About Propellers Other Products Articles Bookshop Gallery Links Contact Supercool
 The Trouble with NACA-4digit airfoil sections



Propeller Dynamics

Essential reading for model aircraft contest fliers. This is the only book on the market explaining propeller theory in non-mathematical terms. A rattling good read, I know, I wrote it.

Read more...

Some observations on the changing sounds of Aussie English

Version 1.0, Dec 06. This Upgrade Version 1.1, May 07.                        By Pete Somers

At a time well within living memory, a literary person published a book called "Strine, a Dictionary of Aussie English", under the pseudonym of Prof. J.Affabeck Lauder.

As the title suggests, the predominant Australian accent of the time as heard by "Prof. Lauder" was strongly influenced by a nasal intonation. "Strine" was the author's interpretation or phonetic representation perhaps, of the spoken word "Australian".

From this we can deduce that the speaking accent of the man or woman in the street had become somewhat compressed, rapid-fire and a little inaccessible to strangers. One word given as an example was "Emmachisit?" which reputedly had become the daily way of asking the price of an article offered for sale!

We could cite examples from Kiwi-speak, this would really serve no useful purpose other than to show that language truly does develop or change in various communities, for better or for worse who can say? It could be argued that (thet) N.Z. pronunciation is (uz) the product of a lazy tongue; equally, that it is a true dialect.

In recent times I have noticed that our Aussie English has become different again. The practice of compressing words has grown of course, but in less predictable ways.

New differences have become more prevalent or noticeable, such as the practice of altering consonants which appear near the beginning or end of words. Some become slurred, others almost unrecognisable or even seemingly left off altogether.

I hope the reader will find in this small offering, several words which you yourself may have heard mispronounced, or pronounced in these different manners.

All of these examples have truly been heard on radio or television. I personally feel that many of them may be used more by Sydney-based people than those from other States. This is not always so and some very noticeable examples come from W.A.

My own pet hate in this regard and which is in fact the example which has lead to this compilation was from the W.A. lady newsreader now retired, who referred to every pistol-packing baddie as- "The Gunmn". But back to Sydney, or "Speed City"

Sydney (Sinny) city-dwellers-know-all-too-well-that-if-they-cannot-speak-with-a-frightening-rapidity-they-may-never-even-get-a-hearing-so-all-pauses-are-left-out-and-speech-reduced-to-loud-bursts-which-last-only-as-long-as-one-breath-(phew).

No wonder pronunciation suffers.........

The Word As Heard Original Word Source / s

................................. ........................ ..............

Aydies 1980's


Bedder (getting) Better


Baddle (into) Battle


Canna or Cannr Canada (Yes! His brother went to Cannr).


Camra Camera Very common


Charradee Charity


Conwelf Commonwealth (New)


Crimmles Criminals Politicians


Currenly Currently M/C on Strictly Dancing, ABC TV.

Cumny Company Business Person


Deffly Definitely (New)


Dennl Dental (care)


Dorder Daughter (her father had a Hardattack)


Ennertane munt Entertainment.


Erridge OR Errij Heritage (Yes!) (New)


Fordy Forty (her father was only Fordy-Nine)


Gunmn Gunman Newsreaders- very common


Hardattack Heart Attack


Hunner Hunter

 


The Word As Heard Original Word Source / s

................................. ........................ .................

(Many from Current Affairs programs)


Innerview Interview


Idems Items


Idennidy, Idennify Identity, Identify.


Innus Interest (rate)


Kwonnass Qantas Airways


Layda Later


Liddle Little

Ninies 1990's


Pleece Police Politicians- very common.


Prodesters Protestors

Sevennies 1970's

Sennerlink CenterLink


Sinny Sydney


Sunnly Suddenly


Straya Australia Our Pauline......


Technl Technical (really!)


Terrist Terrorist


Twenny Twenty


Tennerfeel Tenterfield (traveller) Hugh Jackman,

singing on stage in Boy From Oz!


Toadle Total.

.....More Please...?

 Back to Top