how kiwis (that's me NZer's talk)...

[phesina]

We do actually talk quite different to the aussies ,but i know just as we think canadians and americans sound the same, although i can hear the difference myself,, most people think kiwis and aussies are the same, but take it from me we are NOT!!!

Hi Carole, many many years ago I spent more than a year on the west coast of Ireland in a little fishing village that also was a center for traditional Irish music. It was a popular tourist destination, and many people from many different countries around the world passed through.

I spent an afternoon with a couple of women from New Zealand who were backpacking their way around the world. I mentioned to them that I noticed that New Zealanders always had their flag sewn on their backpacks and asked them about it. They told me "That's so people won't mistake us for Australians!"

I said, "Oh, like Canadians always have their flag on their packs so they won't be mistaken for Americans!"

I could kind of pick up the differences between Australian and New Zealand accents. The New Zealand seemed somewhat like the South African accent to me, more than the Australian did.

I of course may be way off base with that! Do you think you sound much like South Africans?

[carole]

To be honest Pat, to me no we don't sound like that, but you know you don't hear yourself the same as others do, we often think we don't even have an accent,but we do, i think the south africans are a little different in their accents, my hubby's workmate is south african and my son's fiancee is half south african, but she is born here, so no accent, but interesting to read this.,hey maybe we do.

yes the aussies and kiwis have a bit of a rivalry going, sometimes in fun, sometimes not so much, we accuse them of stealing all our famous people which they do actually and claim them for their own, and there is the debate about pavlova, a yummy dessert we make here, we claim we own it, the aussie say they do. i don't really know .

I imagine the canadians and americans have a similar thing going .

[david p]

Sis, even other people in the U.S. think that people in Pittsburgh have an accent and a language all their own. For proof look up Pittsburghese.com. There is even a Pittsburghese/english translator!

[carole]

Oh My GOSH really, that is amazing David, yep we are a funny lot with our accents, they say the south islanders here also speak a wee bit different to the north islanders too.