11 January 2016

Ok. It's summer. You're in the fish and chip shop. What do you call a potato snack deep fried in batter??

Well it seems it depends which state you live in. There's interesting research showing the regional differences in the way Australian English is spoken - and it's often on state lines or a divide between north and south. Potato cake is strong in Victoria and Tassie, but turns dramatically into a Potato Scallop at the NSW border.

Do you wear togs, bathers or swimmers? In the "south" - WA, SA, VIC and TAS bathers predominate, but in NSW it's definitely swimmers while in QLD it's very clearly togs.

Check out these fascinating linguistic maps of our language in the Conversation