Your guide on how to talk like a Swiftie

Perhaps the non-Swiftie even takes something like "I'm the problem, it's me" just a touch too seriously. And all this talk about a red scarf surely is just a conversation about clothing? And surely there can't be that much bad blood between this Swiftie and their ex to warrant saying "I knew they were trouble".

With the lavender haze of The Eras Tour set to touch down in Australia in the coming weeks, the chances of non-Swifties being left on the outside looking in increase.

It's nothing new for a fandom, or even just a group of people, to have a common language. "Lects" are essential dialects for such groups. For instance, words and phrases that only those within a family know and use are known as a familect. And those used within a fandom are known as fanilects. According to linguistics expert and associate professor at Georgetown's college of arts and sciences Cynthia Gordon - who posted about the phenomenon on YouTube - fanilects are like a secret code.

"When Taylor Swift speaks or sings, people hang on to every word she says and these words become more familiar over time," Professor Gordon said.

"Listen to her long enough and you may start repeating her language or lyrics in your conversations. Whether you realise it or not, when you start using Taylor Swift lingo you become part of a social group rooted in your fandom and strengthened by the use of language.

"And when you cram thousands of Swifties into a stadium for a three-hour long concert you'll not only feel connected to Taylor Swift but also feel tied to every other fan singing along with you."

Here is a handy guide to make sure that when it comes to Swiftie conversations, you're ready for it. You won't be completely out of the woods, but you won't have sweet nothing to talk about.

It's one of the keywords being thrown around for the Eras Tour but what exactly is an era? While Swifties will know this all too well, here's a brief rundown.

It's been a long-held belief by Taylor Swift that for a female artist to have a lengthy career they needed to start fresh - or, rather, enter a new era - with each new album. New music means a new aesthetic, sound, feel, and in Taylor Swift's case, colour.

It's worked beautifully as a marketing tactic but it also means that as Taylor Swift revisits the 10 albums - and eras - of her career, fans are dressing up to match their favourite.

Swift is in the process of re-recording her first six albums. Long story short, like most music contracts, her original one with Big Machine Records didn't grant her the rights to the masters for those albums and instead, they were sold to Scooter Braun, without her knowledge.

"Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it," Swift wrote on Twitter at the time.

When she ended her original contract she signed a new one with Republic Records and Universal Music Group which allowed her to own her own masters. So when Kelly Clarkson suggested on Twitter she should just re-record the albums, Swift took the idea and ran with it. So far Fearless, Red, Speak Now and 1989 have all been rerecorded - and include the suffix (Taylor's Version) on the album and the songs. Reputation and her debut self-titled album are the last two remaining.

This is Swift's favourite number - something which she made very clear during her Fearless era as she would head out on stage with a blue 13 painted on her hand. How it may come up in conversation, however, is when it comes to the Easter Eggs. It gets hidden in music videos quite often, but also, in the dates albums are released.

Everyone is gearing up for the announcement of Reputation (Taylor's Version), with many suspecting it to be announced before she lands in Australia. There is a chance that the date will add up to 13 in some way - something that Swifties refer to as Taylor Math and why Swift truly is a mastermind. Midnights, for example, was released on October 21 which is the 10th month plus 1 plus 2 to equal 13.

A lot of the phrases that Swifties will slip into conversation are lyrics. The easiest way to pick up on all the possible phrases is to listen to Swift's entire catalogue - that's when you'll be completely fluent in Swiftisms. But some key phrases to help you in the meantime include "I'm the problem, it's me", "Ready for it", "By the way, I'm going out tonight", "You need to calm down", and "I knew you were trouble" - all of which are lyrics. It's also worth noting that Swifties will also reference the red scarf in All Too Well, and, at the moment in particular, the re-written lyrics "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs" which Swift sang in a live version of Karma during a Buenos Aires show. This refers to Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce and the pair's blossoming love story.

The quotes repeated by Swifties don't just stop with lyrics. And we promise that when two Swifties use these more niche phrases successfully, it just hits different.

One of the most common Swift phrases include "Not a lot going on at the moment" - or event, "A lot going on at the moment" - which Swift has worn on T-shirts previously. "My mind is alive" is also something that Swifites will recognise and comes from a video taken while she was still out of it after eye surgery (and shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon). "Starbucks lovers" - a common misheard Blank Space lyric - is also well known amongst Swifties.

But it's when you read an article about Swiftie speak, and pick up the 13 hidden Swiftisms, that you really know just how fluent you are.