How do you visibly identify your nationality when travelling overseas?

[Cool Cat Phil]

So now I just have a discreet "Ansett Australia Frequent Flyer" and "Ansett Golden Wing" carry-on bag tags, which have been picked up by fellow Aussies.

od point

What a great observation...... i've seen those old Ansett Bag tags around quite a lot recently in Airports..... its like they are becoming Trendy, Vintage , "Must have" Travel Aceessories.

 

[Warks]

Way back in the 70s and 80s there was a lot more terrorism* (believe it if you will), kidnapping and hostage taking. Americans, Brits (occasionally) and Israelis were often targets. My father did a lot of travel back then and he was all for identifying himself as an Aussie to stop people thinking he was American. Americans also had a reputation for rudeness back then but I think that's spread to other countries these days! Anyway he always pushed us to put kangaroos on our luggage when we travelled in the early 90s. It was sort of good at first to find other Aussies when you were a bit lost and lonely but after a while it became a liability in some countries where touts and other undesirables used it as a conversation opener to get you to a carpet shop or to "shange marney?" So we ditched the logos and have kept a low profile ever since. The QF tags can be an identifier though.



* I remember reading an old article on "how to protect yourself if taken hostage" or something like that which had the tip to carry an expired passport of a country other than USA so when the terrorists walked through the plane telling everyone to hold up their passports so they could target Americans you could hold up your old Kenyan/Malaysian/Brazilian passport and they'd walk right by without checking the photo against you if you were lucky. Nice bit of paranoia!

 

[Deleted member]

I remember way back when you Gould buy a T Shirt which ( in Arabic) specifically identified you as NOT being American.
Given my ( written) Arabic is nonexistent I was sceptical about buying one

 

[Blackadder]

Don't go out of the way to identify myself as Australian, will have my Sydney Swans jacket for generall wear or my Central Coast Mariners top and scarf if going to a Football (Soccer) game.

 

[Buzzard]

Moved from NSW to SA about 12 years ago now. When Mrs. Buzzard & I first arrived we thought wow, there are a lot of Kiwi's in SA. Turns out to be the SA accent. Even after 12 years I still think "they" speak funny.

GPH South Aussies do not speak like NZ'ers. We pronounce our vowels correctly down here and no fush and chups for us.

Mum got free phone calls back home when near Villers Bretonneux in France. Probably appropriate given her father had fought there and died of heart issues in his forties from war related problems.

 

[Pushka]

SA people do not speak like kiwis. When we hear someone from NZ speaking we know they are kiwi and not from any other part of Australia. Like I said, we do not say 'I' as 'U' which is a trademark of NZ speak.

 

[quick_dry]

I've never noticed the SA accent, but as a Sydney-sider I find there is a tendency for many Melbournites to say the 'e' in words like Melbourne with more of an 'a' (as in 'at'/'apple' ) sound e.g. Malbourne or Malways (back when a street directory was something people actually used)

 

[SeatBackForward]

I've never noticed the SA accent, but as a Sydney-sider I find there is a tendency for many Melbournites to say the 'e' in words like Melbourne with more of an 'a' (as in 'at'/'apple' ) sound e.g. Malbourne or Malways (back when a street directory was something people actually used)

Yes! this was one of the first things I noticed when I was living in Melbourne. And how long it took me to pronounce the suburb for Prahran correctly.

 

[SteveJohnson]

I don't do a thing to 'show' that I am Australian or anything else. Maybe that's why a lot of the time especially in the UK I am mistaken for a local, people ask me directions or "Does this bus go to so-and-so?". But I do find my Australian accent gets a little bit broader and I definitely seem to say "Mate' more often, like "Thanks mate!" all the time!

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

I do like to identify as Aussie on CX J by wearing QF F/J PJs, as CX don't provide. That's about it. I don't feel the need to identify my country of origin at all, and in fact many fellow Aussies abroad are quite the embarrassment to our country.

 

[dot]

I don't identify myself overtly as an Aussie, however, I do try to avoid being mistaken for a Yank in a lot of countries I visit. Usually, that just means that I don't wear t-shirts with obviously American themes to them. I do this for personal safety reasons - as often Americans are a bigger target than Aussies. In the US, EU or UK, I don't bother with this, but in many developing nations where they have been past attacks on US resources - I am thinking about countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Tunis etc.

 

[Deleted member]

SA people do not speak like kiwis. When we hear someone from NZ speaking we know they are kiwi and not from any other part of Australia. Like I said, we do not say 'I' as 'U' which is a trademark of NZ speak.

I am married to a South Australian. And yes a lot of you (SA's) do use long vowel sounds which is often mistaken for an NZ

 

[Pushka]

I am married to a South Australian. And yes a lot of you (SA's) do use long vowel sounds which is often mistaken for an NZ

I remember you mentioned that at the Rockpool Lunch.

I'm curious as to which sounds you are talking about. Do you mean how we pronounce Mall and School for example? If so then that is the correct "English" pronunciation.

But Kiwis flatten their 'I' and 'e' which is a dead giveaway.

Our business is located in Kent Town. Ask a kiwi to say that suburb and you just hope no one else is listening. No South Aussie would dare say it the way kiwis do.

But if you got a bunch of NZ'ers in a room with Sputh Aussies then we would correctly identify Kiwis every time. Which wouldn't be possible if we spoke the same. I think their accent is one of the most identifiable around.

 

[JessicaTam]

Of all the Australian accents, South Australians are closest phonetically to New Zealanders. That is not to say that we can't tell the difference, as of of course we can. However to a non-Au/NZer the difference is harder to pick.

 

[here2go]

I would have thought us Territorians are easiest to spot by out language.... $#!% $#!% $#!% $#!% Crocodile $#!% $#!% $#!% Page 3 girl in Sunday paper $#!% $#!% $#!% $#!% $#!% Tinnie $#!% $#!% $#!% $#!% Barra.

 

[ChasingDaylight]

here2go is quite correct, haha.

Also, I'm a born and bred Kiwi, not long over this side of the Tasman, and often get mistaken (by Territorians, if that helps) for someone from Melbourne or Sydney.

 

[dajop]

Of all the Australian accents, South Australians are closest phonetically to New Zealanders. That is not to say that we can't tell the difference, as of of course we can. However to a non-Au/NZer the difference is harder to pick.

That's an understatement ... many non-Au/NZers can't pick the difference between an Australian or New Zealand accent. Or, if they're not from the UK, from a British accent either.

 

[Clivem]

od point

What a great observation...... i've seen those old Ansett Bag tags around quite a lot recently in Airports..... its like they are becoming Trendy, Vintage , "Must have" Travel Aceessories.

No no no .......they aren't a 'must have' they are simply a gentle visible reminder to those of us that keep our old tags that your frequent flyer points , no matter many hundreds of thousands of them you have tucked away, are not worth a single brass razoo until you have actually redeemed them and then received a tangible item or service in return for same.

 

[spudseamus]

Only advertise my nationally on one day of the year ! 17 march!

 

[Pushka]

Only advertise my nationally on one day of the year ! 17 march!

How about your name?