G'day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
G'day is an informal greeting meaning 'hello', most famously used by people in Australia. It is used to varying degree and effect by many Australians and Australian imposters, most notably in more rural areas.
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[edit] Origins
G'day is an abbreviation of the English greeting 'Good Day', which literally means that the speaker wishes the listener to have a good day, or a day of general harmony and enjoyment.
[edit] Correct usage
G'day is most often used between friends, known as 'mates' in Australia. This is the basis for the most common conjugation of the word 'G'day mate!', which literally means 'Hello friend', although the greeting is often adapted for use between complete strangers. It is only ever used as a greeting and never as a farewell or a proposition. Overuse of the word in common speech is unusual. A 'normal' usage level would entail approximately 3 or 4 uses of the word per day.
Other common conjugations include "G'day stranger" and "G'day, Howzit goin?', the latter of which also asks the listener how they are feeling.
G'day is also used by some Canadian air traffic controllers and pilots to informally denote the ending of their transmission. It is not standard ICAO radio phraseology.
Example: "Golf Golf Whiskey Golf, cleared the ILS runway one two, contact Sault Tower on one one eight decimal eight, g'day."
[edit] Pronunciation
G'day is pronounced 'Guh-dæ' as a monosyllable with a longer emphasis on the final vowel. Authentic pronunciation takes years of practice and mis-pronunciation by many 'Australian wannabes' (non-Australian people who desire to have Australian characteristics and behaviour) is an unfortunately common occurrence. The worst of these mis-pronunciations is 'Giday', most often heard from American 'Australian wannabes'. 'G'day mate!' is more correctly pronounced with a slight uplift in tone in the 'mate'. This general rule is true unless someone is feeling a bit down, in which case the tone of the final word is somewhat subdued.
[edit] Popularity
Australian film and television stars have boosted the profile of Australian slang, with G'day perhaps being the most famous. Movies like Crocodile Dundee and television stars such as Steve Irwin have done well to spread its use prolifically on foreign soils.
