Chicken parmi or parma? The great food debate, which one would you prefer to see in the new Australian National Dictionary?
Submissions have rolled in for the updates to the new Australian National Dictionary. Not sure why it took so long, but parmi and parma look set to join the likes of Avo and Pikelet.
Both “parmi” and “parma” are on the list of Australian food words to be included in the annual update of the Australian National University’s dictionary. Director and chief editor Dr. Amanda Laugesen (via GoodFood) stated that there’s quotational evidence to support both iterations, but further research has to be done to determine which originated first and where.
Where and when, don’t get me started, Melbourne right?
Depending on which side of the suffix you land on, Australians love to add an o to everything. Rabbit-o, bottle-o, arvo, Salvo, smoko, flanno. You get it. Almost much as Aussies like to add an ie, Aussie, brickie, mozzie, truckie, and of course the much-lauded sickie.
So when faced with whether a chicken parmigiana, is a parma, or a parmi, the answer depends on where you hail from. In a recent study conducted by YouGov, overall the results were quite surprising, it seems that among Australians, Victoria, is the only State that takes the majority on Parma as the one and only way to say it.
South Australia, Queensland, and Western Australia all prefer – parmi
New South Wales seems to be 50/50 on the whole thing.
What do you think?
According to Good Food, Australia’s increasing multiculturalism will also be reflected in the new edition of the dictionary, with additions such as halal snack packs, souvas, dim sims, and dimmys.
New – albeit quite belated – names are making their first appearance alongside the parmies, including the much loved Avo, blowaway sponge cakes, honey joys, and pikelets.
