Accents Confuse as Often as They Impress

Besides phrases being different or having different words that mean the same thing, kiwis also pronounce things pretty different.

I'll be honest, I love Josh's accent. It may or may not be one of my favorite things about him. But that doesn't mean I don't get confused when he speaks. I do. And when a foggy look passes over my face, he realized I'm lost and backtracks... another thing I love about him.

Understanding English with a kiwi accent can be hard. Having to decipher common American words/phrases in an accent as they speak at a normal speed or faster is a struggle. But then add in the fact that kiwis put the emphasis on different syllables and I have to admit: sometimes I get lost in conversations.

Luckily, as I make these lists, I'm finding it easier to keep up in conversations and even add to them occasionally.

The other day, I asked Josh to clarify something for me. I asked him if he meant "yarn" or "yawn." When he said each one, I swear it sounded the exact same. This is something that only adds to my confusion.

The good news is that it isn't just me getting confused. One of the grocery chains here has a commercial out now that pokes fun at the fact that when kiwis say beers and bears, it sounds the same, as it does when they say cheers or chairs.

It's funny because back in America, Josh and I went out with some friends, mostly international, and we went around the table and all said the word, "water." They were poking fun at the way Americans say it (which, I told them, is not fair because there are so many American accents and we all say it different from one another). But just around the table, the difference was crazy. There was Irish, Mexican, British, Kiwi, Moroccan and American and we all said that one word different. That just emphasizes how different our accents are and how one word can change so much.

And while watching a Netflix special of Trevor Noah, I realized he points this "water" pronunciation out, too.

Also, apparently in New Zealand, Erin and Aaron sound very different. There is almost always a very distinctive "E" put at the beginning of my name when spoken. I've always thought of my name as "Air-in," but here, it's "Ear-in." It definitely takes some getting used to.

Here are some other things Kiwis pronounce differently from Americans (written out phonetically for your convenience):

• Adidas - Add-ee-dass
• Hyundai - I can't even spell this out phonetically...
• Nissan - Niss-in
• Cemetary - Symmetry
• Garage - Gair-uj
• Scone - Scunn
• Tomato - Toe-mah-toe
• Sauce pan - (all one word) Saucepin

And I'm certain that there are more. 

It's fun to listen to a new and different accent, but be prepared to decipher it if you're trying to comprehend everything. 

Kiwis Can Cook: My Trials and Errors with Anzac Biscuits

**Reminder: Biscuit means cookie in New Zealand!**



Original Recipe Anzac Biscuit
Photo by Erin Grigson

Anzac biscuits are sweet cookies that have oats and coconut in them. Anzac means Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which was established in World War I. It's said that biscuits like this were sold at home to raise money to support the troops. This led to them being referred to as soldiers biscuits.

Because the biscuits don't use eggs, they last a long time. They look like granola and pack the same energetic punch.

Before I start, I should say that I didn't realize until I started mixing the first batch that I didn't have a cookie sheet tray. For consistancy's sake, I used the tart tray throughout. And I think these turned out alright. In fact, I think the cookie was better because it didn't have the chance to expand like it would on a cookie sheet, but we'll get to that in a minute.

I wasn't sure which recipe was better, so I'll walk you through each and then tell you which one turned out better at the end. However, you might like your cookies like the kiwis do: rock hard. In that case, we may not agree.

For both recipes, you will need:

• flour
• sugar
• rolled oats
• coconut (shredded or desiccated)
• butter
• golden syrup
• baking soda

Original Recipe

The original, basic recipe is so simple, it fits on a refrigerator magnet.

Photo by Erin Grigson

It says:

Photos by Erin Grigson

1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup coconut
Mix together
50g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
Melt together and add to mix
Dissolve 1/2 tsp baking soda
in 2 tbsp boiling water
Combine with mixture
Spoon onto butter tray
Bake 180 C for 15 mins

When I mixed it all together, I felt like it wasn't sticking enough. I added a bit more boiling water to it and it was ready (enough) to spoon.

Still, the consistency was not sticky. It was very dry and I really didn't think it would bake right. As you can see to the right, they actually turned out really well.

It made 12 cookies total, but they were thicker (because of the tart tray shape), which I liked because it meant they weren't so hard.

They didn't turn out super pretty, but considering this was my first try at baking since coming to New Zealand, I was pretty happy with the end result.

Food in a Minute Recipe Anzac Biscuits
Photo by Erin Grigson

Food In A Minute

The second recipe was from Food In a Minute.

Photos by Erin Grigson

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup thread coconut
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
125g butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Preheat 180 C.
Mix oats, coconut, flour, and sugar.
Melt butter and golden syrup together.
Dissolve baking soda in the boiling water and add to the butter mixture.
Pour butter mixture into dry mixture and mix together.
Roll teaspoons into balls and place on tray.
Bake for 12-15 minutes 1 tray at a time.

Obviously based on the recipe, the batch size is significantly larger than the original recipe.

It made 3 batches, but it could have been more. (On the final tray, I made larger balls to see if the taste would change.)

I did not have to butter my tray beforehand because the mixture already had SO MUCH BUTTER in it.

I baked the first two trays for 13 minutes each and the third one (because of the larger balls) baked for 15.

The Food in a Minute recipe is definitely buttery, but it's the winner for sure!
Photo by Erin Grigson

Final decision

The bigger balls in the second recipe resulted in a MUCH better ooey-gooey delicious cookie. If you do the larger balls, then the second recipe beat the first one by a mile. 

Lifehack: They really do last a while, which was super convenient for me when taking the cookies to a picnic even though I made them a few days before. They were still really good! So if you have to bake for something and know you'll be pressed for time the day before, this is a pretty quick thing to whip up as few days beforehand and still be good!

Something extra: I think in the future, I might try them with some craisins or raisins or something to give it a bit more sweet flavor. I'll update this with how that works out when I do.

Also, I made a mess... but I cleaned it up so that I could make more!
Photo by Erin Grigson

Try out the recipes and let me know what you think!

Is there something else you have heard is delicious and haven't had a chance to try? Let me be the person to work out all the kinks! Let me know!