Kiwi-ism are Creeping In

Well, it's been a year and a half since my last post about Kiwi language, if you don't count my wildly entertaining rant on the use of the word "tea."

Two things prompted this post:
1) A coworker pointed out something as "so American" that I never would have labeled as such, indicating to me that both Kiwi and American things have become normal to me such that I'm starting to mix them up.
2) I have noticed both J and I using Kiwi phrases, but always after the fact, as at the time they're so natural that I don't think about them.

I have therefore complied a list of some words I don't think I've written about yet, and a bit about how they've come to my attention

Cornflour - Cornstarch
~~ We use this for the very important task of making delightful gloop. While it's not very exciting, it makes the list because I saw "cornstarch" on a recipe the other day and thought, "That's odd. I wonder where they call it that." Obviously that shift has been made fairly decisively.

Take the piss - Make fun of/Not taking seriously
~~ I shocked myself by using this today, referring to a toddler who totally disrupted a lovely singing session by belting out only loosely musical sounds so loudly that no one could hear the actual song. I remarked to another teacher, "But he was really trying! He wasn't taking the piss or anything, that's just how he was singing the song!" While I hear this often, I believe that was the first time it entered my own utterances. Also, it occurs to me now that it might be rather rude, and not the sort of thing teachers tend to say while teaching, given that it has the word "piss" in it. Sometimes those subtleties are lost on foreigners like myself. I'll have to find out.

Twink - White-out
~~ I learned this in both directions - If a person asks me for twink, she receives the same blankly confused look that I earn when I ask for white-out. But I mostly remember to say twink now, so that's good.

Hottie - Hot water bottle
~~ My introduction to this word came via my friend Paula. I was staying at her house, and about to tuck myself into her spare bed, when she said, "Would you like a hottie?" My brain proceeded to frantically jump around, trying to land on a logical conclusion that was not an attractive man, as I was quite determined to believe that that's not what she meant. It wasn't. As this was also my first experience with a hot water bottle, it turned out rather well!

Bach - beach house or vacation home
~~ I still find this one strange, because it sounds like the shortened form of "bachelor," or even "bachelor pad" since it's usually clear that we're talking about a house. Perhaps if I am ever rich enough to have one, someone will explain to me why they're called that.

OTT - Over The Top
~~ I hesitate to include this, because the way the English language is evolving, it's very possible that this is now commonly used in the States, along with TMI and OMG. I am not a fan of abbreviations, but I do like saying that things are "over the top." We say that in the States, right?

Judder Bar - Speed Bump
~ There is a large sign warning of judder bars in the parking lot by our grocery store, and it always makes me happy, because "judder" is such a good word for what happens to you when you go over one as big as the ones there are.

Stink - Bad/A pity
~~ As in, "You have to work all weekend? Stink!"
~~ As in, "I told him I couldn't go, but then I felt a bit stink."

Lollies - Candy
~~ I have managed to incorporate this into the language I use with children, but still say candy around adults, to the vast amusement of my colleagues. Also, apparently American accents are particularly noticeable on words like "candy" and must, therefore, be imitated whenever possible.

Chuffed - Proud
Puffed - Out of breath
~~ At the Pak'n'Save grocery store in New Plymouth, there was a big sign that showed their mascot, the stick man, going running. It said, "Voted least expensive NZ grocery store two years running. We're puffed, but chuffed." It always made me laugh, both because of the terrible pun and because I love the world "chuffed."
~~ Note - I wrote this under "chuffed" and then realized that I don't think Americans say "puffed" to mean "out of breath" either, so it really needed both. The distinction is getting harder to see!

Partner - Romantic Partner, no connection to gender or sexual orientation or commitment level
~~ In the States, I mostly heard "partner" used to mean a same-sex romantic partner. Here, if you use that interpretation (which we did at first), you will think that an astonishing percentage of the population is gay. Quite amusing, but not accurate.
~~ I love this word, because it implies no specification beyond, "I am choosing to be in a romantic relationship with this person." You can say it about your husband/wife, or your new girlfriend/boyfriend, or your life-partner, or whoever you choose. And that's what I love. You get to choose who your "partner" is, and it's actually no one else's business.

Shout - Pay for
~~ My boss came in one morning and said, "I'm going to shout morning tea. What would you like?" I stared at her blankly, trying to decide if I was meant to be choosing something to yell while she yelled "morning tea," or if I would be permitted to say that I'd quite like for her not to shout at all. Fortunately, she realized the reason behind my confusion, and explained that "my shout" is the equivalent of "it's on me." Which made much more sense.

Cot - Crib
~~ I just learned this the other day, because my friends Christophe and Anaïs were telling me about a cot they'd just bought. The more they described it, the more it was clearly a crib, and when I mentioned this, I learned that apparently in NZ, a crib is called a cot.
~~ Two interesting ideas then popped into my head:
~~~~~ 1) I'd just learned Kiwi English from two French people. Well done, you two!
~~~~~ 2) I wonder how many conversations I've had with teachers and parents, during which we both used the word "cot" and I was talking about something totally different than they were!

Happy Holidays
~~ This is the one I mentioned at the beginning as having been pointed out to me as an "Americanism." An American parent wrote it on a card for the teachers, and our manager said, "Oh, that's so American!" I was surprised by this, having (I suppose) assumed that people say it here. But it makes sense that they don't, because here a "holiday" is what we would call a "vacation." I tried to explain this a fellow American, but got all confused myself, because Christmas and New Years are still "holidays," but they wouldn't clump them together and say "Happy Holidays," perhaps because it is too similar to what you say to someone when they go on vacation. Anyway, when people have been giving out those sorts of wishes at the (multitude of) Christmas Parties I've been to lately, they just say, "Have a good Christmas." Now that I've done all this thinking about it, I feel a bit bad for New Years, which gets completely left out of the well-wishing. Hmmm.

Well, that was rather longer than I anticipated it being. Can you tell how much I love language? It's just so much fun!

If you can't get enough of language either, and you'd like to read some of my older posts about Kiwi language, click on the links below.
June 2014 Post
January 2014 Post
October 2013 Post
September 2013 Post
Also, bonus - The Tea Post

It's funny for me to look back and see the things that were new and different back then. It's hard to imagine that I didn't always know and use some of those words and phrases!