Phraseology and Culture in English

Phrasal verbs using in
e punch in that ole fella 
‘he bashed that old man’ 
crying cause I bumped in 
‘crying because I had a collision’ 
got out dere [to the roller drome], paid in ‘got out there, paid to go in’ 
In Standard English in the first two of these cases there seems to be a need for 
a prepositional phrase to follow in; however, in Aboriginal English this is 
unnecessary as the particle carries an adverbial sense. The third example is the 
only one of its kind in the data and can only be tentatively classified as a 
phrasal verb at this stage. It may illustrate an ellipsis, or an analogical form 
based on ‘go in.’ 
Phrasal verb using off
the truck just- vroom- took off ‘the truck just-vroom- made a rapid departure’ 
den we just took off home 
‘then we just fled for home’ 
she took off over the fence 
‘she escaped / fled over the fence’ 
The 
expression 
took off is the only case in the data where the particle off is 
used distinctively, but it occurs frequently, especially in contexts involving 
hunting or pursuit. It is also common in other contexts in colloquial Australian 
English, perhaps showing influence of Aboriginal English. 
Phrasal verb using down
I chased that little one down 
‘I chased the little (e.g. Kangaroo) and captured 
it’

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Ian G. Malcolm and Farzad Sharifian
The expression chase down carries the same sense as chase up, and is used in 
the context of hunting or pursuit where the chase leads to the capture of the prey. 
Phrasal verb using away 
like he was leading him away ‘as if he was stealing / leading / taking him away’ 
The sense of leading away is strongly coloured by Aboriginal culture, accord-
ing to which either spirit beings or avenging parties can come to take people 
away. This sense has been generalised to cover also the actions of Australian 
authorities who, in the past, took Aboriginal children away from their parents 
to bring them up in institutions (the so-called ‘stolen generations’). Another 
meaning of the term is to ‘mislead’ (possibly derived from the Standard Eng-
lish expression ‘lead astray’). 
4. Collocations 
A number of collocations typically occur in the verb phrase, especially involv-
ing such verbs as go, walk, and get.