The Irish Influence on Australian English

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a feast celebrating the most prominent patron saint of Ireland. Did you know Irish influence is all around us in our speech? Sure Australian English takes after British English, but some of our trademark Aussie slang – think sheila, barracking, chookas, larrikin – has decidedly Gaelic influence. Dr. Howard Manns, Coordinator of Undergraduate Linguistics at Monash University, was on the line with Felix to elaborate.