Australian English

History of Australian English

The history of Australian English is not too extensive as it is a fairly new language variety (in comparison to American English and British English). Did you know Australian English has only been spoken for a little over 200 years?

Australian English was a result of British colonialism in Australia, which occurred from 1788 until 1901. The British first colonized Australia in order to establish a penal colony (placing prisoners in a remote area away from others). This means Australian English was heavily influenced by regional dialects of British and Irish due to the British and Irish settlers who migrated to Australia during the late 1700s. Australian English was first spoken in the late 1700s/early 1800s by native-born colonists in the Colony of New South Wales.

Australian English has also been influenced by American English features, which is mostly due to pop culture influences (such as tv and movies). Over time, Australian English has evolved and now contains its own distinct features.

Fig. 1 - Australian English is the only language spoken at home by 72% of the Australian population.

Australian English Accent

As is the case with most other language varieties, there are different Australian English accents - each with slightly different features. But, unlike British English, which has around 40 regional accents, Australian English only has a few, and the differences between them are more subtle. We will focus on the General Australian accent, as this is the most commonly used and well-known Australian accent. Check out the definition below:

General Australian English is similar to Standard British English in that it does not necessarily give away much about a person's geographical location or socioeconomic background.

Australian English Pronunciation

The General Australian English accent has distinct pronunciation features that make it recognizable. It is often said to be a mixture of Standard British and Standard American, as it shares some similarities with both of these accents! A few of the most noticeable features of Australian English are as follows:

Vowel Sounds

Australian English often uses long vowel sounds (like Standard British, but typically longer), meaning they are pronounced for a long duration. This often means that one-syllable words can be lengthened to two syllables, i.e., "near" is pronounced more like "nee-uh" instead of "neer." To non-native speakers, this may sound quite exaggerated.

Long O Sound

Also worth mentioning is the long "o" sound, as this is quite a unique sound and has now become somewhat of a meme on the internet! The Australian "o" sounds like a mixture between an /ɑː/ and /ʌ/ with a hint of /r/. For example, the word "no" sounds more like "naur."

Long I Sound

The long /aɪ/ in words such as "night" and "find" sound more like a softer /ɔɪ/ (oi) sound. For example, "noight" and "foind."

Long A Sound

The long /eɪ/ in words such as "save" and "mate" is more elongated and contains a stronger "y" sound, so would sound more like "aye." For example, "s-aye-ve" and "m-aye-te."

Short A Sound

The short /æ/ in words such as "sat" and "hand" is pronounced a bit more like /e/. For example, "seht" and "hehnd."

Non-rhotic

Australian English is non-rhotic (like Standard British English), meaning when the /r/ sound is in the middle of a word, it is not pronounced unless it is followed by a vowel sound. For example, "hard" is pronounced like /hɑːd/. The r at the end of words is also not pronounced and makes more of a schwa sound instead. For example, "farmer" is pronounced like ˈ/fɑːmə/.

Tapped T

General Australian English uses the tapped /t/ (similar to American English) instead of pronouncing a hard /t/. A tapped /t/ sound is made by the tongue quickly tapping behind the front teeth. For example, take the word "butter." Instead of pronouncing a hard /t/, Australian English uses a softer sound similar to a /d/, i.e., "budder."

Stress and Intonation

Most varieties of English, including Australian English, are stress-timed. This means the stress patterns (emphasis placed on certain words/phrases in a sentence) are evenly spaced out.

Intonation (the way the voice rises or falls in pitch) in Australian English is generally quite flat, which is similar to Standard British English.

Australian English Grammar

Australian English typically follows most British English grammar rules, which differs from American English. For example:

Spelling

Australian English generally tends towards the British spelling of words instead of American. For example:

Irregular past tense/past participle

In both Australian and British English, the past participles of verbs such as "smell," "spell," and "burn" can be irregular, i.e., "smelt," "spelt," and "burnt." In American English, they would instead be "smelled," "spelled," and "burned."

Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns

In Australian and British English, a plural collective noun (e.g., audience/ class/ crowd/ group/ team) can take either a singular or plural verb. For example:

This differs from American English, which only uses the singular verb.

Australian English Words

As well as a distinct pronunciation, Australian English also uses its own slang words and phrases (sometimes referred to as Australianisms). Most of these will likely only be understood if you have an understanding of Australian English vocabulary or are aware of the context. Check out some examples of Australian English words and their meanings below:

Do you notice how lots of Australian slang words are shortened and end with 'o' or 'ie'?

Fig. 2 - The Australian English slang word for "kangaroo" is "roo."

Australian English Examples

Check out a few examples of Australian English sentences and their phonetic transcriptions: