SteveIrwinisms [was Oriented vs. Orientated]

[Mark Odegard]

It is my belief that Australian males whose work is mainly 'international'
quickly discover that putting on the broad Strine accent actively helps
their career. Mostly, it's 'expected', and seems to add a certain machismo
to their persona.

Some individuals, of course, avoid it (Mel Gibson is actually from New York
state). Russell Crowe, it seems, is a New Zealander.

With Steve Irwin, I suspect he is broadly exaggerating what comes naturally
to him. Paul Hogan has g'died all the way to the bank, and Irwin seems to be
following his lead -- as the REAL Crocodile Irwin -- notwithstanding the
'cringe factor' the Australians speak of.

Linguistic 'dimorphism', the differences in male phonology vs female
phonology is an interesting topic. In Brooklyn, you get the deep-voiced
huffy-chuffy male vs the nasal whiney female version (Fran Drescher vs. Tony
Danza). You'd think Olivia Newton-John was straight from Mayfair, and would
have never guessed Nicole Kidman is Australian.

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