Yakka

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Yakka is a loan word from two different Australian Aboriginal languages, both now commonly used in broader Australian English vocabulary. The word may refer to:

  • Hard work, from the Jagara people of Moreton Bay. It was spelled yakker or yacker until World War II [1]. To engage in hard yakka is a common phrase in the Australian lexicon. One of Australia's most well-known brands of work clothing is called Hard Yakka.
  • A grasstree, also spelled yacca or yacka, Xanthorrhoea. Probably a loanword from a South Australian language such as Kaurna. It is often called blackboy, although this term is becoming somewhat politically incorrect.
  • The Yakka Skink, a small reptile native to Australia.
  • There is also an Australian town, Yacka, South Australia, possibly named after the abundance of the Xanthorrhoea plant in the area.
  • Yakka Punch, a violent drink made primarily with vodka and lemons, with claims of origin in South Africa
  1. ^ Peters, Pam, The Cambridge Australian English Style Guide, Cambridge University Press, 1996, p823