Australian English: village

Are there 'villages' in Australia?

Here's something that came up recently after I adapted a customer feedback survey for Australia.

The original US English text asked respondents in what type of region they lived in and one of the options was 'rural area or village'. I changed this to 'rural area; small town', which threw the client, and so the inevitable query was raised:

Why the change?

The most obvious answer to such a question is 'well, you wanted the text adapted for Australia, didn't you?'

But why no 'village' then for Australia?

Because unlike in the rest of the world, a 'village' in Australia (and New Zealand) refers to a planned community where the bulk of its population is not permanent year-round, such as ski resorts (yes, they exist in Australia), camping spots or outback service stations (known as 'roadhouses'). Examples are Perisher Village and Thredbo Village (both ski resorts in the Australian Alps, though the 'Village' in their names are usually dropped); and Border Village on the South Australia/Western Australia border, which is just an agricultural checkpoint and roadhouse with that epitome of tourist Australiana tack, a 'big kangaroo' (we love these 'big' things in Oz).

'Village' is also used to refer to retirement communities, i.e. 'retirement villages', a term shared with UK English.

It's also used to denote higher-end shopping precincts, such as Burnside Village in Adelaide, South Australia.

So if there are no 'villages' in Australia, then what are localities with populations of around a few hundred people called?

These are referred to as 'small towns' or 'townships'. Roughly speaking, towns in Australia upgrade officially to 'city' status upon reaching 20,000 inhabitants, but still you'll hear Aussies refer to places that are otherwise cities of up to 100,000 inhabitants as 'towns', or even as a put-down for big Australian cities, i.e. 'Perth is just a big country town'.

Now to complicate things. Aussies then use the more common meaning for 'village' (i.e. a small settlement in a rural area) for places of that nature outside of Australia and New Zealand. From this distinction comes the phrase 'back in the village', used primarily by Aussies of Mediterranean origin, which means 'back in the country where my parents/grandparents came from', especially when referring to differences in cultural practices (i.e. 'back in the village, they would arrange marriages).

But if there's something 'villagey' that Aussies adore, then it has to be the Village People. The band had its greatest chart success in Australia, and even one of the biggest cinematic flops in history, Can't Stop the Music, starring the Village People, saw its only success in... you guessed it... Australia!

This ties in with another 'Village' thing in Australia. The largest chain of cinemas in the states of Victoria and Tasmania is Village Cinemas.

If you want to make sure you don't get your town taken for a village, let's talk about how I can make your text and content just right for the lucrative Australian market. Email me at info@nicknasev.com.