Australia
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| Home of the Aussies |
And maybe people know some
Australian cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, but I bet that they
would have to look up the name of the capital city. -It is
Canberra. What
most people don't know about Australia are the following facts.
Some Facts about Australia
The
official name of Australia is the commonwealth of Australia. 40%
of population are immigrants or children of immigrants; 25% were born
overseas.
Australian
has its own dollar called the Australian dollar. The currency carries the portrait of the former queen of England, queen Elizabeth.
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| Australia's currency |
Over
200 languages and dialects are spoken, including 45 indigenous
languages. The most common non English languages are Italian and
Greek.
Kangaroo meat can be purchased
from the supermarket, butcher and available on restaurant menus as a
leaner and healthier alternative to beef or lamb with a 1-2 percent
fat content.
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| Would you like a kangaroo hamburger? |
Australians
refer to English people as Pome, which is actually the acronym for
Prisoners of Mother England, later you will see why.
Despite
having a convict colony history, Australia's homicide rate is 1.2 per
100,000 population compared to the 6.3 per 100,000 in the United
States.
http://www.informationplanet.com.au/travel-and-holidays-in-australia/basic-facts-about-australia
http://www.weekendnotes.com/interesting-facts-about-australia/
History
Before
the British used it as a prison colony, Australia was and still is
home to the Australian Aborigines , who themselves arrived to the
continent 50,000 years ago. They were divided into 300 clans that
spoke different languages and dialects. They were hunter gathers, and
at the time the first Europeans arrived there was a population of
about 1 million.
The
Aborigines beliefs and traditions were and are grounded in the
Dream Time a magical time, which explains creation and how animal
totems pass knowledge from others dimensions and realities to this that world we know.
The Aborigines did not develop large agricultural societies and they
were not particularly interested in material gains, but more
interested in preserving their way of life, and live according to
their ancestral wisdom.
When
Australian was "discovered" by the Europeans, in the 1600
hundreds, first the Dutch and then the English, the Aborigines had
been living there for many thousands of years. The British started to
used Australia as a penal colony in late 1700's to early 1800, a
dumping ground for those criminals that were considered beyond
redemption.
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| prisoner count - all present! |
Later
on settlers came and started to work the land and little by little
conquered the land that was originally Aborigines territory. The
Aborigines were vanquished and robbed of their land by superior gun
power, but they were mostly defeated by the new European diseases
such as measles which eliminated, from 40 to 60 percent of the entire
Aborigine population.
Click
on the following words to see the step by step unfolding of
Australias history in a nutshell .
http://www.clickforaustralia.com/History.htm
Australian English and other languages.
Like
all English speaking countries, Australia has its own defining
accents that sets it apart from the common English pronunciation. It found its roots in the Irish and Scottish pronunciation, since this is where most English convicts that were shipped to Australia came from.
Australian English began to diverge from British English after the
founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognized as being different from British English by 1820. The English
language they brought, was slowly influenced and changed by their new
surroundings and experiences, which in some cases could only be described using new
vocabulary and expressions.
The
Australian accent is also showcased in many movies, as the accent is used to create a comic atmosphere or as an ingredient thta validates the heart of the characters. You can check out such movies as Crocodile Dundee with Paul Hogan or Australia, with Hugh Jackman and
Nicole Kidman, where the Australian accent plays a prominent part,
and enriches the general mood of the movies.
http://m.wikihow.com/Speak-With-an-Australian-Accent
Australian English words and their meaning.
Australian English differs from other English accents, although it is fairly new, since the language was introduced to the continent only 350 years ago. There are a number of words that can be called Australian since they originated there and were clearly taken from the Aborigine languages. Many words were somehow used and invented due to he particular Australian situation at that time. Some words seem to have been made up just for the hell of it.
There are words related to the time of the penal colony that are still used nowadays but with a different meaning. We have the word POM or pommy, which is used to describe people from England. P. O. M. or POME was short for Prisoner of Mother England, since this is where the convicts came from. Or POHMS, which was Prisoner of her Majesty's Service.
We
have words that were adapted from the aborigines such as dingo,
Australian type of dog; the word boomerang or koala and wombat ,
other distinctive Australian animals. We also have the " to go
walkabout " which described the Aborigines seasonal movements
looking for food and hunting, but is now used as " a journey
away from home"
There
are words that don't quite seem to make sense but nevertheless make
up the Australian language, for example which word would you use to describe
people with red hair..... ginger, redhead sunny or something related to that specific color of hair but in Australia they thought that a good name, for a red head would be........ ...bluey!!!
The
Australian word for idiot can be "drongo",for afternoon we
have " arvo", and to describe a man or guy we have "bloke".
And a person who talks a lot will be called a " yabber".
Beside English, which is the main language spoken, their is a large population of immigrants who speak an other language, usually from their place of origin; as we can see in the following listing of languages.
So Australia has a unique set of words and expressions that are particular to the continent, these contribute to and enrich the experience of learning English as a foreign language.
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So Australia has a unique set of words and expressions that are particular to the continent, these contribute to and enrich the experience of learning English as a foreign language.
For
more interesting Australian words and slang click on the words that will take you to the link.
http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html
http://andc.anu.edu.au/australian-words/meanings-origins?field_alphabet_value=71
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_names_for_the_British
http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-slang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Australia
Olympic Games - Australia 2000
The games featured over 300 hundred different events, involving 28 different sports, from swimming to soccer and from fencing to badminton.
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| Australian Pride. |
Many World and Olympic records were broken, during the time the Games lasted, and I especially mention the record set by the young Australian Ian Thorpe, who at the age of 17, gave Australia a reason to celebrate. I also mention Cathy Freeman, an Australian Aborigine athlete, who won a gold medal in the 400ms, this being Australia's 100th gold medal.
The games were the most viewed and televised up to that time, and the impressions from the athletes and the viewers were all positive, and in such the Sydney 2000 Olympics were a resounding success.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Summer_Olympics
Australian sports
Australians love sports, they love to watch and to practice. The most popular are cricket, rugby and football, but we also have swimming and tennis. Cricket could be called Australia's national sport since a study from 2007 found that 59 percent of Australian have an interest in this particular sport; it is also popular all around the continent.
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Let's play a game of cricket, mate!
Mayor rugby teams are to be found in Melbourne and soccer teams in Sydney. All these sports are well known around and practiced around the world.
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Some Australian sports, or sports events that are practiced on a more local level, and can only be seen in Australia are:
TUNARAMA , where participants have to throw a 10 kilogram fish as far as they can; or at visit the COCKROACH world championship, where speed and training will decide which cockroach is the fastest, running a circular track; with cockroach trainers shouting them on.
And my personal favorite is the Beer Can Regatta, where participants have to make boats from old beer cans and then sail across the Arafura sea to reach the finish line.
The availability of so may beer cans, is somewhat suspicious and speaks volumes of the Australian's famous thirst, as well as their thirst for adventure.Many boats, if we can call them that, do not reach; not surprisingly so, their end destination, which is a nearby beach.
http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/visit/10-weirdest-and-wackiest-aussie-sporting-events-2012-938996 |
| Beer Ahoy! |
The availability of so may beer cans, is somewhat suspicious and speaks volumes of the Australian's famous thirst, as well as their thirst for adventure.Many boats, if we can call them that, do not reach; not surprisingly so, their end destination, which is a nearby beach.
http://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/countries/australia.htm
Famous Places to visit in Australia.
Australia has many important and impressive landmark, man made or natural, both ancient or modern, and both reflect the nation's pride and hope and highlights the country's particular scenery. Many natural landmarks can be found in Australian's outback or on the coast of Australia, where we find the Great Barrier Reef , which is the 3rd larger living structure on Earth. It is made up of a series of interconnecting reefs, home to many beautiful, tropical fish and underwater corrals.
Another famous natural landmark is, Ayers Rock, or Uluru as the aborigines call it. It is a big, large rock formation, which seems to have grown out of the ground, or dropped from the sky. Uluru is sacred to the Anangu Aborigine tribe that live there, and who hold sacred ceremonies in its many caves. There a many legends and dream time stories related to the rock, and some say that if you take a piece of rock from Uluru, you will be cursed.
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| Is that a giant muffin or a rock? |
One other landmark that should be visited are the Bungle Bungles in Purnululu national park. They are beehives shaped rock formations that only recently, in 1980 to be exact, have been discovered. The place is not easy to reach, but once you arrive, you know that you made the right decision, because there is no landscape like it anywhere on this earth.
A man made landmark of course includes the Sydney Opera House, which is has become a national emblem for all Australia. It has such a recognizable sail like structure, that the building seems to be moving into the bay. It was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth in 1973. it functions now as a playhouse, a concert hall, and arts center.
And one special place to visit, is a mix of nature and man. It is Coober Pedy, or the Opal Capital of the world, where most residents live under the ground. When people fist came here, they sought protection from the heat, and since no trees or shade was available they carved their home out of the subsoil and rocks.
You can create as many rooms as you like, just by carving out more space, so you can add a living room or another dining room. The resident in the video explains why they chose to go underground and why the rooms follow a certain order.
If you are interested in knowing more about Australia and its attractions, then please check out the following link.
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| It looks like a Bee City. |
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| A spectacular building |
And one special place to visit, is a mix of nature and man. It is Coober Pedy, or the Opal Capital of the world, where most residents live under the ground. When people fist came here, they sought protection from the heat, and since no trees or shade was available they carved their home out of the subsoil and rocks.
You can create as many rooms as you like, just by carving out more space, so you can add a living room or another dining room. The resident in the video explains why they chose to go underground and why the rooms follow a certain order.
If you are interested in knowing more about Australia and its attractions, then please check out the following link.
http://www.australianlandmarks.com.au/lists/australian-landmarks-top-10-list
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/facts-about-the-great-barrier-reef
http://www.ratestogo.com/blog/10-must-see-landmarks-in-australia/
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/facts-about-the-great-barrier-reef
http://www.ratestogo.com/blog/10-must-see-landmarks-in-australia/
Food and drink - the Australian way.
The Aborigines used to hunt for or gather their food, there where no convenient supermarkets nearby or electrical stoves , so whatever they caught, be it kangaroo, wallaby or snake, was put straight onto the open fire. Their diet also consisted of berries, roots and insects such as the Bogong moth ore the witchetty grub, which is rich in fat and protein; they taste like almonds by the way.
We can still find the grub on the menu of some local restaurants, it is served raw or fried with potatoes and some vegetables. Nowadays, some of the dishes that stand out as typically Australian are:
We can still find the grub on the menu of some local restaurants, it is served raw or fried with potatoes and some vegetables. Nowadays, some of the dishes that stand out as typically Australian are:
Pea and ham soup: The perfect hearty winter meal that has obvious British origins, pea and ham soup is a simple offering that has been served up in farmhouse kitchens for decades
The lamington: It is often called “National Cake of Australia.” The National Trust of Queensland even named the lamington one of Australia’s favorite icons.
The lamington: It is often called “National Cake of Australia.” The National Trust of Queensland even named the lamington one of Australia’s favorite icons.
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| Yummy! |
This square-shaped sponge cake is coated in a layer of chocolate icing and coconut.It sometimes comes in two halves with a layer of cream or jam in the middle. Found commonly throughout cafes as a perfect accompaniment to tea and coffee, it's also often baked for fundraisers.
Barramundi
Perhaps the most Australian of all fish varieties, Barramundi gets its name from the Aboriginal language meaning “large-scaled river fish.” It's served in restaurants across the country. Best pan-fried or seared skin-side first (rarely battered or deep fried), it’s often dished up as a fish steak with a herbed oil.
Perhaps the most Australian of all fish varieties, Barramundi gets its name from the Aboriginal language meaning “large-scaled river fish.” It's served in restaurants across the country. Best pan-fried or seared skin-side first (rarely battered or deep fried), it’s often dished up as a fish steak with a herbed oil.
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or discover in the following video what Australian's eat.
http://www.wineaustralia.net.au/en.aspx
http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/eat/40-foods-australians-call-their-own-651613
http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-food-and-drink
http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html
http://travel.cnn.com/sydney/eat/40-foods-australians-call-their-own-651613
http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-food-and-drink
http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html
