Words, Accents, and Interaction

It has been difficult for me to come up with academic material in as much volume as is needed for a whole blog post, that would not bore the heck out of somebody reading this. I figured I’d focus this post on communication in general, and what I have noticed being in New Zealand.

It’s been fun to make fun of the kiwi accent, which is ironic because the American accent is so clearly “American” that people can make fun of it just by imitating it. It’s all innocent. Kiwis like to add r’s to the end of words that don’t have r’s at the end of them, which is interesting because they don’t pronounce the r at the end of words that DO have r’s at the end of them. “The Banks Peninshulahr.” At normal speaking speed, the palatalized /s/ and postvocalic /r/-esque sound has left me with a couple blank faces and needing to ask for repetition. I’m proud to say that I think I have mastered the art of comprehending Kiwi English, but once I tell myself that, I jinx it. Important note: DO NOT compare the kiwi accent to a British accent – they do not like that. In all truth, they sound nothing alike anyway.

The slang is amazing. I don’t go a lot of places and think the slang people use there is better than the slang that I use, but this is my first exception. Kiwis frequently talk about how they’re simple creatures in the way they live and go about things, but some of the slang terms they use are intuitive, fun to say, and make so much sense, even if they don’t at all. Some of my favorite Kiwi terms follow:

“Togs” – Arguably my favorite addition to my lexicon. This refers to a bathing suit/swim suit. This has helped me to realize that bathing suits are in fact not suits, and that something so simple should not, intuitively, require more than one syllable to express. Makes sense to me. I will be calling them togs from now on.

“Stoked” – The inner frat bro in me loves this word. It rolls off my tongue to say that I’m stoked about something.

“Chur” – A shortened version of “cheers.” Shortened anything makes for good slang. Also a word that a frat bro could use.

“Kia Ora” – This is not a slang word, but rather an effective and meaningful integration of Te Reo Māori into the Pākehā (white New Zealander) culture. My observation is that if a non-Māori New Zealander greets someone using “kia ora,” it adds endearment to the greeting. Very nice.

“Sweet as” – Means the same thing as “sweet” without the “as.” I just applauded the shortening of words, but this is fun. An exception. It took me a while to appreciate, but it comes out easily. It’s not as convincing when said with an American accent, though, so I’ll have to appreciate it from afar.

After spending 5 months in this country, I can confidently say I am in tune with how people in society operate, and believe I have the ability to code switch my behaviors and language. By no means do I blend in with the population when I open my mouth, but I can interact in a way that I could not when I first arrived. There is less thinking about every move I make and how I use the words I say. I am approaching my departure for home, and what I have learned about communication alone during this experience is enough draw me back. Chur bro.