Rudd says ocker sound bites fair dinkum
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Academics say Mr Rudd is using colloquial lanuage in an attempt to reach a broader audience. (AFP: Jim Watson, file photo)
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has laughed off criticism about his use of ocker language.
Media commentators have accused him of trying too hard to appear like an ordinary bloke after he used the expression "fair shake of the sauce bottle" three times in an interview with Sky News.
During a speech in Sydney this morning, Mr Rudd poked fun at himself.
"Well, I was having a Dad and Dave this morning, that's a shave, and picked up my copy of the Oz," he said.
"I saw - is it George Megalogenis having a go at me? I thought, fair crack of the whip, don't come the raw prawn with me George.
"Or coming from Queensland I'd say you'd get the rough end of the pineapple."
Several months ago Mr Rudd used "shit storm" on Channel 7 while speaking about the Government's decision to spend billions stimulating the economy.
Academics have described Mr Rudd as a sophisticated communicator and that his range in language - from intellectual to colloquial - is an attempt to adapt to various audiences, like a chameleon changes colour to suit its surroundings.
University of Queensland professor of applied language studies Roly Sussex says Mr Rudd is deliberately trying to communicate in a less "egg-headed" way.
"If it's part of his natural way of speaking, I think it's very likely that he will succeed," he said.
