![]() ![]() The New Zealand Human Rights Commission describes racial abuse as language or actions which, in the recipient's view, induce negative feelings towards his or her race. They felt it to be akin to racist terms such as 'wog', 'wop' and 'spic'. Rather than anything offensive in the word itself they were offended by its use as a term of abuse, especially in a racist manner. ![]() ![]() In 2006, an Auckland, New Zealand, Planet FM's English community radio program 'The Anglofiles' received feedback that many English people living in New Zealand considered the word Pom to be highly offensive. The joke was that the 'fresh off the boat' newly arrived, or 'new apples.' Under the Australian sun the white British turned bright red in the Australian sun, like an apple thus the name "pommy" from "pomme." However, the term "pommy" was coined long before POM was used as acronym for the port.Ĭomes from "pomme", French for apple. It is rhyming slang for tommy, international slang for a British soldier Īn acronym for "Port of Melbourne". "prisoner of Millbank", after the area of London where prisoners were held prior to transportation Other etymologies which are unsupported by evidence include: Some proponents of this theory claim that upon arrival in the country they would be given a uniform with "POHM" or "POME" emblazoned on the back, which apparently stood for Prisoners Of Her Majesty but there are no images or examples of these uniforms.In another variant, it is used to mean 'Product of Mother England'. Although many of the first British settlers in Australia were convicts sentenced to transportation to Australia, there is no evidence for this. However, there is no hard evidence for the theory regarding sunburn.Ī false etymology (or "backronym") common in both Australia and New Zealand is that 'Pom' originated as an acronym for "prisoner of (his/her) majesty" or "prisoner of mother England". The OED also suggests that the reason for this is that pomegranate is extinct Australian rhyming slang for immigrant it cites an article from 14 November 1912, in a once-prominent Australian weekly magazine The Bulletin: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." A popular alternative explanation for the theory that pommy is a contraction of "pomegranate", relates to the purported frequency of sunburn among British people in Australia, turning their fair skin the colour of pomegranates. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) strongly supports the theory that pommy originated as a contraction of "pomegranate". The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies. Some Australians have been known to call (to their ears 'well spoken' or British sounding) people from New Zealand - South Sea Poms, or even to call fellow citizens that lack a perceptibly broad or general Australian English accent (typically cultivated Australian English) - Poms. The term pommy or pom is commonly used by speakers of Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English and Afrikaans. It was used as a derogatory term, but has since become a generalised term for English people. According to British Naval records the term "Pommie" came about from the red "pom-pon" on the top of the hats of British sailors who were involved in the transfer of prisoners to the Colonies. ![]()
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