There's a classic greeting that people all over the world instantly associate with Australia. The quintessential Aussie expression? 'G'day mate'. But after relocating to Australia several years ago, American expat Katie Payne has revealed she was shocked to discover that the greeting she'd heard uttered by a myriad of Aussie characters in TV shows and movies was not as commonplace as she'd expected.
'One of the biggest lies I've been told about Australians is that they say, "G'day mate"... No they don't,' Katie said in an Instagram video. 'Or at least not the way they tell us in America... Very seldom do you hear a "G'day mate" out in the wild... And when you do, it's pretty iconic. But I wouldn't say it's the go-to phrase around here.'
The 27-year-old creative social media agency employee originally moved from the US to Newcastle in NSW to study and has since relocated to Melbourne. Since embracing her new life Down Under, she noticed she hadn't encountered anywhere near as many 'G'day mate' greetings as she'd expected. Instead, she'd come to recognise a few other far more common - but still iconic - Aussie greetings.
'What they will say, which I do love, is an "I'm just going to say g'day to that person",' she explained. 'Second to that though is this one: "How ya going?"' Katie said, using pitch-perfect Aussie-English pronunciation. 'How ya goin'? Can't get enough of it,' she enthused, adding: 'In fact, I don't even know the American translation of it. "How are you?" Lame.'
Katie signed off the video by sharing her third all-time favourite Aussie greeting that she had frequently encountered: 'What's doin'?'
The video post shared to her @itskpayne_ account has amassed more than 430,000 views and thousands of comments from Aussies. Even Australian celebrity Ruby Rose chimed in, replying: 'You have absolutely mastered this part of our language. Many have tried, few have succeeded.'
The vast majority of responses centred around the reason they believed Katie hadn't heard a 'G'day mate' greeting on a regular basis – and that it all boiled down to her urban location. 'Depends where you are in Australia. In a city, probably not. In regional areas, yes,' read one reply. 'Get out of the city and you'll hear more "G'days",' another agreed.
A number of responses came from people who are based in regional parts of Australia, with locals confirming that in those places you will 'hear it all the time'. 'Melbourne is a cosmopolitan global city. Regional Australians say "g'day mate" all the time,' one reply confirmed. 'Get out of the city and coastal towns and you'll hear "mate" every day,' another added. 'I live in rural Queensland, hear it 50 times a day,' another added.
But even some regional residents admitted that the full Aussie greeting had slightly altered, putting it down to a possible generational shift. 'It's way less common than 20-25 years ago. I've lived in four states of Australia and have noticed it change over the years,' one older Aussie explained. 'You hardly ever hear "mate" anymore,' another person agreed. 'It's all bro, bra, brother, cuz.' 'I definitely say "G'day" but I don't throw mate on the end,' another added. 'If I'm greeting a mate, I dispense with the g'day. "Maate!"'
However, many Aussies chimed in to confirm that Katie was spot on in her assessment that 'How ya goin?' is a far more commonplace modern Aussie greeting. 'How ya goin' is elite,' one local confirmed. However, a few were quick to point out that the American visitor needed to relax the sounds even more to capture the true Aussie inflection. 'It's "howzagoin", not "how's it going",' one explained. '"Howzagarn" – say it like you're too busy to finish the word properly but drag it out like you don't have to go anywhere until next month.'
Others piped up to offer up a highly similar and popular uniquely Aussie greeting – although there appeared to be no consistent way to spell it. '"S'garn on" is also a classic,' explained one Aussie. 'I came to the comments to say "Scarnon" is peak,' another agreed. 'Trying to explain "sgarnon" to my Czech and Japanese co-workers is a MISSION,' laughed another.
Ultimately though, there was a consensus that the complete 'G'day mate' as an entire expression was nowadays more often heard as an exaggerated stereotype in movies and TV shows – as was another common refrain. As one person wryly observed to Katie: 'Next you'll be telling us we don't say "shrimp on the barbie".'
