Down Under is not just Aust (Nemo Song)
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My sister visited New Zealand last yr and bought back a souvenir cap which printed 'Queenstown ... Down Under',
I then checked a universal dictionary on 'Down Under' and then realised that 'Down Under' really means 'Either Australia OR New Zealand'.
Many of us hear media personnel on travel programmes or news reporter just say Down Under to directly mean only Australia, this is actually wrong as it can mean both NZ or Australia.
Remember the 80s song 'Down Under' by the Aussie group 'Men at work' which was used as the theme song of 'Finding Nemo'?
I had an old complilation CD which had lyrics, 1 line read '' I came from A land Down Under', so actually the Aussie group knew what they were singing. i.e. if ONLY Australia is DOWN UNDER, the lyrics should then BECOME ' I came from THE land Down Under'.
see, even in song lyrics, 'Men at work' don't wish to selfishly make 'Down Under' to mean only Australia. -
why are you so anal about stuff like this?
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why u so kaypoh and make hollow comment - 'anal'? thinking something unhealthy?
must be too free, play with yourself too much and nothing better to do with your time -
Ok. Though he is rather nitpicky about some issues, insignificant details qualify as a good read sometimes. That said, I find it pretty amusing.
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informative, educational, too free, etc.,
just hope u guys find it refreshing, if it is already old news 2 u i.e. u know long time ago, just leave this to others who don't yet know.
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thanks rob.. many words lose that original meaning as time passes..
"down under" was derived when we look at the world atlas where australia and new zealand is located on the bottom right corner of it.. now, it's generally accept that down under refers to australia..
many ppl refer new zealand to just new zealand, or anzac..
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down under refers 2 countries in da oceania continent
and australia is actually australiasia
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huh? is that so?Originally posted by sillyme:many ppl refer new zealand to just new zealand, or anzac..
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i meant as in NZ..Originally posted by the Bear:huh? is that so?
but really anzac means the combined new zealand-autralia troops? right? -
well i guess they can remove the zac from it now.Originally posted by sillyme:i meant as in NZ..
but really anzac means the combined new zealand-autralia troops? right? -
Hi Guys,
don't take this personally but some thing u guys mentioned are not correct. I stayed in Aust for 4 yrs and hence got the chance to know more about Aust and nz then u guys (plus the fact i m inquisitive and find out more myself)
35mmGunner - True, as mentioned Down Under can refer both Aust and NZ. However, Oceania is NOT continent , ONLY Australia is a Continent.
Oceania is a 'continental region' with Australia as its Continent and also PLUS surrounding island, just like Asia Continent strictly speaking don't include Japan, Indonesia but Asia 'continental region' (usually just called Asia or Asia continent) does include the islands. It is the world's only 'Continental region' that don't follow the main continent's name - most likely because Australia Continent is already used as a country's name and hence quite confusing if also means the entire region as well.
secondly Australia does not equal Australasia i.e. Australasia means 'bigger things' than Australia. Australasia is a imprecise terms that normally refers to Australia, NZ and nearby Pacific islands only, however, it generally don't refer the entire Oceania region and it does not refer to Asia, esp Asia Continent (i.e. mainland).
dear Sillyme, New Zealand don't equal ANZAC, Anzac refers to Australia and New Zealand Corp that were form for and fought together in WW1 under British overall command. I think the modern term to refer to Aust and NZ is 'ANZ', as in ANZ bank, one of the big 4 banks in Australia.
hope u guys find in interesting.
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thanks rob for clarifying
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This rob chen likes to pick on those small small things... How about helping me find out why eggplants have no eggs, why the red sea is not red, why the sun rises from the east and sets in the west...
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fague, hope i get your 'name' correct
your question many people can answer better than me, just keep this in mind,
Many things are 'predetermined' and 'set' by the experts of various fields, we layman have no say and can just follow the rules/definition
, unless u become an expert yourself and change the rules 
.... however, provided others must be willing to listen to u too...
just like 'Continent', strictly means only the landmass, not the islands. However islands around the continents are usually considered as part of the Continent and used the same name as the Continent e.g. Europe, Africa and just called 'Continent' for short - Australia is the only exception
your questions are really on the English language, and Science. if u are not a Linguist or Scientist, u blame me also no use, just L L accept the fact and learn the fact to become a more knowledgeable person
there are many things we don't know, no harm hearing more and learning new things all the time -
what i admire tthe Aussies is their sports culture and ability to win world class sports...
imagine they only have 5.5 times S'pore's populaton i.e. around 20mil, yet they ranked 4th in Olympics (2000) due to they are host but normally they are usually also within top 10 during Olympics.
compare that with population of USA ( 300 mil), China ( too many to tell), Russia , Britain , India etc, they u can imagine how 'small' yet powerful Australians are...in sports...
if we have 1/6 Aust's medal (impossible), or even 1/20 , i m already very happy.... -
she just smiled
and gave me
a vegemite sandwich...
That's provocation! vegemite is disgusting!
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what i admire tthe Aussies is their sports culture and ability to win world class sports...
Well for me what I admire the Aussies is their welfarism concept. I think in current economy such hand outs are crucial! -
what i hate about the aussies is their need to put everyone down when someone is up against the aussies...
i was there when the news went:
Agassi beat (i forgot who) 6 - 1, 6 - 2
(and with a different, very smug tone)
Lleyton Hewitt THRASHED (i forgot who) 7 - 5, 6 - 4
now, anyone who knows anything about tennis knows that the score is no way a "thrashing"...
it used to be nice.. but a few years ago, when i was there, it was pretty bad...Originally posted by sohguanh:
[b]what i admire tthe Aussies is their sports culture and ability to win world class sports...
Well for me what I admire the Aussies is their welfarism concept. I think in current economy such hand outs are crucial! [/b] -
Dear Bear,
i agree vegemite is really an 'acquired' taste and most people from SE Asia will not like it...
as for your story, maybe it is just a single incident or just because of that particular commentator,
i have heard many international people and players ,plus sports commentators said that Aussie spectators are most 'unagressive' against foreign players when they are playing on Australian ground..... because they wanted 'fair play'... ,
Aussies seldom boo and distract foreign players even when they are playing against an Aussie....