Saturday, January 10, 2009

NZ-lish

If you heard an advertisement on the radio in Australia offering security services from a company called "Cactus Security" would you take it seriously? MB heard just such an ad. yesterday on the radio whilst driving into Auckland. This company really exists. Not long after that she spotted a "Gull" service station. She wouldn't go near that servo with a bargepole. A few days before in a fashion boutique in Whitianga (pronounced "Fitianga") browsing for a hat, MB was told to try the "Show Shop" further down the street. MB was a bit perplexed as she wasn't sure what a "Show Shop" could be. The sales assistant repeated it again a bit more slowly and was actually saying "Shoe Shop". MB never ceases to be amazed at the never ending variations of the English language that develop between disparate groups.

1 comment:

Joyce said...

Thanks for pposting this