Where "Reckon" Comes From
Worth clearing up a common assumption: "reckon" meaning "to think or suppose" isn't Australian in origin, and it isn't American either, despite being strongly associated with both. The usage dates to around 1600 and was, for a long stretch, perfectly respectable literary English — used by writers including Samuel Richardson, Jonathan Swift, and Benjamin Jowett.
It only picked up a "folksy" or "provincial" reputation later, once it became strongly associated with U.S. Southern dialect. Australian English simply kept using it in ordinary conversation the way earlier English speakers always had, rather than treating it as a regionalism to avoid.
Source:
"I reckon it's going to rain later."
How Aussies Actually Use It
It's used constantly to introduce an opinion, guess, or prediction, often replacing "I think" entirely.
"What do you reckon?" is one of the most common ways Australians ask for someone's opinion.
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