expanse of true blue, fair dinkum Aussie lingo - from cosmopolitan communique to surf slang, outback jargon and some of the world's oldest indigenous languages. C'mon avagoyermug!

Features comprehensive section on Australia's impressive array of indigenous languages.

Lonely Planet's English Language & Culture series goes behind the scenes of languages you thought you knew. Get into the culture and humour behind common - and not so common - English expressions and learn about the local languages that inspired them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #190830 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
...for the adventurous traveler who wants to live like a native.' --Real Simple Magazine, June 2005

From the Publisher
Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
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* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Customer Reviews

Good but not great!!
This is an interesting book for someone who has not been to Australia. Although there are variations between Aussie English and Standard Australian English, visitors will mostly encounter SAE. "Aussie" English is used in informal settings and is useful to know - but it is not as common as this book would suggest. The Australian accent may be difficult for some visitors and the use of works describing local peculiarities (beer's, local areas, etc) may seem strange at first. The section on Aboriginal languages is extremely good and gives an accurate introduction to this unique field. However, again be aware that the majority of Australians have no knowledge of Aboriginal languages and very few white Australians actually speak an Aboriginal language. The Anangu languages of the central Australian Outback are spoken by people living in communities in areas that require a permit to visit. You will hear these languages in communities that are attached to visitor centers or by Aboriginal guides to these areas. But do not assume that because book devotes half its content to Aboriginal languages that you will hear these in every day speech. Overall a good introduction to Australian "culture" and speech, but too much emphasize for a book of this kind on Aboriginal languages.

Speaking "Aussie"
This book is a lot of fun! Our Australian friends really do talk like this.