Goin' Troppo!
O.K. - here's the newest Aussie'ism - goin' troppo, as in, "it's so freakin' hot in here I'm going troppo!" I had so much fun with my Aussie students today with little phrases like that. One of the grad' students asked if they would use the relaxation techniques we were discussing, preventatively or after a patient "goes completely troppo" LOL! I had no idea what he was talking about so he explained that "going troppo" refers to when someone completely flips out, as if he they flipped out and lost their temper due to extreme heat, in the middle of summer or something. I said, "oh o.k., we have something like that also.... goin' postal". Bunch of students were like, "yeah, we've heard of that, in the movies and everything... what does that mean?" When I explained to them that every once in a while someone who works in the postal system completely freaks and snags a bunch of hostages or something, they were simultaneously laughing and wondering why mail carriers in the U.S. are so angry - it was hysterical!
BTW - Karen and the kids leave 2 weeks from today!
BTW - Karen and the kids leave 2 weeks from today!
posted by Ed | 6:24 PM
3 Comments:
As a (fellow) displaced Yank, I am also intrigued by language in Oz. Is funny to hear the term "goin Troppo" used here, because I just recently read a book about a US Marine, and three tours he served in the "South" Pacific and the book mentions the Marines would use the term (Gon Troppo)when someone lost it due to the heat and all the other stressors.
Kind of like in the movie Gangs of New York hearing a few terms used by Irish/English immigrants (to NY) using terms I hadn't heard whilst living in the US but hear here; such as goodonya??????
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**I just accidentally removed my post!!!** Here it is again...
I just love languages...they are alive and always changing. It's especially funny to hear the differences between the various English-speaking countries and to have language barriers between similar languages is quite funny when you think about it.
BTW, E7 and I visited a hot springs in Kagoshima a few years ago. I ran into someone I knew and E7 went off to soak alone (How can you run into someone you know in Japan when you are 5 hours away from your city? Weird but...). He ended up being cornered by this person from Kagoshima who was chatting with him for about 30 minutes. When we got back together, I asked him what he had talked about with the guy...he said he didn't understand him. How can you have a 30 minute conversation in your native language and not understand a word of what the other person says?
Well, looking at your story, I guess it is possible! LOL
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