Comments on: How To Speak Like a Kiwi: Essential Words, Tips, and Phrases

By: tommyh

tommyh — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:54:50 +0000

New Zealander but been in England since twelve, nobody understood when I used to say going to hospital because they say going to the hospital and the chilly box.
Thes website is ‘crazy as’

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By: 9 New Zealand Adventures Worth Bragging About | LunarTravel.net

9 New Zealand Adventures Worth Bragging About | LunarTravel.net — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:43:09 +0000

[...] Want to learn to speak like a Kiwi? Check out Vera Alves’ advice on essential tips and phrases. [...]

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By: Sophie

Sophie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:56:48 +0000

My kids and I lived in NZ in 2003. Now I want to go back.

Wonderful list! Many of the words are the same in Australian, but Kiwis tend to speak much quicker, so I think it sounds a bit different when spoken.

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By: How To Speak Like a Kiwi: Essential Words, Tips, and Phrases | The SWAP Blog

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:48:40 +0000

[...] mockery, and, as with any other aspect of language, it’s a reflection of their culture. more> Share and [...]

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By: Travelfusion

Travelfusion — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:22:43 +0000

Great post – I loved watching the whale video with examples of the accent…it’s true that it’s so different from any other accent in English!

Kathryn @ Travelfusion

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By: Natasha

Natasha — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:47:56 +0000

I don’t know about New Zealand, but in England you can counter a ‘Bob’s Your Uncle’ with a ‘and Fanny’s Your Aunt’ if you’re especially pleased about it.

And I’m sorry but I have to disagree. There is nothing sexier in this world that a strong Glaswegian accent…

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By: Fern

Fern — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:45:36 +0000

A few of these aren’t Kiwi-specific. These are the ones I recognised as being common/not out of the ordinary in British English:

Good on ya, mate!
Bugger all
Heaps
Bob’s your uncle!
Knackered
Togs (in Britian, this just refers to clothes in general, not specifically a swimsuit)
Telly
Brekkie
Sunnies
Cheers (sans glass)

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By: Emm

Emm — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:21:29 +0000

Haha, i love this. Anyone who has traveled with Kiwis can vouch, this is dead on bro.

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By: vmcalves

vmcalves — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:55:51 +0000

Thank you all for the comments! Glad to see so many people find the Kiwi accent as interesting and funny as I do.

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By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:24:54 +0000

Ive been living in NZ for almost a year now, and LOVE the accent. Ive never heard anyone say “Bob’s your uncle” here, although my 7th grade match teacher in Canada used that daily.

One phrase your list needs is “how’re you going?”, meant to mean “how’s it going” in North American English. It used to drive me a little nutty, but its grown on me =)

I think it’s also important to mention that Kiwi English includes a number of Maori words in everyday use (more so in some areas than others, but definitely regularly used by the media!): whanau, kia ora, haere mai, Aotearoa, whare, marae, iwi, and kai to name just a few!

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