Even though New Zealanders allegedly
speak the same language as Americans, at times, we simply have no idea what
they are saying. To begin with there is
the Kiwi accent - they tend to elongate their e’s and, on some words, they put
the emphasis on a different syllable than we do thus making certain words
unintelligible. For example, inventory is inVENtory, controversy is conTRAvesy,
aluminium is ALuMINium and so on. News
broadcasters are pretty easy to understand and we usually are ok talking
face-to-face. But – over the phone it can be very
difficult. When we attended a session of
Parliament (or should I say a shouting match between the members of parliament),
we missed at least 25% of what they were saying.
Coming from California, we don’t have
any accent (yeah, right); after all, we speak the same English as the Hollywood
movie stars. But, here in NZ, all we have to say is two words and they ask what
part of the states we are from. Once at
a food and beverage show, I asked for a taste of Amber Ale – all I said was
Amber Ale – and I was immediately asked where I came from and could I keep
talking because they loved my accent.
Izzy must have a very strong accent because he is frequently asked to repeat
himself.
Then, there is the whole metric system
thing. American’s were too lazy to learn
the metric system, thus we are stuck with a system no one else
understands. Temperatures, mileage, food
weights and quantities of gasoline are just a few things we have to try to
convert back to a system our simple minds will understand. Even when I asked for an inch to be cut off
my hair, I got a weird look.
About 99% of the words and expressions
are the same, but we have accumulated the following list of uniquely Kiwi words
(some of which must have been inherited from the British).
Across
the Ditch = across
the Tasman Sea to Australia (sometimes the reference is just to The Ditch)
All Blacks = the much-loved National Rugby Team
– the 2011 World Champions!!
Anzac Day = National holiday similar to Memorial Day
Aotearoa = land of the long white cloud (Maori name for New Zealand)
Bach = small holiday house, usually at the beach
Beehive = the Parliament building in
Wellington
Biscuit = cookie
Bloke = ordinary guy
Booking = reservation at a restaurant or a
theater or for travel
Boot = car trunk
Bubbles = champagne
Capsicum
= red bell pepper
Cheers = thanks, goodbye, good luck
("cheers mate") – heard at least 100 times a day
Cheeky = rude
Cheeky monkey = a wise guy
Chemist = pharmacy, drug store
Chips = French fries – served with
everything (even pizza)
Chocolate fish = a chocolate covered marshmallow in
the shape of a fish, sometimes given with coffee or tea; also a famous café in
Wellington
College = high school ( college is called university)
Fair
go = appeal for
fairness (give us a break)
Fags = cigarettes
Fine = when referring to weather, a sunny
day (as in, Wellington is fine today)
Footie = rugby
Football = soccer
Fringes = bangs – like in a hair style
Gas
hobs = gas cook top
Gidday = hello
Good as Gold = everything is OK – used mainly by men over 40
Guy Fawkes Day = pronounced Fox – a semi-holiday celebrating the
failure of a plot to blow up the British Parliament in 1605. Celebrated with elaborate fireworks
Haka = dance done by All Blacks before
each rugby game to frighten the opponents
Hangi = traditional Maori
earth oven – method of cooking food
Hokey-pokey = pieces of golden sugar candy or a caramel like ice cream
flavor
Holiday = vacation
House surgeon = an intern at the hospital
Sleeping
policeman =
speed bumps
Keen = strong desire (used a lot)
Kia ora = Maori greeting - hi, hello, thanks
Kiwi = a New Zealander
Kiwi = NZ native flightless bird. The kiwi is unusual in at least two respects. First, it is
the only bird in the world that has its nostrils at the end of its beak.
Second, the female kiwi has the largest egg, in proportion to its body size, of
any bird in the world. Kiwis are about the same size as chickens, but their
eggs are almost as big as those of ostriches!
Kiwi = “The Kiwi” means the NZ dollar
Kumara = A type of sweet potato unique to NZ – served everywhere – we
love them!
Lemonade = 7-up or Sprite
Lift
= elevator (an
elevator is an escalator)
Lolly = candy
Loo = toilet (they use portaloo’s instead of porta-potties)
Lounge = living room
Lovely = feminine version of “good as gold”
Maori
= Polynesian race that settled New Zealand 1000 years before
Europeans; approximately 15% of the population are Maori’s
Mains = entrees (on a menu)
Mate = man
Message minder = voice mail
Mister = a surgeon at the hospital
Mobile = (pronounced moBILE) cell phone
Morning tea = short break from work mid-morning
MP = member of Parliament
Mum or mummy = mother
Nappy
= baby diaper
Netball = women’s basketball without
backboard and no dribbling
No worries = not a problem, easy (used frequently)
N Zed = New Zealand
OE
= overseas experience
(working holiday abroad) – some people say My Great OE or the Big OE
On the dole = on welfare
Pakeha = Maori term for person of European
descent
Partner = person you share a romantic involvement
with – married, gay or straight
Petrol = gas
Peter Jackson = academy award-winning director of
Lord of the Rings and King Kong (a virtual god in New Zealand)
PM = Prime Minister
Queue = a waiting line (the queue for open
heart surgery is one year!)
Registrar = a resident at the hospital
Return = round trip
Roundabouts = a traffic circle used in many places
instead of traffic lights or stop signs – sometimes you go round and round
before you figure out how to get out
Sultana = raisin
Scheme = plan (used a lot for government
programs – there is no negative connotation)
Scott Base = NZ’s base in Antarctica (next to the US base, McMurdo)
– a real source of national pride. They
do a lot of research in Antarctica.
Scrum = a bizarre group hug in
rugby where all the players of both teams form a tight circle with their arms
around each other (needs to be seen to be believed)
Sickie = sick day
Silver Ferns = women’s national netball team
Smoko = short break from work
Sparkie = an
electrician
Sunnies = sunglasses
Surgery = a GP’s outpatient clinic
Superannuation = retirement plan
Take-away = food or drinks to go
Tall Blacks = National basketball team
Tea = evening meal
Test = a game (as in rugby or basketball)
Theatre = operating room
To let = for rent
Toilet = public restroom
Torches = flashlights
Trade Me = a web site similar to Craig’s List
Trim milk = low-fat milk (extra trim is non-fat milk, but it is
hard to find)
Trolley = shopping cart
Vege = pronounced veggie (vegetables)
Wee = small (used a lot)
Whilst = while (often seen in print)
Won’t be a moment = whenever they say this, it will be a
long wait
Yeees = yes - pronounced with a very long eZed = the letter Z, as in N
Zed
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