G'day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
G'day is an informal greeting meaning 'hello', most famously used by people in Australia and New Zealand.
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[edit] Origins
G'day is an abbreviation of the English greeting 'Good Day', which literally means that the speaker wishes the listener to have a good day, or a day of general harmony and enjoyment.
[edit] Correct usage
G'day is most often used between friends, known as 'mates' in Australia. This is the basis for the most common conjugation of the word 'G'day mate!', which literally means 'Hello friend', although the greeting is often adapted for use between complete strangers. It is also commonly used when someone can't recall another person's name, for instance if they have met only a few times, because 'G'day mate!' is friendly but obviates the need to use that person's name. ('Mate' is more commonly used between strangers on its own.) 'G'day' is only ever used as a greeting and never as a farewell or a proposition. Overuse of the word in common speech is unusual. A 'normal' usage level would entail approximately 3 or 4 uses of the word per day.
Other common conjugations include "G'day stranger" and "G'day, Howzit goin?', the latter of which also asks the listener how they are feeling.
G'day is also used by some Canadian air traffic controllers and pilots to informally denote the ending of their transmission. It is not standard ICAO radio phraseology.
Example: "Golf Golf Whiskey Golf, cleared the ILS runway one two, contact Sault Tower on one one eight decimal eight, g'day."
[edit] Pronunciation
G'day is pronounced 'Guh-dæ' as a monosyllable with a longer emphasis on the final vowel. Authentic pronunciation takes years of practice and mis-pronunciation by many 'Australian wannabes' (non-Australian people who desire to have Australian characteristics and behaviour) is an unfortunately common occurrence. Amongst these mis-pronunciations is 'Giday'. 'G'day mate!' is more correctly pronounced with a slight uplift in tone in the 'mate'. This general rule is true unless someone is feeling a bit down, in which case the tone of the final word is somewhat subdued.
[edit] Popularity
Australian and New Zealand film and television stars have boosted the profile of Australasian slang, with G'day perhaps being the most famous. Australian movies like Crocodile Dundee and television stars such as Steve Irwin have done well to spread its use prolifically on foreign soils. See also Helen Kroger.
