Vocabulary
A common feature of spoken Australian English is the use of hypocoristic words, which are formed by either shortening or the addition of a particular ending, or by a combination of these two processes. Examples are "G'day" (good day), "medico" (medical practitioner), "blockie" (someone farming a block of land), "ump" (umpire).
Further information: Comparison of American and British EnglishRead more about this topic: Standard English
Famous quotes containing the word vocabulary:
“My vocabulary dwells deep in my mind and needs paper to wriggle out into the physical zone. Spontaneous eloquence seems to me a miracle. I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“A new talker will often call her caregiver “mommy,” which makes parents worry that the child is confused about who is who. She isn’t. This is a case of limited vocabulary rather than mixed-up identities. When a child has only one word for the female person who takes care of her, calling both of them “mommy” is understandable.”
—Amy Laura Dombro (20th century)
“One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.”
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)