Raising the Bar ad reignites Australias chicken parma debate

It’s the Aussie pub favourite from coast to coast.

A sliver of fried chicken topped with dollops of tomato sauce and lashings of grated mozzarella and parmesan — when it comes to a feed at your local, it’s hard to beat.

But despite the love for this delectable dish, the humble chicken Parmigiana has sparked debate yet again over what its true slang name should be.

From the east to the west, state versus territory — the age-old argument over whether the famed slab of fried chook is a ‘parmi’ or a ‘parma’ will likely never be laid to rest.

While some laugh off who calls a piece of fried chicken what, others really seem to take it to heart when the word ‘parmi’ slips in over ‘parma’ (or visa versa, as I’ve just learnt in an impromptu news.com.au poll).

“It’s Parma, you animal,” one colleague shot at me when I dared ask for her valued opinion.

“Defs Parmi,” another less refined journalist fired back.

For all I care, call it Pam.

But a new Bundaberg ad in Queensland spruiking the pub favourite has ruffled a few feathers on Reddit, reigniting the war of words with the ad deciding to use ‘Parmie’.

“I’m from Sydney and have always called it Parma, I thought Parmie was a west coast thing,” one concerned Reddit-or posted.

“Tear down this advert … finally a protest I want to join,” another added.

“Just for this, I’m boycotting my local! It’s like abbreviating breakfast to “breaky” instead of “brekky” (or brekkie). It just doesn’t scan.”

“I’m from Tassie and I constantly physically cringe every time I have to say “Parma” at a restaurant,” another chimed in.

Across the country — like the potato scallop, fritter or cake — the chicken Parmigiana has an abbreviation.

Victorians would refer to the classic pub meal as a “parma”, while just a couple of hundred kilometres north, the same dish is a “parmy” or “parmi”.

In fact, just about every state besides Victoria prefers the term “parmy” – with some parts of Tasmania also embracing “parma”.

Speaking to 7News, Professor of Linguistics at The University of Sydney, Nick Enfield, said that slang is an accident that’s just stuck around — but people gravitate towards words pronounced in a familiar way.

“You get a heartfelt experience with where you are because of how they pronounce it,” Prof Enfield explained, using the Parmigiana as an example.

“On one level, the way they’re referred to is insignificant but on another, there’s the connotation with home that’s really important.

“It’s the kind of thing that can really mark you as not being a local.”

In a recent study conducted by YouGov among Australians overall, the nicknames ‘parmi’ and ‘parma’ come out on top equally, with ‘parmy’ taking up just 21 per cent of all votes.

In New South Wales is almost evenly split between ‘parmi’ (34 per cent), ‘parma’ (26 per cent) and ‘parmy’ (25 per cent).

A similar trend can be seen in Queensland with ‘parmi’ coming up top at 38 per cent, followed closely by ‘parmy’ at 28 per cent and ‘parma’ at 18 per cent.

In South Australia, this is split between ‘parmi’ (45 per cent) and ‘parmy’ (37 per cent). While in Western Australia, the pub favourite is most commonly known as ‘parmi’, with more than 50 cent.

Victoria is the only state where the majority are agreed on what to call this cheesy deep fried dish – seven in ten refer to it as ‘parma’.

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