Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yes the peace symbol is insulting in Britain and some of the colonies. More likely when the palm is facing inwards. It's called 'flicking the v". Similar to the American 'giving someone the finger'.

Oh and on the Australian accent thing...
It started developing in 1788 with a lot of input from British and Irish convicts and settlers. There has been a strong Cockney influence on our language, but that's not to say they are the same thing neutral

The US has contributed a lot of their slang to our language since the 1950s, but hasn't had a real effect on our pronunciation smile

There are 3 varieties of our accent: Broad, General and Cultivated
Broad is probably what most Americans here neutral
This is not what most people here sound like. We refer to them as bogans, yobo's and deros. Examples are Steve Irwin and Paul Hogan

General is what most of us speak. Examples are Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Hugh Jackman

Cultivated is not very common and sounds closer to Received British Pronunciation. An example is Geoffrey Rush. (This may be what Arnoria was describing and why she is confused for being British XD )

There are no strong differences between States and Territories so we generally all sound the same. Makes life a bit easier.

Oh and any Americans that come here, don't try and speak our slang. You will stand out like a sore thumb and I guarantee everyone will hate you. xp

Sometimes, because Angela is English and I write in her voice all the time, I catch myself saying things like 'mum' instead of mom. It just sounds wrong and silly so I usually catch myself before it sneaks out.

(I've gotten in the habit of typing it that way all the time though because when I chat with my friend Eleanor, she always corrects me. Because she's a silly goose. But it gets annoying after a while so it's easier to just type 'mum' and be done with it. So yeah. I don't usually say it that way unless it slips out).

Anyway...that was the most comprehensive explanation of Aussie accents I've ever seen. It was interesting to read. heart

>=D

I pick up accents really easily.

When my mOm in law is visiting, I find myself picking up her accent. It's weird. >.<

I just can't get used to how you guys write and speak English. I understand how we sound strange to you but you lot are.....strange.
What do Americans have against the letter 'u' anyway lol XD

I'm glad it was interesting to read and made sense. I had a 5 hour gap between classes last semester and there are a lot of linguistic books in the library (omg neeeeeeeerd DX)

You...worry me sometimes. Don't strangle me with my own arms! Also, you are more bogan than me, mwahahaha! Arnoria, though, you definitely sound more cultivated than us xd