# Australian English

**Australian English** is the English that is used in Australia.

## History

People from Great Britain and Ireland first came to live in the Colony of New South Wales in what is now Australia in 1788. They brought different dialects of English along with them. The different kinds of English began to mix and to change. The newcomers soon began to speak with their own distinctive accent and vocabulary.

More and more people came to Australia in the 19th and the 20th centuries. Many of them came looking for gold. Some came from the British Isles. Others came from non-English speaking countries. Australian English continued to grow and to change.

Australian English has also been influenced by American English. During World War II, many soldiers from the United States stayed in Australia. American television shows and music have been popular in Australia since the 1950s.

## Accent

Australian and New Zealand English have similar accents.

In Australian English, the /r/ sound is dropped before a vowel. Many words sound different in other accents but the same in Australian English:

* *caught* and *court*
* *raw* and *roar*
* *aunt* and *aren't*
* *formally* and *formerly*

Some Australian English vowels sound different to vowels of other kinds of English. For example, the vowel in *day* starts with a very open mouth, which makes the Australian *day* sound close to the *die* of most British or American people. Days of the week, however, are sometimes different, and the *day* can then sound like *dee* (usually short and sharp like the letter *d*).

* *Sunday* becomes *Sun-dee*
* *Monday* - *Mun-dee*
* *Tuesday* - *Choose-de*e (see further explanation below)
* *Wednesday* - *Wens-dee* (The first *d* and the second *e* are rarely pronounced, and if so, it sounds more like *Weddinsday* but never *Weddinsdee*)
* *Thursday* - *Thurs-dee*
* *Friday* - *Fri-dee*
* *Saturday* - *Satta-dee*/*Sadda-dee* or even shorter *Sat-dee*/*Sad-dee* (both *D*'s are pronounced separately, with a syllable break between them)

Australian English has some vowels that are not used in some other kinds of English. For example, the words *bad* and *lad* do not rhyme in Australia because *bad* has a long vowel, and *lad* has a short one. Also, *cot* does not sound like *caught*, and *bother* does not rhyme with *father*.

As with American English, the /t/ sound can sometimes sound like a /d/ sound, ususally between vowels:

* *waiter* can sound like *wader*
* *betting* can sound like *bedding*
* *got it* can sound like *god it*
* *thirty* can sound like *thirdy*

In Australia, the /t/ sound, followed by the sound of *you*, comes out sounding like *chew*, and a /d/ sound, followed by the sound of *you*, comes out sounding like *Jew*. These phrases sound the same.

* *Tuesday* and *choose day*
* *lightyear* and *lie cheer*
* *due* and *Jew*
* *dune* and *June*

Australians pronounce *wh* and *w* the same:

* *which* and *witch*
* *whether* and *weather*
* *whales* and *Wales*

## Words

Australians use many words that other English-speakers do not use. The famous Australian greeting, for example, is "*G'day!* ". A native forest is called *the bush*, and deserts in Australia are called the *outback*.

Many words were brought to Australia from Britain and Ireland. For example, *mate*, meaning "friend", is still used in Britain. Some of those words have changed in meaning.

A few words have come from Australian Aboriginal languages, mainly names for animals, plants and places: *dingo* and *kangaroo*.

Some words have uncertain origins. For example, *dinkum*, or *fair dinkum*. means "true", "is that true?" or "this is the truth". However, nobody knows where the word is from. Some say that the word comes from Chinese, but others say that the word comes from England.

## Spelling

Australian spelling is mostly the same as British spelling. In words like *organise* and *realise*, *-ise* is the expected and taught spelling method. In words like *colour and* *favourite*, *-our* is the norm, but there are exceptions such as the *Labor* Party (which was deliberately chosen on the formation of the Party to avoid confusion with the British Labour Party), *Victor Harbor* and *Outer Harbor* (geographically unique to South Australia, as opposed to placenames in other states: Boat Harbour and Coffs Harbour).

*Program* and *jail*, on the other hand, are more common than *programme* and *gaol*. Other examples of preferring the American spelling are *analog*, not *analogue* (in general, the *-ue* is dropped); *livable*, not *liveable*; *guerilla* not *guerrilla*; *verandah*, not *veranda*; *burqa*, not *burka*; and *pastie*, not *pasty*. With the exception of *spelt*, Australia follows the American usage in.words that use *-t* in British spelling and *-ed* in American spelling..

## Kinds of Australian English

Most linguists split Australian English up into three main kinds: Broad, General, and Cultivated Australian English.

Broad Australian English sounds very strongly Australian when compared to other kinds of English. Steve Irwin spoke Broad Australian English.

General Australian English is the middle ground. It is used by most Australians and can be heard in Australian-made films and television programs. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman speak General Australian English.

Cultivated Australian English is similar to Received Pronunciation, the type of British English that is spoken by David Attenborough and other educated people. Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush speak Cultivated Australian English.

Australian English changes from state to state but only slightly compared to the variety of British and American English accents. A mixture of Broad and General Australian English accents can be heard across southern and western Australia, and Broad Accents are more common by themselves in places such as the Northern Territory and central Australia. Large metropolitan areas such as Melbourne, Sydney and South East Queensland share large portions of each accent. Cultivated Australian English is rare compared to the rest but can be observed in the upper and middle classes, from migrant families with recent British ties (up to a century and a half in some cases) and in performing arts communities in which pronounced English is of most benefit.

Subtle changes on an individual level include how the letter 'a' sounds like in words like *castle*, *dance*, *chance* and *advance*. Some use the vowel in *calm*, but others use the vowel in *mat* or *mad*. Another regional difference is the pronunciation of 'e' sounds especially followed by 'l', such as *Melbourne*, *helped* and *cellist*, with Victoria generally transposing the 'a' and 'e' vowel sounds in many words such as by pronouncing an 'e' sound in words such as *alchemy* or *chalice* but an 'a' sound in *celery.*

There are also geographical differences in the definition of words that Australians use in different parts of the country. For example, *football* (or *footy* for short) means "rugby league" in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory but "Australian rules football" in everywhere else in Australia. In New South Wales, a swimming costume is called a *cossie* or *swimmers* but *togs* in Queensland and *togs* and *bathers* in Victoria.

## Other websites

* Australian National Dictionary Centre
* Australian Word Map (ABC and Macquarie Dictionary) - documents regionalisms
* Introduction to Australian Phonetics and Phonology Archived 2007-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
* Macquarie Dictionary
* World English Organisation Archived 2005-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
* Aussie English for beginners -- the origins, meanings and a quiz to test your knowledge Archived 2006-10-06 at the Wayback Machine at the National Museum of Australia.
* Strine - Australian Terms Explained Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine -- basic list of Strine words at *School Spirit Archived 2006-10-19 at the Wayback Machine* webstrip.