Australians are known for their relaxed and relaxed attitude to life, and this is true, at least to a certain extent. You're likely to meet some locals who relax and take the time to enjoy life. This is particularly true in “the jungle”: rural areas of the country and in surfing communities such as Byron Bay or Noosa. This chapter provides details on the prevalence of stereotypical attitudes and behaviors within the business community and in Australian society in general.
Australians are eager to appear that they are no better (or less) than others. They value authenticity, honesty and don't like pretentious and arrogant behavior. Australians appreciate people with humor and distance, and gladly moderate their own successes and ambitions to such an extent that they can sometimes seem uninterested in doing much with their lives. You should be careful to say that something or someone is not Australian, unless you are very confident in your English skills, in your understanding of the meaning of the word and in the situation you are in.
For example, it is known that people reject national awards because of the alienation they could generate among their fellow Australian citizens. The concept of “companionship” is a term that means sacrificing companionship and has its roots in the era of the first settlers and gold diggers, with legends about how Australians survived difficulties thanks to solidarity. Australians' strong sense of fairness and equality is also reflected in the intuitive sympathy of those at a disadvantage and those who, thanks to positive thinking and a strong spirit, do everything possible to stay in the game. Although there are hardly any regional dialects in Australia, some Australian English can be difficult to understand when its pronunciation differs from American and British English.
We encourage readers to visit the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander course offered by the Inclusion Program to learn more about the culture and experience of Indigenous Australians. It's hard to overlook the personal and informal ways in which Australians socialize and address one another; the tone of greeting is open and kind to strangers, and has a healthy lack of respect for prestige, hierarchies, titles and positions of power. Despite their good luck, Australians tend to resist overt demonstrations of national superiority (with the exception of their sporting prowess). Many Australians enjoy a high standard of living with sufficient social and economic security to have a reasonably optimistic view of the freedom and possibilities that surround them.
Australians are used to people speaking American and British English with different accents, so you shouldn't have a problem making yourself understood even if you sometimes use the word “wrong”. Anyone who has watched an AFL (Australian Football League) game will know how tough Australians are. We encourage readers to visit the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander course to learn more about Indigenous Australian cultural diversity. If an Australian decides to cheer on one of the two unknown athletes, the vast majority will choose to support the one with the least chance of winning.
At first it might seem a little silly to walk around being nice to strangers, but if you listen to how the Australians around you behave and how they express themselves, you'll soon have a good idea of how social protocols work. The unique thing about Australian English is its pronunciation, some vocabulary and how it uses a lot of paraphrases and is full of metaphorical speeches. Australians tend to be very modest in terms of their achievements and generally criticize themselves to avoid sounding pretentious. .
