A Kiwi researcher has lifted the lid on the unique slang used by scientists at Antarctic stations.
University of Canterbury linguistics doctorate graduate Steph Kaefer spent three weeks observing workers at three English-speaking stations in the freezing cold in 2019. Her published findings exposed a very different way of speaking.
"I've always had a childhood fascination with Antarctica," she told Breakfast this morning.
"I went down and I took a notebook, and I was observing everything that was going on, and I left the notebook — a blank notebook — in sort of the communal spaces, and I asked people to write words anonymously into the book.
"So that was one avenue for collecting words and phrases," she said. "I also did a survey that I distributed around the world, and former and current workers in Antarctica, they did the survey and provided me with tonnes of data."
Her findings revealed a more complicated linguistic landscape than expected.
"I went in expecting that there would be this sort of pan-Antarctic vocabulary that all the English-speaking stations, regardless of the country, would share — but it actually turned out that they were kind of divided," Kaefer said.
"The British stations, they have their own colloquialisms and slang, and the American stations also have their own words and phrases.
"They were quite distinct, and they would have different words for the same concept."
A 'beaker' goes on a 'boondoggle'
To most people, a beaker is a bit of scientific equipment — but in Antarctica, "a 'beaker' is a scientist", Kaefer said.
At the American stations, a newcomer is a "fingie", while the British call new arrivals "fidlets".
A trip away from the station for non-work reasons is a "boondoggle" to US researchers and a "jolly" for the British, while a snow mobile is "snow machine" for US workers and a "doo" for the British.
The Guardian reports that New Zealand workers tend to adopt American colloquialisms, because of how close the stations are.
Kaefer's research comes after another study revealed earlier this year that time in the deep deep south can change a person's accent.
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