A friend of mine just came
back from New Zealand.
While he was there, it
seemed that every where he went people asked him if he was Canadian.
Intrigued that not ONE
person had asked him if he was from the US, he asked someone if he "looked" Canadian (whatever that means!).
He was told that if you
ask someone if they’re from the US and they’re from Canada, you
However, if you ask
someone from the US if they’re Canadian they don’t seem to mind.
He was also told that if
you’re not sure if someone is from New Zealand or Australia, you should ask them if they’re from New Zealand for the same reason.
Apparently, Australians
don’t mind being asked if they’re from New Zealand but the reverse is not true.
Is that true?
I don’t know about the Aus/NZ thing, but most Canadians object to being called Americans.
Thanks Clarke!
As far as I’m concerned I love the way both Australians and Kiwi’s speak.
You’re right, though, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference 5 years ago (I’ve since worked with Kiwi’s and been to NZ). Being “out of practice”, I might even mess up now.
I suppose I wasn’t trained as a child to hear the difference – as I was trained to hear the difference in regional US accents.
The one thing I NEVER do anymore is mistake a Brit for an Aussie or a Kiwi! At least I’ve made some progress!!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Ann
That is indeed true. I’m a kiwi and I’ve living in Scotland and Ireland for the last 10 years. In the early days I’d often get asked if I was Australian and I often replied “No I’m from New Zealand. Which part of England are you from?” – which is, equally something you don’t say to an Irish or Scottish person. I’ve noticed over the last 5 years or so, as more New Zealanders have come to live in these two places, that I very, very rarely get accused of being Australian any more.
Taxi drivers have told me that it’s safer to assume Kiwi because the Australians don’t get offended.
I suspect the reason why the Australians don’t react is that they regard it as a compliment to be called Kiwi 🙂 Or, they don’t have a chip on their shoulders about their insignificant, small cousins.
Nice blog, btw.
Clarke