Why do Australians shorten words?
Australians shorten words as part of a playful, informal speech style. Words are often cut down and given endings such as -ie, -o or -a, creating terms like barbie, arvo, brekkie and servo.
Linguists call these shortened words diminutives or hypocoristics. Australian English has thousands of them, more than many other forms of English.
Common examples include sunnies for sunglasses, brekkie for breakfast, arvo for afternoon, servo for service station and ambo for ambulance officer.
Reasons for shortening
Linguists suggest that shortening words creates a friendly, casual tone and shows familiarity and solidarity. It reflects the Australian preference for informal speech.
Shortened words are not always shorter in sound. For example, Macca's for McDonald's and Kev for Kevin show that the aim is often friendliness rather than efficiency.
Even names are often shortened or changed, such as Robbo for Robertson or Davo for David. Shortening words is a key part of Australian identity and humor. Visitors quickly notice it.
Researchers have found that new shortened words continue to appear, such as avo for avocado and maccas run for a trip to McDonald's.