No worries
Encyclopedia
No worries is an Australian English
expression, meaning "do not worry about that", "that's alright", or "sure thing". It is similar to the American English
no problem. The phrase is widely used in Australian speech and represents a feeling of friendliness, good humour, optimism and "mateship
" in Australian culture. The phrase has been referred to as the national motto of Australia
and has influenced a similar phrase used in the Tok Pisin
language in Papua New Guinea
.
expression, meaning "do not worry about that", or "that's alright". It can also mean "sure thing" and "you're welcome". Other colloquial Australian terms which mean the same thing include "she'll be right". The expression has been compared to the American English
equivalent "no problem". In their book Australian Language & Culture: No Worries!, authors Vanessa Battersby, Paul Smitz and Barry Blake note: "No worries is a popular Australian response akin to 'no problems', 'that's OK' or 'sure thing'."
attitude in Australian culture. The term can also be used in the context of an apology. The phrase "no wucking furries" has the same meaning in Australia; as a spoonerism
of "no fucking worries", and is contracted to the phrases "no wuckers" and "no wucks". The phrase is now also widely used in British English, with usage increasing from the early 90s onwards, around the same time that massively popular Australian soap operas such as "Neighbours
" and "Home and Away
", other Australian dramas and children's TV programmes like "The Tribe", "Round the Twist
", "Blue Heelers
and "Prisoner: Cell Block H
" began to dominate UK television.
in 1978, and in their 2006 work, Diving the World, Beth and Shaun Tierney call "no worries, mate" the national motto of the country. Writing in The New York Times Book Review
, Annette Kobak calls the expression a "ritual incantation" which has "particular charm". The phrase "no waris" in the Papua New Guinea
language Tok Pisin
is derived from the Australian English term.
According to The Sunday Mail
a 2004 newspaper report notes that "no worries" has begun to be used in American English. Writing in a 2004 article for The Advertiser, Samela Harris comments: "The Americans have no idea of the etymology of 'no worries'. So, while they may cheerily adopt our 'no worries' mantra, 'no worries' will never catch on as an attitude." According to Tom Dalzell, author of two books on slang usage in the United States, linguistics experts are not certain how the expression became popular in that country. Usage of the term by Steve Irwin
on The Crocodile Hunter
, as well as attempts by members of the American press to imitate the expression during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, have been put forth as theories explaining the pervasiveness of the expression in the United States. Linguistics
professor Kate Burridge
writes in her 2004 book Weeds In the Garden Of Words that expressions including "no worries", "absolutely", and "bottom line" have become less prevalent in favor of newer sayings. The phrase has had some usage in Canadian English
.
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
expression, meaning "do not worry about that", "that's alright", or "sure thing". It is similar to the American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
no problem. The phrase is widely used in Australian speech and represents a feeling of friendliness, good humour, optimism and "mateship
Mateship
Mateship is an Australian cultural idiom that embodies equality, loyalty and friendship. There are two types of mateship, the inclusive and the exclusive; the inclusive is in relation to a shared situation , whereas the exclusive type is toward a third party...
" in Australian culture. The phrase has been referred to as the national motto of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and has influenced a similar phrase used in the Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country...
language in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
Definition
"No worries" is an Australian EnglishAustralian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
expression, meaning "do not worry about that", or "that's alright". It can also mean "sure thing" and "you're welcome". Other colloquial Australian terms which mean the same thing include "she'll be right". The expression has been compared to the American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
equivalent "no problem". In their book Australian Language & Culture: No Worries!, authors Vanessa Battersby, Paul Smitz and Barry Blake note: "No worries is a popular Australian response akin to 'no problems', 'that's OK' or 'sure thing'."
Usage
Anna Wierzbicka writes in her 1991 book Cross-cultural Pragmatics that the expression "permeates Australian speech", "serves a wide range of illocutionary forces" and displays a "casual optimism". In her 1992 book Semantics, Culture, and Cognition, Wierzbicka classifies the phrase as "among the most characteristic Australian expressions", along with "good on you". Wierzbicka comments that the expression illustrates important parts of Australian culture, including: "amiability, friendliness, an expectation of shared attitudes (a proneness to easy 'mateship'), jocular toughness, good humour, and, above all, casual optimism". She concludes that along with "good on you", the expressions reflect the "national character" and "prevailing ethos" of Australia. Richard D. Lewis writes in his 2005 book When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures that the phrase is a form of expression of the laissez-faireLaissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
attitude in Australian culture. The term can also be used in the context of an apology. The phrase "no wucking furries" has the same meaning in Australia; as a spoonerism
Spoonerism
A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
of "no fucking worries", and is contracted to the phrases "no wuckers" and "no wucks". The phrase is now also widely used in British English, with usage increasing from the early 90s onwards, around the same time that massively popular Australian soap operas such as "Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
" and "Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
", other Australian dramas and children's TV programmes like "The Tribe", "Round the Twist
Round the Twist
Round the Twist is a Logie Award-winning Australian children's television series about three children and their widowed father who live in a lighthouse and become involved in many magical adventures....
", "Blue Heelers
Blue Heelers
Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :...
and "Prisoner: Cell Block H
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
" began to dominate UK television.
Influence
"No worries" was referred to as "the national motto" of AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1978, and in their 2006 work, Diving the World, Beth and Shaun Tierney call "no worries, mate" the national motto of the country. Writing in The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, Annette Kobak calls the expression a "ritual incantation" which has "particular charm". The phrase "no waris" in the Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
language Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country...
is derived from the Australian English term.
According to The Sunday Mail
The Sunday Mail (Brisbane)
The Sunday Mail is Brisbane's only Sunday newspaper. The Sunday Mail is published in tabloid format, comprising several sections that can be extracted and read separately.-Publishing:...
a 2004 newspaper report notes that "no worries" has begun to be used in American English. Writing in a 2004 article for The Advertiser, Samela Harris comments: "The Americans have no idea of the etymology of 'no worries'. So, while they may cheerily adopt our 'no worries' mantra, 'no worries' will never catch on as an attitude." According to Tom Dalzell, author of two books on slang usage in the United States, linguistics experts are not certain how the expression became popular in that country. Usage of the term by Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
on The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter was a wildlife documentary television series that was hosted by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. The show became a popular franchise due to its unconventional approach and Irwin's approach to wildlife...
, as well as attempts by members of the American press to imitate the expression during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, have been put forth as theories explaining the pervasiveness of the expression in the United States. Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
professor Kate Burridge
Kate Burridge
Professor Kate Burridge, BA , PhD , FAHA, is a prominent Australian linguist specialising in the Germanic languages. Burridge currently occupies the Chair of Linguistics in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University.Burridge completed her undergraduate training in...
writes in her 2004 book Weeds In the Garden Of Words that expressions including "no worries", "absolutely", and "bottom line" have become less prevalent in favor of newer sayings. The phrase has had some usage in Canadian English
Canadian English
Canadian English is the variety of English spoken in Canada. English is the first language, or "mother tongue", of approximately 24 million Canadians , and more than 28 million are fluent in the language...
.
External links
- Australian slang dictionary, Koala Net
- No worries - definition on Australian Dictionary
- no worries, Urban DictionaryUrban DictionaryUrban Dictionary is a Web-based dictionary of slang words and phrases, which contained over 6 million definitions . Submissions are regulated by volunteer editors and rated by site visitors...
- Australian Slang, Australia Travel Wiki
- Short dictionary of Australian slang, Monash UniversityMonash UniversityMonash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....