Want to speak like an Australian? Abbreviate everything

Travelling to Australia and want to fit in? Or just trying to understand your mates from Down Under? The Sydney pastor behind a video that has gone viral explaining the local lingo might be able to help.

Josh Hawkins put the three-minute clip entitled "How to speak Australian: Abbreviate Everything" on YouTube a week ago and since then it has been viewed more than 130,000 times and even drawn praise from former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard.

Hawkins said Monday the key to speaking Aussie is to shorten words where possible - a practice which means that even Australia itself is condensed to "Straya".