Aboriginal people refer to an Elder as 'Aunty' or 'Uncle'. However, it is recommended that non-Aboriginal people check the appropriateness of their use of these terms as referring to an Elder or leader as Aunty or Uncle may not be appropriate for an outsider unless a strong relationship has been established.
It is a sign of respect to refer to those older than you as Aunty or Uncle especially if they are family. This includes extended family. By using Aunty or Uncle you show that you respect them, their leadership and their lived experience which typically outweighs those who are younger.
In many Indigenous families, aunties are the matriarchs who carry forward our traditions. Though the moniker “Native auntie” is more of a term of endearment for Indigenous elders. They can be your literal aunts, a close family friend, or a respected figure in your community.
Acknowledgement of Country should be everyone's responsibility. Why is the term "Aunty" and "Uncle" used so widely in the Aboriginal Community? Put simply - RESPECT! It also relates to recognition of Aboriginal Elders, kinship and extended families.
Other pluralised terms such as 'First Nations' or 'First Peoples' are also acceptable language, and respectfully encompass the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and identities.
'Nation', 'community', 'people', 'mob' or the local language or Page 3 culture group name is usually preferable to 'tribe'. 'Mob' is an Aboriginal English word and as such may be more appropriate, but community acceptance may be required before using this word.
'Aborigine' is a noun for an Aboriginal person (male or female).
Here are some simple rules with using “Aunty”:
If she's your Aunty's friend or mom's friend, she's Aunty. If you're both adults and you don't know her very well… DON'T CALL HER AUNTY. Unless all your friends are calling her Aunty…then you're good to go.
Spelling. In terms of English spelling, "aunty" and "aunties" are both accepted. The differences between -y and -ie are often used in English to address endearing or familiar names. For instance, you can call your mum's best friend, auntie Mary and you will have a closer relationship than you have with aunt Lisa.
When Aborigines refer to their family they invariably mean their extended family which might include parents, several children, numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, and grandparents. These family members can be both genetic and classificatory.
Aussies tend to use 'aunty' more, whilst the Brits use 'auntie'. Both use aunty or auntie to refer to our Broadcasting Corporations, the ABC and the BBC. According to the infallible Wikipedia, Aussies adopted 'Aunty' as a name for our ABC in imitation of the English nickname 'Auntie' for their BBC.
'Auntie' is the more prevalent spelling in the UK & US, while 'aunty' tends to be used in India, Australia & NZ.
1. a familiar or diminutive word for aunt. 2. Australian offensive, slang. an older homosexual man.
Tidda: Means sister and can also be used when referring to female friends.
Koori (or Koorie)
Koori is a term denoting an Aboriginal person of southern New South Wales or Victoria. 'Koori' is not a synonym for 'Aboriginal'. There are many other Aboriginal groups across Australia (such as Murri, Noongar, Yolngu) with which Indigenous Australians may identify themselves.
This shows that parent and child, grandparent and grandchild are equal, connected by a reciprocal relationship. A Noongar family will also claim the grandchildren of their brothers and sisters and refer to them as “they all my grannies”. Deman is the name for Grandmother. or 'deman yaarl koorl' – Grandmother come here.
1300, from Anglo-French aunte, Old French ante (Modern French tante, from a 13c. variant), from Latin amita "paternal aunt" diminutive of *amma a baby-talk word for "mother" (source also of Greek amma "mother," Old Norse amma "grandmother," Middle Irish ammait "old hag," Hebrew em, Arabic umm "mother").
The main difference between the words Aunty and Auntie are two, the first one is that Aunty is more frequently used in British English while Auntie is more frequently used in American English. The another is that Aunty is mostly used in a more formal tone while Auntie is considered a less formal word.
The first (ANT) is by far the predominant American pronunciation. The second (AHNT) is common in the Northeast, some Southern dialects, and among African Americans. British speakers today also prefer the second pronunciation (AHNT), according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
An aunt is a woman who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Alternate terms include auntie or aunty. Children in other cultures and families may refer to the cousins of their parents as aunt or uncle due to the age and generation gap.
However, while you may not be biologically related to the person, here in Hawai'i, is not uncommon for you to be addressed as Aunty or Uncle by someone “usually” younger then you. It's not meant to insult you in anyway. It's actually a form of respect. Hanai is the Hawaiian word meaning adopt.
Pap(a) is also found as 'mother', mainly in Victoria. Other kinship roots (for grandparents) have been shown to have a split distribution with one root dominating in the east and one in the west for what is apparently a single proto-meaning.
The town name Gin Gin has sometimes been said to derive from a local Aboriginal word indicating "red soil thick scrub".
"Koori" comes from the word gurri, meaning "man" or "people" in the Indigenous language Awabakal, spoken on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. On the far north coast of New South Wales, the term may still be spelt "goori" or "goorie" and pronounced with a harder "g".