4. Understanding a different culture no matter how alike it is to your own
can be important when communication is involved. Understanding
speech laws, slang words and accents can make a world of a difference.
Miscommunication is a problem all around the world especially when
there is a cultural barrier involved.
5. Culture is a way of life for a group of people.
They accept the same values, symbols, behaviors as well as beliefs.
All of these things are passed along from generation to generation through
communication as well as imitating the behaviors that younger generations
see older generations doing.
This is all done and accepted by cultures without even thinking about it, it is
just a natural thing that cultures have been doing for years
(Hofstede 1997).
6. A Diverse society from different
ethnics and cultures. Australians are
from all different parts of the world.
Around 45% of Australians have a
parent that was born over seas or
they themselves were born over seas
(Australian customs and Laws 2013).
7. Australians have a friendly and informal attitudes, this shows in their
speech and dress.
Australian men and women are considered equal, they are free to socialize
together and compete for jobs. They share tasks at home like cooking and
cleaning (Australian customs and culture 2013).
8. Because Australians have a lot of the same freedoms we as American have, they too
have the freedom to worship any religion the choose.
It is illegal to discriminate against any person or group for their religious beliefs.
64% of Australians practice Christian based religion.
30% say they have no religious beliefs.
Buddhist and Islamic communities make up the rest of the diverse population of
Australians (Australian Religion and culture 2011).
Religion
9. In Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 (RDA) it states that it is against
the law to treat anyone differently due to race, color, descent, national or ethnic
origin or immigrant status ( Complaints Under the Racial Discrimination Act).
10. In some cases this even includes
censorship of certain media material.
For example, the French magazine,
Charlie Hebdo, was recently
involved in a terrorist attack that
resulted in some of its employees
murdered for drawing a picture of
Mohammed which in Muslim
religion is really bad. About six
months ago they release an edition
with Mohammed crying and called
the “All is Forgiven” edition.
However due to “Section 18C of the
Racial Discrimination Act makes it
unlawful to do anything in public –
including the publishing of articles
and cartoons – that is likely to offend
another person or group if the act is
done because of the race, color,
national or ethnic origin of that
person or group.” (Sim 2015).
11. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott
had pledged to repeal the “hate speech”
law previously, but reneged on that
promise last August. Saying “I would
prefer that 18C were not in its current
terms but we made an attempt to amend
it, it was obvious that that attempt to
amend it was generating a lot of division
in the community. The government made
the decision not to proceed with it at this
time and that remains the government's
position.“ (Sim 2015).
12. In Australia, language is especially
important, “in almost 16 per cent of
Australian homes, one or more of
some 200 languages other than
English is spoken. . . it is also a
marker of cultural belonging, both
communal and generational,
establishing boundaries of inclusion
and exclusion.” (Butcher 2008).
In fact, it was “the gate-keeper for
entry in Australia in the form of
dictation tests used during the
period of the White Australia
Policy,” which was not dismantled
until the 1970’s. (Butcher 2008).
These restrictive immigration policies were aimed at the influx of Asian
immigrants, particularly Chinese immigrants, but was also aimed at Japanese by
popular demand, because of “Fear of military invasion by Japan, the threat to the
standard of living presented by the cheap but efficient Asian laborers, and white
racism.” (White 2015).
13. Different groups can be
identified by the language they
use, representing their cultural
differences and allowing for a
sense of belonging within these
groups.
For example, “’Lebspeak’ is a
mix of global black American
street talk, English and local
Arabic.” (I.E. “fully sick bro”)
(Butcher 2008)
These different dialects can help
in “distinguishing between
groups of young people: Anglo-
Saxons are ‘Aussies,’ or ‘Skips,’
‘Honkies’ are from Hong Kong,”
etc. (Butcher 2008).
14. The history that Australia has
had with maintaining cultural
identity can explain the
importance of language.
One important factor is the use
of slang terms in Australian
culture
Merriam-Webster defines slang
as “words that are not
considered part of the standard
vocabulary of a language and
that are used very informally in
speech especially by a particular
group of people” (Slang 2015).
Slang terms can unite or divide a
people, as miscommunication
can arise when these terms are
not understood in conversation.
15.
Ace: Excellent
Aussie: Australian
Bloody: Very
Blue: Argument/Mistake
Bottler: Something Excellent
Bull Dust: rubbish
Cactus: Dead, broken
Exy: Expensive
Furphy: Rumour
G’day: hello
Grouse: Great, terrific
Good oil: Good idea
Good onya: Well done
Pozzy: Position
Ripper: Great
Sparrows fart: Dawn
Examples of slang terms
16. In America there are many different
accents usually based on where you grew
up and other factors. However, in Australia
there are three “main” accents
• Broad Australian Accent (think Crocodile
Dundee)
• General Australian Accent (think Nicole
Kidman)
• A British received accent that generally
doesn’t use “G’day mate”
Also unlike America the accents don’t tend
to be based on location two neighbors can
have different accents.
“Australia does not have a socio-economic
difference in speech.” Meaning someone
born in a higher class will still have one of
the three accents (Devine 2008).
17. Australian communication focuses on being genuine. They
are a very multicultural country just like the United States
so geniality means a lot to the culture.
Communication in Australian culture is generally very
straightforward. “Directness is cherished in Australia and
failure to say what you mean and mean what you say can be
mistaken for evasiveness and even hypocrisy”(Devine 2008).
This goes along with being genuine, in Australia being
genuine about who you are and what you say is significant.
18. Australian culture relies heavily on humor as
well. According to the Foreign Affairs and
International Trade of Canada“ Not only is
humor acceptable in all situations, it is
expected in all situations. Never
underestimate an Australian senior manager
because he or she uses humor at what you
might feel to be an inappropriate
time”(Cultural 2009).
A little humor goes along way with
Australians. The Australian sense of humor
is very dry, witty and direct. “Do not mistake
a joke for a serious insult or attack just
because it was not followed up with a ‘just
kidding’ or a laugh to indicate it was a
joke”(Cultural 2009).
19. Like Americans, Australians’
preferred modes of
communication vary according
to their cultural background and
upbringing. Australians may
tend to be a little more
expressive with their tone and
body language.
There are many similarities
when it comes to
communication between the two
cultures regarding nonverbal
cues.
Greetings with an introduction
and handshake are generally
used (Cultural 2009).
20. English is the primary language used, yet their colorful vocabulary,
accent, phonetic system and slang can take a lot of getting used too.
Indigenous Australian and “Aboriginal person/Torres Strait Islander”
are polite terms.
An enquiry about a persons well being (such as “How's it going?” or
“How are you going?” is a common greeting. Generally the accepted
response is non-negative; “N9ot too bad” or “Pretty good, mate”, and it
is considered polite to ask the person the same question back. It is also
considered polite to greet anyone, including strangers in this way.
Enquiring about which sporting team “you root for” will be met with
amusement. “Root” is a vulgar term in both Australia and New Zealand
for sexual intercourse. Use “go for” or “support” instead. “Barrack” Is
also used for some Australians (Freund 2011).
21. Compared to Australia the proper answers to the greetings, “ How do you
do?” or “How are you doing?” are “Fine, Great or very well Thank you”.
Both Australians and Americans use English as the most common language.
Common practice for both is when meeting someone new introduce yourself
by your name and ask for their name if they haven't said it already.
Keep good eye contact in America this tells people you are interested in what
the other person is talking about. This is a important thing in America.
It is also Important to know your audience, and ask intelligent questions
when having a conversation (Freund 2011).
22. American movies are more
successful both in America and
Internationally.
Australian movies since 1970,
“Australia's official movie agency
has backed 1049 projects. Only
seven became movies that
attracted enough ticket-buyers to
turn a profit.” (Devine 2008).
Crocodile Dundee is the most successful film is Australian history was released
in 1986 and to this day has a worldwide earnings of $328 million
dollars(Crocodile Dundee)
In comparison to Furious 7 was released April 3rd of this year and it just passed
the $1.5 Billion mark worldwide (Furious 7)
23. Australia is formally referred to as the Commonwealth of
Australia. Most places refer to it as Australia for short
(Australia-Oceania 2015).
Australia – derived from the Latin “australis” meaning
southern (Australia-Oceania 2015).
Australia’s landmass was long referred to as “Terra
Australis” translating to Southern Land (Australia-
Oceania 2015).
24. The Union Jack in the upper
left corner acknowledges
Australia’s links with the U. K.
(Government n.d.).
Below the Union Jack is a white
Commonwealth Star
(Government n.d.).
It has seven points representing
the unity of the six states and
the territories (Government
n.d.).
The seventh point was added
in 1908 and is the only change
to the flag since 1901
(Government n.d.).
25. Australia has more then 10,000 beaches (Greatrex 2015).
It would take 27 years to visit every beach if one was visited per day
(Greatrex 2015).
26. Australian culture is a lot like American culture,
however there is still a language barrier between
cultures. Accents can make it hard to understand as
well as words being used in different context. Because
of these reasons miscommunication issues can become
just of a problem if not a bigger problem. Without
everyone understanding every ones culture in depth
there is always a chance of offending different cultures
causing miscommunication.
Do you feel miscommunication is a problem between
cultures?
Do you feel accents make it harder to communicate
with people?
Is it important to understand different cultures slang
words to avoid miscommunication issues?
27. Australian Customs and Laws. (2013, December 5). Retrieved June 1, 2015,
from
http://international.cit.edu.au/canberra_and_cit/about_canberra/austra
lian_customs_and_laws
Australia-Oceania: Australia. (2015, May 18). Retrieved June 1, 2015, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/as.html
Australian Religion and Culture. (2011, January 25). Retrieved May 31,
2015, from
http://international.cit.edu.au/canberra_and_cit/about_canberra/austra
lian_religion_and_culture
Butcher, M. (2008). FOB Boys, VCs and Habibs: Using Language to
Navigate Difference and Belonging in Culturally Diverse Sydney. Journal
of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 34(3), 371-387.
Complaints under the Racial Discrimination Act. (n.d.). Retrieved June 1,
2015, from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/complaints/complaint-
guides/making-complaint/complaints-under-racial-discrimination-act.
Crocodile Dundee (1986). (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2015, from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090555/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
28. Cultural Information-Australia. (2009, October 15). Retrieved June 1,
2015, from http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=au
Devine, F. (2008, December 5). United States vs. Australia. Retrieved
June 1, 2015, from
http://www.convictcreations.com/culture/yankaussie.htm
Freund, L (2011, August 2). Good Speech Etiquette. Retrieved May 29,
2015, from http://www.ehow.com/info_10023198_good-speech-
etiquette.html.
Furious 7. (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2015, from
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2820852/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Government, A. (n.d.). Australian National Flag. Retrieved June 1,
2015, from
https://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/publications/symbols/factsheets/a
ustralian_national_flag.pdf
Greatrex, C. (2015, January 8). 10 wonderfully random facts about
Australia. Retrieved June 1, 2015, from
http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/australia-facts-random-10
29. Hofstede, G. (1997). Culture Definition. Retrieved May 31, 2015, from
https://www.tamu.edu/faculty/choudhury/culture.html
"Slang." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 2 June 2015.
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slang>.
Sim, S. (2015, January 14). Australia Free Speech Laws: PM 'Rather
Likes' Charlie Hebdo Cover, Won't Repeal Racial Discrimination Act
That Prohibits Its Publication. Retrieved June 1, 2015, from
http://www.ibtimes.com/australia-free-speech-laws-pm-rather-likes-
charlie-hebdo-cover-wont-repeal-racial-1783252.
White Australia Policy. (2015). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June
1, 2015, from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/642125/White-
Australia-Policy
