A Conversation for New Zealand English - A dialect.
I fight it
Apparition™ (Mourning Empty the best uncle anyone could wish for) Started conversation Mar 18, 2003
When moving from Edgecumbe to whakatane and then to rotorua I've had people ask me how long I've lived here (in this country). Even my GP!
I agree with the regional effect. When I moved to edgecumbe I had to learn the language there. Belive it or not words had different meangings there and it was only 45 minutes away.
" The leaving out of syllables and a rapidity of speech that can be bewildering to foreigners are characteristic."
I was in a class with deon last year as an american students was talking about that. He noticed that the smaller te town the more condenced the language. He joked that here in NZ a sentence can consist of a few syllables.
I fight it
DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me! Posted May 9, 2003
I've noticed that rapidity especially in TV adverts, and such things as the TV2 late-night music show 'Space' for instance.
>>He joked that here in NZ a sentence can consist of a few syllables.<<
True!
I fight it
Tamrhind Posted Oct 19, 2004
Myself likewise. I'm from N.W. England (Chester, near Liverpool) so should, by rights have had a (however-diluted) Scouse accent!
But, no, the number of times I've been told I've got an 'aahper-claarhs'accent simply wasn't funny. 
And another thing I've noticed: Poms - myself included! - NEVER seem to lose theri Pommy accent. I've heard peoople been here 30, 40, 50 years and you can't mistake their origin.
I''ve been here since I was in my mid-teens and, despite any number of "Grouse"s, "Mate"s, "Joker"s, etc., no one ever mistakes me for a born-and-bred. (Whingeing Pom?)
I fight it
DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me! Posted Oct 19, 2004
Great, a fellow Scouse (sort of) My father was from Liverpool and when we went to school, we had Liverpool accents, and to use an Americanism, we "caught hell for it". My friend who was Dutch, was beaten up by other kids in the street, for talking Dutch to her sister. Sigh... It's very conformist here in NZ, as you'd have found out.. Where abouts are you in NZ?
I fight it
badger party tony party green party Posted Oct 19, 2004
"Belive it or not words had different meangings there and it was only 45 minutes away.
Fancy that!
Have you ever heard of such a thing Della
one love 
I fight it
DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me! Posted Oct 20, 2004
We lived in Palmy when I was three, and I was i Hamilton some time ago.. We're in Auckland, which is cold but lovely, sunny right now... How do you like Palmy?
(Oh, and ignore Blinky. He likes to come along and spout irrelevancies, as you'll learn..)
Key: Complain about this post
I fight it
- 1: Apparition™ (Mourning Empty the best uncle anyone could wish for) (Mar 18, 2003)
- 2: DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me! (May 9, 2003)
- 3: Tamrhind (Oct 19, 2004)
- 4: DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me! (Oct 19, 2004)
- 5: Tamrhind (Oct 19, 2004)
- 6: badger party tony party green party (Oct 19, 2004)
- 7: DA ; Simply Vicky: Don't get pithy with me! (Oct 20, 2004)
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