Alison,
Is there also a tendency to form familiar names for objects by adding an o
to them?
I recall from my carpet-cleaning days - yes, that is the secret of my
extensive knowledge - being asked by the Australian operative in our small
group "Pass the spotto" - meaning, "Give me the bottle of general purpose
spot-remover liquid, please" and "Where's the gummo?" meaning "Where is the
spray which freezes and thus renders brittle enough to remove dropped
chewing gum?"
I thought, at the time, that it was an idiolectual effect, but I have
noticed two other Australian males exhibiting a similar tendency, often
making their language quite laborious
L
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 01 January 2001 22:44
Subject: Re: the surplus of value in poetry
| I'd never have claimed shortening names as exclusively Australian,
| although it's fairly routine here. The exception is with one syllable
| names, which are, for some reason, lengthened. My daughter Zoe is
| generally called Zo, but my son Ben (not Benjamin) is almost always Benny.
|
| Best
|
| Alison
|
|