# Kiwi English **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 1999, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761 "1999-09-12T05:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/21 "1999-09-14T01:50:00Z")
PapaBear Member posted 09-12-1999 11:19 PM > [@](#): > > I’m tempted to cut and paste all the numerous instances of your pettiness just in the last week, Monty, but you’re not worth it and this isn’t the place for it (my fault!) Glad to see you admit that, PapaBear. BTW, did you realize that your first posting in this thread throws you squarely into the group to which you say BigRoryG and I belong. And you call me petty. Sad, very sad. ---
**Author:** ![jinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/77aa72/32.png) [@jinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jinky)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/22 "1999-09-14T04:40:00Z")
> [@](#): > > New Zealand English is similar to Australian English, but perhaps a little > closer to standard British English. > > Guess they forgot to run that by a Scot. What? The passage you quote discusses Kiwi English’s ‘Britishness’ relative to Oz English’s (and I wouldn’t dispute it). It doesn’t say that Kiwi is ‘similar’. You may think this is mere semantics but rest assured that to anyone with any kind of British accent the difference to Kiwi English is vast. > [@](#): > > So if Scottish have a problem with this, how come they don’t speak Scottish Gaelic? I hope this is meant as a joke. * * * Bíonn caora dhubh ar an tréad is gile (there is a black sheep even in the whitest flock). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/23 "1999-09-14T11:36:00Z")
Hello everyone - I’m a New Zealander! Just thought I’d throw in my NZ$0.02 New Zealand has not been colonized very long - only 160 years officially, maybe 200 unofficially. The people here are almost exclusively Scots and English origin, here for the Gold, with many Scot terms in our language, but an English influenced accent. Australia is about 100 years older than NZ in terms of European settlement, and as everyone knows, the first settlers were criminals, who I would guess had a very lax, loose approach to their language. While Australia was viewed as a prison, New Zealand was viewed as a haven, and so attracted slightly more sophisticated (but only slight) people, those that had a higher regard and respect for the Royals and their ideals. 😉 I’m guessing a lot of this. Anyhoo, NZ accents are more to the front, bottom of the mouth. Australian is the front, top. English is at the back, bottom. US is at the back, top. Feel free to disagree with me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 1999, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/24 "1999-09-14T22:12:00Z")
Guano, I’ve been impressing the office with a variety of utterances here thanks to your post. I think you’re onto something. Go All Blacks! ---
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 1999, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/25 "1999-09-15T04:44:00Z")
So, judging from people who’ve been/are from thereabouts: _NZ and Oz have accents distinct from one another, and each has their own [internal] variations. NZ has a strong Scots influence._ Was there a Scottish influence in Australia ? And might the Scottish accent (or dialect, or language, no wish to offend) account for the root of the difference between today’s Kiwi and Aussie accents ? ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 1999, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/26 "1999-09-15T05:48:00Z")
Sounds like the Scots are the troublemakers. 😉 It’s they who are responsible for the single vowel difference between US-Speak (General American) and Canadian English, right? I. E., /au/ as in ‘out’. Ray ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 1999, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/27 "1999-09-15T05:57:00Z")
I don’t think I’d say NZ has a _strong_ Scots influence. And I’m not too sure Australia has any connections to Scotland at all. (Except for Mel Gibson in Braveheart, and that’s a tenuous one) New Zealand’s links to Scotland tend to be exclusively based around the settlers in my hometown, Dunedin and the Otago province. A lot of placenames and family names (and some phrases) are Scottish, but not the accent. And also, don’t forget Maori having its own accent that undoubtedly played a part. ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 1999, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/28 "1999-09-15T22:56:00Z")
GuanoLad: I, as a criminal, take strong exception to your statement. Many criminals, including myself, take great care to avoid slang terms and poor grammar and use only the proper Queen’s English. It is stereotyping such as yours that has given criminals a bad name. If you want to see a great site about Kiwis go to [http://www.angelfire.com/bc/simont/Bloke.html](http://www.angelfire.com/bc/simont/Bloke.html) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 1999, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/29 "1999-09-15T23:43:00Z")
Well, the criminal of today is indeed a more sophisticated soul, I would tend to agree. However, _Australians_ on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 1999, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/30 "1999-09-16T00:11:00Z")
Konrad Member posted 09-15-1999 05:56 PM > [@](#): > > GuanoLad: I, as a criminal, take strong exception to your statement. Many criminals, **including myself** , take great care to avoid slang terms and poor grammar and use only the proper Queen’s English. (Bolding mine) Konrad: **including me** or **me included** would be “proper Queen’s English.” “Myself” is not the objective case of the personal pronoun. Perhaps a better choice of words would be “such as I.” ---
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 1999, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761/31 "1999-10-07T08:04:00Z")
Just struck by an awful thought: an earlier post in this thread > [@](#): > > Thanks jti & Papa. But I guess one should show some charity: apparently I hadn’t > made it clear in the OP that I was looking for comments on “Kiwi English”, and not > comments from small, timorous, flightless, cheeping things. Now, lest the moderator yank me & my thread off to the Pit… might have been misinterpreted as directed _at_ PB & RTI. That definitely **wasn’t** the case. Humble apologies, SDMB. _Note to self: must avoid weak attempts at witty remarks in the future._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiwi-english/3761.md?page=1)