what do you say...

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 1:05 pm

'Crikey' - I think that's an Australian expression, Accadue. Sort of like Santo Cielo!! Originally it is said to have been a contraction of Christ's keys, Chiavi di Cristo.

Don't know if you ever got to see any of the Australian nature programs on tv by the late Steve Irwin. His catchphrase was "Crikey!! It's beautiful but deadly"

I didn't know there was a Georgia in Egypt, either. But my world geography knowledge has big gaps.

Bill Sikes · Post by **Bill Sikes** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 2:15 pm

AussiePam;473048 wrote: 'Crikey' - I think that's an Australian expression, Accadue. Sort of like Santo Cielo!! Originally it is said to have been a contraction of Christ's keys, Chiavi di Cristo.

Don't know if you ever got to see any of the Australian nature programs on tv by the late Steve Irwin. His catchphrase was "Crikey!! It's beautiful but deadly

http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/txt/s1736350.htm

ACCADUE · Post by **ACCADUE** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:50 am

yes, I do known nature programs by Steve Irwin, but I never catched that word..or, may be, I could have heard it but, I don't remember..

Generally I am so focused to understand the meaning of the speech, that the details are missed..

Thanks for your explanation.

OzBoy · Post by **OzBoy** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:02 am

When I first moved to London from Oz it took a great amount of practice to respond to a Brit when they said hello to you with - you alright? :-2

At first I was thinking are you asking me if Im ok for a reason? Did I miss something? Should I not be ok, do I not look ok? Crikey it got bloody stressful there for a while but now I can confidently say 'yeah you alright? a conversational skill I am strangely proud of now

ACCADUE · Post by **ACCADUE** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 6:42 am

OzBoy;473680 wrote: When I first moved to London from Oz it took a great amount of practice to respond to a Brit when they said hello to you with - you alright?

At first I was thinking are you asking me if Im ok for a reason? Did I miss something? Should I not be ok, do I not look ok? Crikey it got bloody stressful there for a while but now I can confidently say 'yeah you alright? a conversational skill I am strangely proud of now

You perfectly got to the center of the issue..

Sometimes, I feel like a baby who is learning to speak..

I remember my then little daughter and son, when they misunderstood some words, such as "piume" (feathers) instead of fiume (river), "habbayana" instead of hawayana, "grasse" (fat) instead of grazie (thanks), because the pronounce is similar..

So, when I listen to movie or songs, and they speak very fast for my standard, if i concentrate on a strange word, I miss the phrase...

Of course, it is only a skill matter, to be aquired day by day.

Which foreign language do you learn at your school ?

OzBoy · Post by **OzBoy** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:18 am

At my school French was the standard language to learn, not sure why, growing up in the northern parts in a smallish town our curriculum wasn't overly adventurous. I think when you’re in Australia the choices of what languages you could or should learn seem endless being so multicultural. I've since dabbled in Japanese and have learnt the basics of Italian, Lebanese, Greek and mandarin through friends and colleagues in Sydney. Since being in London I've tried to learn Spanish and more Italian to help when I've travelled through those countries it’s a skill I would still build on no matter what language as you don’t realise how beneficial it can be going through life. I'll definitely encourage my children to learn a language from a younger age the possibilities are endless