bondipom

As I work in IT I had to get used to rowter instead of rooter very quickly. I'll just go and fiddle with my rooter.

young_lad

I mentioned the 'Pakis' thing to a Aussie bloke and explained that in the UK you just can't say that in public, and I mentioned the racist connections.

He said, 'Aaah look mate, if I didn't like them I wouldn't be calling them Pakis, I'd be calling them "f***g Pakis". But I've got no problem with them so they're "Pakis", just like I'm an "Aussie"'.

LancashireLass

I have to say 'he's a spunk' which I heard today for the first time which set me of sniggering like a teenager, then was told 'well it is a bit of an eighties word'

ozzieeagle

To those that complained about the use of words like 'Wogs' and "pakis' After a long while in this country, I'm going to strongly complain about your attitude to these words. Can you see by complaining about these words, It is you and not the people that use these words innocently and without malice in this country that are actually 'importing racist attitudes'

Just a thought

Italians and Greeks and turks quite happily use the wogs to describe themselves here.

Pakistanis have been known to complain about the use of the word, especially those that have spent more time in England rather than Pakistan. I've seen this debate before many times, basically they get the response "wake up idiot"

Do not import rascist overtones from England Please !!!

gedge

WOG = Western Oriental Gentlemen
Thats how I had the term explained to me when I was just a kid in the middle east.

Lerop Pekill

First things first, dont make assumptions, i'm not from England. . I dont care if turks, italians & greeks happily call themselves wogs, doe's this mean everyone should be happy with it? i personally think to call someone a Paki is insulting, if people disagree with that then fine, but i totally disagree with the points that you make above.

you say words like Wog & Paki are used innocently & without malice? well then heed your own advice & "wake up idiot".

bondipom

Some do some don't. I find the older migrants tolerate the phrases far more to try and fit in whilst younger second generation migrants are much less tolerant. There is much debate in the communities themselves.

I think the reason British pakistanis are less tolerant of the term is because so much abuse has been fired at them with the word. That association is not here in Australia, partly because of the small numbers of Pakistanis.

optus

mine were:

"fuc# off you pomie bast@$d"

mlbonner

ga-rage would have to be up there with the whole data/yoghurt/pasta thing.

heaps is one I picked up pretty quickly, but if in doubt add an 'O'

Bottle-o
Servo
Indo
Ambo
Johno
Damo
Tomo.... works with nearly everything-o

ABCDiamond

A question ... If the Italian, Greeks etc use the word Wog, to publicly describe themselves, including creating films, and theatre, using the name in the title etc. then surely it is without malice in those situations.

Obviously if it is said with malice then it can be taken as it is intended.

Australia and England have different meanings on the word WOG itself, let alone its interpretation.
As JulesandChris said, WOG = Western Oriental Gentlemen, and that's how I always thought of it, but then I came here and was well and truly confused, as it actually describes the Greeks & Italians etc I personally don't like the word, but "wog" friends that I had used the term a lot.

With the term Paki, in the UK we have our own meaning for it, and it's not nice, but here it seems to be just a shortened version of Pakistani, in the same way Aussie to Australian, Brit to British, etc etc.
Obviously it does depend on who says it, and with a new migrant from the UK who says it in a degrading way it would tend to be an insult. I still don't like or use the word myself, because of my upbringing and the way I always think of the word.

But... This is a different country, and if the these words mean something other than what the British are used to, then WE must get used to it, and not turn it into something else, as ozzieeagle was saying.

ozzieeagle

Why are you so steadfast in importing racism into this country. I've been here 23 years or more, and choose to live in and enjoy the what is probably the most multi cultural part of Australia, This is the place to be if you miss europe, and where Pauline Hanson was given the biggest kick up the arse, with about .03 of the vote, I know exactly what I'm talking about, and if you care to look up the 'City of Moreland' you may find yourself educated about where and when racism does and doesn't exist.

The only excuse you have, and why I'm not giving you a real flame is you are obviously very new to this country.

JayneS

Meemo has to be the worst

and thongs took some getting used to especially when walking into a pub and seeing a sign saying 'NO THONGS' and I'm thinking my god do they actually look up your skirt and check your knickers.

And my god do they love their abbreviations over here - if its got more than 3 letters they'll abbreviate it.

oh and 'crack the shits' - that's a mental one too.

ozzieeagle

Personally I love the term "fair dinkum' it took a hell of a while to get used to saying it. It really does say a lot in a short phrase though.

WhiteRose

I like it when someone tells you they're going 'overseas' on holiday, but they never actually say where!

Also, the Aussies I work with ALWAYS refer to England as 'London', even though I've never lived there.

mozzie

Totally agree Ozzie - my thoughts exactly as I read the original post. Of course there are racists in Australia, like anywhere else. But at least there’s less of the PC bullshit that turns people into “victims of racism”. Where “wogs” may be regarded as victims in the UK, in Australia they’ve embraced the term and are proud of their heritage. Stage shows (“Wogs out of work”), movies (“The wog boy”) and TV shows (“The late show – healthy, wealthy and woggy”) have all been produced by Australian “wogs”. And more power to their elbows – they’re certainly putting the racists in their place.