Diminutives in Australian English

[1][6] For example, bikie (a motorcycle, or motorbike club member), does not imply a bicycle in a small or childish sense as it may in other English dialects.

In Australian English, diminutives are usually formed by taking the first part of a word, and adding an ending such as a, o, ie, or y.

There is common usage of the diminutive forms of people's names; Hargrave → Hargie; Sharon → Shazza; Wilkinson → Wilko; John → Jonno; David → Davo; Hogan → Hoges; James → Jimmy → Jim → Jimbo; Benjamin → Ben → Benno; Barry → Bazza.

[citation needed] Organizations and businesses will often embrace the diminutives given to them by Australians, using them in their own advertising and even registering it as a trademark.

[citation needed] Diminutives are often used for place names, and are only recognised by people in the local area, for example, cot for Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Parra for Parramatta in Sydney and Broady for Broadmeadows in Melbourne.

Some research suggests that the use of diminutives serves to make interactions more informal, friendly and relaxed.

[6] Linguist Anna Wierzbicka argues that Australians' use of diminutives reflects Australian cultural values of mateship, friendliness, informality, and solidarity, while downplaying formality and avoiding bragging associated with tall poppy syndrome.