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<title> Togs, Bathers or Swimsuit. What do the Australians Say? </title>
1 Introduction
When investigating a language you have several options. You can, for example, either look upon the formal language, that is concentrate on the written language, or you can investigate how people use their language in an everyday situation. When Australian English (AusE) is investigated the different approaches might give you a completely different answer of what is typical AusE. The AusE is not very different in its written form from British English (BrE). What is considered to be distinct Australian is concentrated to the informal and colloquial form and is therefore not often found in the written language Curtney (1996:25), Görlach (1991:148). There are some small differences in grammar, but the main difference lies within the vocabulary used in everyday language. The purpose of this essay is to compare BrE and American English (AmE) with AusE in everyday language and to investigate the main differences between these varieties of English. I will, however, limit the number of words investigated to words I came across while I stayed in Australia in 1990. 

2 Method and Material
The material used in this essay consists of dictionaries, articles on AusE and a book on typical AusE. Some of the main differences in spelling and grammar have been selected and accounted for. Words and phrases have been selected from my own experience or from friends that have encountered the differences between AusE and AmE. The meaning of the words have been checked in both Longman (1995) and Heinemann (1989) to see if there are any discrepancies between the two dictionaries.

3 Differences between AusE and BrE or AmE 
Only a few of the grammatical differences in AusE will be shown in this section. The interested reader could look in Trudgill and Hannah (1982:19). First of all, most BrE speakers use the auxiliary do in tag questions with the auxiliary ought where the Australians use should or ought, as shown in BrE he ought to go, didn't he? compared with AusE shouldn't he? Secondly, BrE speakers use the auxiliary have to express possession as in I have a dog where the Australians tend to use the more American form got as in I've got a dog. Thirdly, collective nouns often take the plural verbs in BrE, where they in AusE tend to have singular verb forms instead. Lastly, the feminine pronoun she can be used to refer to inanimate nouns and impersonal constructions in colloquial AusE as in She'll be alright instead of Everything will be alright Trudgill and Hannah, (1982:19).
Australian English tends to follow the British spelling of English with some exceptions. If there is a more modern spelling of a word, this spelling seems to be preferred more and more often. Australian English also tends to spell words of the honour type with -or instead of -our more often that what is done in BrE. The spelling of -ise/-ize words tend to follow BrE Görlach, (1991:158).

4 Differences in Word-meanings
When most people started to speak English in Australia, it was English close to BrE. Linguists are amazed by the fact that there is hardly any difference in the language spoken across this huge land Crystal (1995:350). The only differences that occur in today's AusE are the differences in pronunciation: general, broad, and cultivated AusE. There is also an almost identical usage of British words, but with some exceptions. In these cases the Australians have invented their own words, changed the meaning of a BrE word, or as in some cases, the American word has caught on Curtney (1996), Todd and Hancock (1986:67). 

Table 1. A collection of the same words used in AusE and AmE. BrE uses a different word
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The English-speaking tourist might come across some words that mean something completely different in the English he or she speaks, but there are a few differences between AusE and BrE. There are larger differences between AusE and AmE, something that can be explained by the fact that AusE uses more BrE words than AmE does Görlach (1991:161).

Table 2. A collection of the same words used in AusE and BrE. AmE uses a different word. H stands for the Heinemann (1989) explanation and L for the Longman (1995) explanation

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One example of words having a completely different meaning in AusE and BrE is lay-by. In Australia you can purchase something on lay-by, which means that you pay "a small deposit, followed, within a fixed period of time, by a series of interest-free payments until the full amount is paid, at which time the goods are taken home." This explanation is found in Heinemann (1989), which does not contain the BrE explanation for the word. According to Longman (1995), the BrE meaning of a lay-by is "a space next to a road where vehicles can stop." Interesting to note is that the Australian meaning of a lay-by is not found in Longman (1995). Both Heinemann (1989) and Longman (1995) gives the two meanings of the word creek, which means "a watercourse or stream, which may be dry during part of the year" Heinemann (1989) or "a small narrow stream or river" Longman (1995) in both AusE and AmE. The BrE meaning of the word is "a narrow coastal inlet" Heinemann (1989) or "a long narrow area of water that flows from the sea, a river or a lake into the land" Longman (1995). Another word used with great frequency in Queensland is singlet. Most of the time the object refereed to is a tank top worn on a hot day and the lexical meaning of the word is an undergarment. In BrE the word vest is used instead of singlet. Yet another word that may cause some confusion to the BrE speaker is the Australian usage of public school. As in AmE, the word is used to describe a school run by the government, at which no fees are paid, and not, as in BrE, a private school paid for by parents, where children usually live as well as study.

Table 3. A collection of words that have a different meaning in BrE than in AusE. H stands for the Heinemann (1989) explanation and L for the Longman (1995) explanation

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The American tourist, on the other hand, must be aware of the differences in connotation of some words and in particular the two words fanny and to root. The first word is obvious to any BrE speaker. Just as in BrE, this word is taboo and refers to a woman's outer sex organs. In AmE fanny refers to someone's bottom. The expression used in connection with root differs in AmE and AusE. In AmE the phrase is to root for something, as in being a supporter of something, especially sports teams. The expression in AusE is just to root and the meaning of the word is to have intercourse. The connotation is close to that of the f-word. 

Table 4. AmE words with a completely different meaning in AusE
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Table 5. A collection of words used in AusE and the equivalent word used in AmE and BrE. H stands for the Heinemann (1989) explanation and L for the Longman (1995) explanation
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5 Australian Words
Many have seen Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee and are amazed by his colourful vocabulary, but are disappointed when they come across an ordinary Australian, since most people do not use all the so called typical Australian words and phrases. The most common Australian phrases that almost everybody uses are G'day, How are ya? and Good on ya. These phrases can also be combined with mate, a word used to show affection in Australia Cervi and Wajnryb (1992:19). These phrases are easy enough to understand that they do not need explanation.
However, there are certain words that vary greatly depending on the region and should be explained. For example, the Queensland word togs definitely needs explanation. This word is more or less only used in Queensland. In the rest of Australia people say bathers. Bathers on the other hand are, according to Longman (1995), a typical Australian word for a swimsuit. Interesting to know is that Longman (1995) contains the explanation for bathers, but the word togs only refers to informal clothes. Heinemann (1989) on the other hand also lists the swimsuit-explanation for togs. 
Furthermore, the Australians love to abbreviate words and they often add the endings -o or -ie to words as in Aussie for Australians, mozzie for mosquito, fottie for football, arvo for afternoon and garbo for a garbage collector Cervi and Wajnryb (1992:19). The colourful aspects of the AusE language can be seen in the variety of expressions for great. Two words frequently used by Australians are beaut and bonzer. Not to mention that the Australians even have a special name for the people they love to hate, the English, and Australians mostly refer to them as "the bloody pommes!" Martin (1988). 

Table 6. A collection of typical Australian words and phrases Martin (1988) 
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6 Conclusion
Australian everyday English is not that different when it is compared with BrE and AmE, but some words might mean something different in Australia than what they do in another country. This is not specific for AusE, but can be found in almost every language. AusE might be more colourful than other English variants, but when it comes down to it, you can always ask if you do not understand what something means. To those who visit Australia, there is only one piece of advice: go about business as usual and hopefully there will not be too many horrible mistakes. For those who want to be on the safe side, I do recommend a crash course on AusE. Just remember - Queenslanders wear togs, all the other Aussies wear bathers and the rest of the world will probably wear a swimsuit.

7 References

Cervi, D. and Wajnryb, R. 1992. "Coping with Aussie English". English Today. Vol. 8, No.2.

Courtney, N. 1996. "The Nature of Australian". English Today. Vol. 12, No. 2.

Crystal, D. 1995. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Italy: Cambridge Press.

Görlach, M. 1991. Englishes. Studies in Varieties of English 1984 - 1988. Köln: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Heinemann Australian Dictionary. 1989. Australia: Griffin Press.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. 1995. Great Britain: Clays Ltd.

Martin, D. 1988. Australinas say G'day. Australia: Ozmarket Pty. Ltd.

Todd, L and Hancock, I. 1986. International English Usage. Kent: Croom Helm Ltd.

Trudgill, P and Hannah, J. 1982. International English. London: Edward Arnold Ltd.
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