Come Down Under! Living the Australian Life

Speak Like an Aussie in Oz!

You know how American teens sometimes use slang instead of proper English? So do Australians! Here are some of their slang words to use so you can sound like an Australian.

Going All Out on Australia Day!

Australia Day is a big celebration on January 26th that honors Australia’s coming together as a nation, and commemorates all they have achieved and their hopes for the future of their country. Just as Americans celebrate the 4th of July, Australians go all out honoring their nation on Australia Day.

But though this national holiday is a fun celebration for all of Australia, there is controversy behind it. On January 26, 1788, the British colonized Australia. Although it was good for the British because they found new land to settle on, it was bad for the Aborigines,* who were there first and felt the British were taking over their land. Some people think that it’s unfair to observe a holiday that celebrates when the Aboriginal lands were taken away.

Despite the controversy behind the holiday, Australia Day can be really fun. People get really dressed up with colors of their flags, face painting and celebrate with beautiful fireworks, music festivals, and cricket matches*.

*Aborigines: The native people of Australia (see sidebar for more info).
*Cricket: a popular Australian sport that is played outdoors with bats, a ball, and wickets with two teams of eleven players.

Indigenous people of Australia, the Aborigines

• Aborigines were the first settlers in Australia. They are believed to have migrated from Asia 40,000 years ago.
• There were about 500 to 600 different groups of Aborigines that spoke more than 200 different languages.
• The British arrived in Australia in 1788 and began conquering Aboriginal land. European diseases, such as smallpox, and violence wiped out most of the Aboriginal population.
• Aborigines make up less than 3 percent of Australia’s population today. Though they were granted equal citizenship in 1967, they have lower incomes than mainstream Australians and live with inadequate housing, sanitation, water quality and food supplies. They also suffer higher rates of substance abuse and incarceration than Australians with British heritage.
• Aboriginal music is known for its most famous instrument, the didgeridoo, which is a wind instrument made from bamboo. It is about five feet long and has a low, vibrating hum. Aborigines use didgeridoos in formal ceremonies and dancing rituals.
• Aborigines are also known for their unique styles of artwork, which include rock carvings and ground paintings.

Sources: www.kiradapoodles.com, www.australianslangdictionary.com, www.oecth.com/australia, www.otal.umd.edu, alochona.org, www.australiaday.gov.au, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austalia_Day, dictionary.reference.com, www.education.yahoo.com, www.britannica.com, www.hla.gov.au, www.infoplease.com, aboriginalart.com.au

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