It seems corny, but it's true. We actually do say "Gidday" and "mate". And we do it unselfconsciously and often unintentionally.
Last time I was in New York, my now-husband and I went into a small camera store in search of a replacement battery for my camera. Before long, the shopkeeper came over to ask if he could assist. And then he asked if we were Australian. I was gobsmacked. We weren't wearing anything conspicuously Australian, no flags or slogan-bearing t-shirts, no hats with corks hanging from them.
"Um, how do you know we're Australians?" I enquired. "You said 'Gidday'" he explained simply. I hadn't even realised I'd said anything.
For all he knew, we could have been New Zealanders. Kiwis also use "gidday", although their accent makes it sound more like "guh-DAY", than our "gih-DAY" (/ ə / vs. / ɪ / for the language buffs). And implying a Kiwi is Strine is like asking a Canadian if he's American - almost guaranteed to bring offence.
Mind you, Strines are pretty hard to offend. We go to great lengths to assert our egalitarianism, so can inadvertently offend others with our apparent lack of respect. For example, when the Australian cricket team were invited to Buckingham Palace in 1972, and Dennis Lillee was introduced to the Queen, he greeted her with "G'day, how ya going?", and said the same to the Duke.
"Mate" is also widely used, more so once you're out of the big smoke. Perhaps one of the most common uses is when addressing an unfamiliar bloke. So, as you climb into a taxi (front seat, naturally), you're first statement would be "Gidday, mate" before giving your destination. As you walk into a bottleshop, you might say "Gidday mate. I'm after a slab of VB." And when checking in at the airport, you'll give a friendly "gidday mate" as you hand over your ticket and passport to the bloke behind the desk.
It can also be used when addressing a friend, (it's particularly useful if you've momentarily forgotten their name). "Mate, how are ya?" you might say as you extend your hand, or even "Maaaate", for a close friend. The drawn-out vowel can also express disbelief, "Maaaate (what the f#ck are you on about?)!", or egging on a friend, "Maaaate, go'rn" (Go'rn = go on). And it can be used to appeal to a friend, for example, to diffuse a tense situation, "Come on, mate, there's no need for that."
Another use is in variants of "thank you". Except in the most formal of circumstances, one would never actually say "thank you". It'd be "ta", or "thanks", or "thanks, mate!" or even "cheers, mate", even if you're not remotely within cooee of a pub. (To which the appropriate response to all of these is, of course, "no worries, mate".)
There is some debate over whether a woman can address someone as "mate", or whether it is something reserved for blokes. I use 'mate' moderately often, but perhaps not as widely as JD - whether that's because he's a bloke, or because he's a country kid is moot. Mind you, I'm not exactly a girly-girl either, as all who've met me would attest. On the other hand, it is widely recognised that one doesn't generally call an unfamiliar female (eg a bartender) as "mate", although between friends, the stricture against addressing women as "mate" is a little more relaxed. Similarly, referring to a female friend in the third person "she's a mate", or "we're good mates" is okay too. However, the implicit sexism and blokeyness of the term "mateship" saw John Howard cop a lot of (deserved) flack when he tried, unsuccessfully, to shove it into the Constitution.
So if you hear me saying "Gidday mate", I'm not trying to come the raw prawn, or pretend I'm ocker. I'm actually fair dinkum (okay, so that I sometimes use unironically).
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