Aussie

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"Aussie" is a friendly slang for "Australian". The correct pronunciation is "O-zee", IPA: /ˈɔziː/. Pronouncing the word with a voiceless "s" in place of the voiced "z" is strongly frowned upon by Australians, and is considered a canonically North American error, along with such errors as pronouncing the last syllables of Melbourne and Brisbane as "born" and "bane," respectively (both are correctly pronounced with a schwa).

In New Zealand and the United Kingdom the term is sometimes used to refer to the country of Australia, as well as Australian persons. In Australia itself the term is only used to refer to its inhabitants.

In Australia the term is used most notably in sporting chants, where it is often expressed with patriotic gusto by Australians. The most widely used chant, a variation of Oggy Oggy Oggy, is:

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi oi oi!

Aussie! Oi! Aussie! Oi!

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi oi oi!

The phrases in bold are shouted in response to a single person leading the cheer. The first line may be or may not be doubled. Volume is important. Juan Antonio Samaranch pleased the home crowd by personally leading one of these cheers at the Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

1 Uses
2 Other uses
3 Cultural Moniker
4 See also

[edit] Uses

Some uses of the word "Aussie" include:

"Aussie Rules" – another name used for the Australian rules for football.

"Aussie Battler" – a term used to describe struggling Australian families.

[edit] Other uses

"Aussie" may also refer to the Australian Shepherd dog breed.

"Aussie" can also refer to a type of hat in which one part of the brim is folded up to meet with the top of the hat or Slouch hat.

[edit] Cultural Moniker

In a multicultural context, Aussie is used by some in Australia as a specific term for Australians of the 'traditional' majority cultural group, that is, "Aussies" is sometimes understood to denote 'Anglo-Celtic' Australians. A parallel can be drawn between the usage of "Aussie" in Australia and Boer in South Africa, both referring to the descendants of early settlers, as opposed to later immigrants. Sometimes this can be interpreted as excluding Australians of a Mediterranean, Asian or Middle Eastern cultural background. The usage of "Aussie" in this context is regarded as offensive by some, as it can denote that some cultural groups are not equally Australian. It may also be used in a derogatory sense by those who do not consider themselves Australian to label those who do. While attempts by schools, politicians and the media to use the term as an all encompassing label for those with Australian citizenship, it has continued to retain common usage as an ethnic descriptor, especially among youth. The terminology received international attention as a result of the 2005 Cronulla riots [1], where tattoos, t-shirts and scrawlings on the beach reading "100% Aussie Pride" were largely seen as a display of ethnic identification.