How you going, mate?

It’s been almost a month since I arrived in Perth and there are several cultural differences between Australia and England that have quickly jumped to my attention.

The one I want to share with you today is the Aussie way of asking “How are you?” versus ours. The Aussies and the English speak the same language but have different ways of expressing themselves with language. I've learnt in a short space of time that the majority of Australians here in Perth will ask me the exact phrase “How you going?” Just those three words. Sometimes the word ‘mate’ is added on the end for a friendly effect. The verb “going” is always mentioned which I find strange, as to me, it comes across as a question asking how I am travelling from one place to another.

Early example:

Australian person: “How you going?” (pronounced: Ow ya gown?)

Me: “Where am I goin? Urrrh well, I’m not goin anywhere right now… But later I’ll be going food shopping by car.”

To me, this isn’t really asking me how I am but instead, where am I off to, hence my initial reactions. My most used greeting is either a “How are you?” or a “How you doing?” or in most cases, my familiar south London one; “You alright?” which since I arrived in Oz has occasionally been responded to with a confused “I’m okay, I’m fine”, or “nothing’s wrong”, as some Aussies sseem to think I am asking them if they are physically okay – funny!

I’ve learnt that “How you going?” is the most common greeting down under but it might take some time to get used to…. And I’ll definitely be keeping my English greetings for as long as I can!

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