As a teacher, it helps to be ‘in the know’ about social ‘faux-pas’. Some things are said in Australian classrooms that are never used in Canadian classrooms, such as “rubber” and “nice as” (which sounds like “nice ass” in the Aussie accent!).
As a teacher, and a sportsperson, I’m also big on nicknames as terms of endearment. So here are a few ways Australians make nicknames:
1) Add an “O” to the end of a name that ends in “n”
Eg. Wayne –> “ Wayno”
Eg. 2. Jon –> “Jono”
2) Add an “azza” to the end of a name that has a strong ”r”:
Eg. 1. Gary –> “Gazza” (This is the well known name for Geelong’s Gary Ablett)
Eg. 2. Aaron –> “Azza”
3) Add an “ooey” to the end of a name ending in any other consonent”
Eg.1. Riewoldt –> “Rooey” (The well-known nickname of St. Kilda Saint’s –the favourites for the AFL premiership flag this year– Captain (and star forward) Nick. He’s a legend. He’s my favourite. He’s good with kids. He kicked 6 goals last week. They’ve just got to beat Collingwood on Sunday. Go Saints!
Anyway, I’m sure that’s the rule. But, I can’t think of a Second Example — can anyone else?
As you can see, most of these nicknames are built around footy. But I live in Melbourne, and that is our culture.
So, now you know what to you call your kids, without insulting them.
Tags: AFL, Aussie Rules, Australian Nicknames, Football, Footy, nicknames, St Kilda
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