Australian Aboriginal English
Encyclopedia
Australian Aboriginal English (AAE) is the name given to a dialect of Australian English
used by a large section of the Indigenous Australian
population. It is made up of a number of varieties which developed differently in different parts of Australia
. These varieties are generally said to fit along a continuum ranging from light forms, close to Standard Australian English, to heavy forms, closer to Kriol
. There are generally distinctive features of accent, grammar, words and meanings, as well as language use. AAE is not to be confused with Kriol
, which is a separate language from English spoken by over 30 000 people in Australia. Speakers have been noted to tend to change between different forms of AAE depending on who they are speaking to, e.g. striving to speak more like Australian English
when speaking to a non-Indigenous English speaking person.
Several features of AAE are shared with creole language
s spoken in nearby countries, such as Tok Pisin
in Papua New Guinea
, Pijin
in the Solomon Islands
, and Bislama in Vanuatu
.
AAE terms, or derivative terms, are sometimes used by the broader Australian community. Australian Aboriginal English is spoken amongst Indigenous people generally but is especially evident in what are called 'discrete communities' i.e. ex-government or mission reserves such as the DOGIT communities in Queensland. Because most Indigenous Australians live in urban and rural areas with strong social interaction across assumed rural and urban and remote divides, many so-called 'urban' people also use Aboriginal English. See the extensive research of Diana Eades for information on the impacts of these linguistic communities on the relationship between Indigenous people and Australian institutions such as the legal system.
and the Top End
of the Northern Territory
.
are awarded for outstanding achievement by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. This usage is not exclusive to Aborigines.
English word for pretend. Still used by some Australian Aborigines to mean joking generally. Gammoning – usually pronounced Gam'in. This word is widely used across the Northern Territory of Australia by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and is now gaining usage elsewhere in Australia.
Australian language expert, Sidney J. Baker, lists "gammon" used by "whitefellas" as "falsehood".
in broader English (see Charles Dickens
's Scrooge
character) means nonsensical, or unimportant information, humbug in Aboriginal English means to pester with inane or repetitive requests. The Warumpi Band
's most recent album is entitled Too Much Humbug. In the Northern Territory
, humbug is used by both black and white in this latter, Aboriginal way.
hip-hop group, The Wilcannia Mob
.
. In Australian English
, and particularly among Aborigines, has become a verb, to talk. Often, Yarnin.
by Phillip Gwynne.
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
used by a large section of the Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
population. It is made up of a number of varieties which developed differently in different parts of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. These varieties are generally said to fit along a continuum ranging from light forms, close to Standard Australian English, to heavy forms, closer to Kriol
Australian Kriol language
Kriol is an Australian creole language that developed initially in the region of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales in the early days of White colonisation, and then moved west and north with White and Black stockmen and others...
. There are generally distinctive features of accent, grammar, words and meanings, as well as language use. AAE is not to be confused with Kriol
Australian Kriol language
Kriol is an Australian creole language that developed initially in the region of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales in the early days of White colonisation, and then moved west and north with White and Black stockmen and others...
, which is a separate language from English spoken by over 30 000 people in Australia. Speakers have been noted to tend to change between different forms of AAE depending on who they are speaking to, e.g. striving to speak more like Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
when speaking to a non-Indigenous English speaking person.
Several features of AAE are shared with creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
s spoken in nearby countries, such as Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country...
in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, Pijin
Pijin language
Pijin is also referred to as Kanaka and is a language spoken in the Solomon Islands. It is closely related to Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea; Bislama of Vanuatu; and Torres Strait Creole of the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia and is written in the Latin alphabet.As of 1999 there were 306,984...
in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, and Bislama in Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
.
AAE terms, or derivative terms, are sometimes used by the broader Australian community. Australian Aboriginal English is spoken amongst Indigenous people generally but is especially evident in what are called 'discrete communities' i.e. ex-government or mission reserves such as the DOGIT communities in Queensland. Because most Indigenous Australians live in urban and rural areas with strong social interaction across assumed rural and urban and remote divides, many so-called 'urban' people also use Aboriginal English. See the extensive research of Diana Eades for information on the impacts of these linguistic communities on the relationship between Indigenous people and Australian institutions such as the legal system.
Pronouns
Although he and him are masculine pronouns in standard English, in Aboriginal English, particularly in northern Australia, it may also be used for females and inanimate objects. The distinction between he as the nominative form and him as the accusative form is not always observed, and him may be found as the subject of a verb."Fellow"
In some forms of Aboriginal English, fellow (also spelt fella, feller, fullah, fulla, balla etc.) is used in combination with adjectives or numerals, e.g. big fella business = "important business", one-feller girl = "one girl". This can give it an adverbial meaning, e.g. sing out big fella = "call out loudly". It is also used with pronouns to indicate the plural, e.g. me fella = "we" or "us", you fella = "you".Kin terms
Words referring to one's relatives are used in different senses to Standard English, reflecting traditional kinship systems.- Aunty and uncle are terms of address for older people, to whom the speaker may not be related.
- Brother and sister -- as well as siblings this term is used to refer to children of ones mother's sister and of father's brother (Cousin), just as in many indigenous languages.
- Cousin-brother and cousin-sister are often used to refer to children of ones mother's sister and father's brother.
- Cousin refers to children of ones father's sister and mother's brother, but may be extended to any relative of one's own generation, such as one who might share the same great grandparent as their own great grandparent, which is a second-cousin in Aboriginal terms.
- In south-east Queensland, daughter is used to refer to any woman of one's great-grandparents' generation. This is due to the cyclical nature of traditional kinship systems and mirrors usage in many Australian languages.
- Father and mother include any relative of one's parents' generation, such as uncles, aunts, their own cousins and in-laws.
- Grandfather and grandmother can refer to anyone of one's grandparents' generation. Grandfather can also refer to any respected elderly man, to whom the speaker may not be related.
- Poison refers to a relation one is obligated to avoid. See Mother-in-law language.
- The term second, or little bit in northern Australia, is used with a distant relative who is described using a close kinship term. For example, one's second father or little bit father is a man of one's father's generation not closely related to the speaker. Usually having a "second mother", is having a women of your own mother's generation who seems to act like a mother and would most likely care for you if anything were to happen to your own parents. It is contrasted with close, near or true.
- A skin or skin group are sections which are determined by the skin of a person's parents, and determine who a person is eligible to marry.
- Son can refer to any male of the next generation, such as nephews just as "daughter" can refer to any female of the next generation including nieces.
Business
Many Aboriginal people use the word business in a distinct way, to mean matters. Funeral and mourning practices are commonly known as Sorry Business. Financial matters are referred to as Money Business, and the secret-sacred rituals distinct to each sex are referred to as Women's Business and Men's Business.Camp
Many Aborigines refer to their house as their camp, particularly in Central AustraliaCentral Australia
Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...
and the Top End
Top End
The Top End of northern Australia is the second northernmost point on the continent. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres behind the northern coast from the Northern Territory capital of Darwin across to Arnhem Land with the Indian Ocean on the west, the...
of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
.
Deadly
Deadly is used by many Aboriginal people to mean excellent, very good, in the same way that wicked is by many young English speakers. The DeadlysThe Deadlys
The Deadlys are an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Vibe Australia hosts the awards, which for have been held at the Sydney Opera House since 2001. The first Deadly awards were held in 1995...
are awarded for outstanding achievement by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. This usage is not exclusive to Aborigines.
Gammon
Victorian eraVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
English word for pretend. Still used by some Australian Aborigines to mean joking generally. Gammoning – usually pronounced Gam'in. This word is widely used across the Northern Territory of Australia by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and is now gaining usage elsewhere in Australia.
Australian language expert, Sidney J. Baker, lists "gammon" used by "whitefellas" as "falsehood".
Gubbah
Gubbah, is a term used by some Aboriginal people to refer to white people. The Macquarie Dictionary has it as ' n. Colloq. (derog.) an Aboriginal term for a white man.' Also,' gubba, n. Colloq. (derog.) 1. a white man. 2. a peeping tom. [Aboriginal: white demon].' It is also said to be a shortening of the word 'Government', since traditionally Aboriginal people's contact with white people most often involved government officials. Another theory is that it is a contraction of 'Governor'. It has also been suggested the word is the 'diminutive of garbage'. It is often used pejoratively and even considered 'politically incorrect' within urban Aboriginal circles.Humbug
Whereas humbugHumbug
Humbug is an old term meaning hoax or jest. While the term was first described in 1751 as student slang, its etymology is unknown. Its present meaning as an exclamation is closer to 'nonsense' or 'gibberish', while as a noun, a humbug refers to a fraud or impostor, implying an element of...
in broader English (see Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
character) means nonsensical, or unimportant information, humbug in Aboriginal English means to pester with inane or repetitive requests. The Warumpi Band
Warumpi Band
The Warumpi Band is an Australian band from the bush, coming from Papunya, Northern Territory, Australia.The band was formed in 1980 by Neil Murray, a Victorian "whitefella" working in the region as a schoolteacher and labourer, George Burarrwanga, from Elcho Island, and local boys Gordon and...
's most recent album is entitled Too Much Humbug. In the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, humbug is used by both black and white in this latter, Aboriginal way.
Mob
Regularly used to mean a group of people. Unlike broader English, it does not usually mean an indiscriminate crowd, but a cohesive group. My mob – my people, or extended family. Mob is also often used to refer to a language group – that Warlpiri mob. This term is also found in the name of outback New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
hip-hop group, The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob is a rap/hip-hop musical group of five aboriginal boys from Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia. The group members are Wally Ebsworth, Keith Dutton, Colin "Colroy" Johnson, Lendal King, and Buddy Blair...
.
Yarn
English word for a long story, often with incredible or unbelievable events. Originally a sailors' expression, 'to spin a yarn', in reference to stories told while performing mundane tasks such as spinning yarnYarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
. In Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, and particularly among Aborigines, has become a verb, to talk. Often, Yarnin.
Unna
Often conjoined with the word Deadly, Unna means 'aint it?' This word is used frequently in the book Deadly, Unna?Deadly, Unna?
Deadly, Unna? is a work of teenage fiction and is Phillip Gwynne's first novel. The book deals with the inter-racial friendship between two teenage boys, Gary "Blacky" Black and "Dumby" Red....
by Phillip Gwynne.
See also
- Australian Aboriginal Pidgin EnglishAustralian Aboriginal Pidgin EnglishAustralian Aboriginal Pidgin English refers to the pidginised varieties of English spoken by Australian Aborigines until about the early 1950s for communication with Europeans and other immigrant ethnic groups, as well as with other Aborigines with whom they did not share a common Aboriginal...
- Australian EnglishAustralian EnglishAustralian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
- Australian Aboriginal languagesAustralian Aboriginal languagesThe Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to the Australian Aborigines of Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding the languages of Tasmania and the Torres Strait Islanders...
- KriolAustralian Kriol languageKriol is an Australian creole language that developed initially in the region of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales in the early days of White colonisation, and then moved west and north with White and Black stockmen and others...
- List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin
- Torres Strait CreoleTorres Strait CreoleTorres Strait Creole is an English-based creole language spoken on several Torres Strait Islands , Northern Cape York and South-Western Coastal Papua...