Sydney Morning Herald: 'Mate': What's the history of our most treasured salutation?
This article discusses the history and cultural significance of our most recognisable vocative.
Useful quotes from the article:
'[The term 'mate'] can radiate great goodwill or the oiliest insincerity. It depends on the intonation, the circumstances of its delivery and who is saying it to – or about – whom.'
'In 2009... more women aged 18 to 29 were using mate compared to women over 50. The preliminary study [of 689 women] seems to suggest that instead of mate being characterised as a neutral term used by men to show equality and egalitarianism, young women now see mate as a friendly and fun term that, along with many other address forms, is available to show intimacy.' - Dr Johanna Rendle-Short, honorary researcher in linguistics at the Australian National University, quoted from the Australian Journal of Linguistics.
'It has long been accused of excluding women from its embrace, yet it was adopted by some bold first-wave feminists and, in some modern settings has become at least somewhat gender-neutral.'
'It crosses social and political barriers without drawing breath, and may fall as easily from the lips of a person on the street as those of a rich and powerful industrialist; from a prime minister to a blue-collar labourer, and many of those between.'
'Here was the idea that religious bigotry and social inequality had no place between mates – who were, of course, understood to be white males.'
'In the late 1990s... then prime minister John Howard tried to insert the word mateship into a preamble to the Australian Constitution. Howard believed mateship embodied what he called the national character and was a central value in the laconic and egalitarian fair go. But many Australians made clear they didn’t want mate or mateship hijacked by a politician, particularly one involved in what was known as the culture wars – an early attempt to undo what conservatives saw as political correctness.'
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