"The basis of our accent is Southern British. Americans, in particular, often confuse us. They think the cockneyThe term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or born within earshot of Bow Bells, although it most commonly refers to the broad variety of English native to London.https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Cockney
In Australia, this dialect is sometimes called Strine /ˈstɹɑɪn/ (or "Strayan" /ˈstɹæɪən/, a shortening of the word Australian), and a speaker of the dialect may be referred to as an Ocker.
Australian English is most similar to British English in spelling and sentence construction, although its accent and vocabulary are very distinct from the UK.
Australian English can be described as a new dialect that developed as a result of contact between people who spoke different, mutually intelligible, varieties of English. The very early form of Australian English would have been first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the early colony in Sydney.
Australian English arose from a dialectal 'melting pot' created by the intermingling of early settlers who were from a variety of dialectal regions of Great Britain and Ireland, though its most significant influences were the dialects of Southeast England.
Let's face it, most of us are suckers for a sexy accent. According to a recent survey conducted by the popular dating website MissTravel.com, over 2000 American men and women regard Australian accents as one of the sexiest in the world.
The most widely accepted theory to why Australians have the accent they do is that the first Australian born children (of the colonizers, not the natives obviously) simply created the first trace of the recognizable accent amongst themselves naturally.
“How ya goin'?” is the ultimate Aussie greeting. If you're not from Australia, this mash-up of “How are you?” and “Where are you going?” might leave you a little perplexed. If it helps, think of how the Brits say “y'alright?” - it requires no detailed response. In fact, a simple “hey!” will suffice.
If you find the British accent difficult to understand, it's likely you'll find the Aussie accent even harder to grasp as, for the most part, Australia is a melting pot of all the different regional dialects of British English.
The Aussie accent started with kids
But their children born in Australia formed friendship groups and started to talk in ways that were more like each other and less like their parents. Over the years the children's accent was carried on by each generation and became the main accent of English across Australia.
The Australian National Dictionary explains that the Australian usages of mate derive from the British word 'mate' meaning 'a habitual companion, an associate, fellow, comrade; a fellow-worker or partner', and that in British English it is now only in working-class use.
The Mainstream Australian Accent is a distinct accent produced by native English speakers in Australia. It's a tough accent to replicate, even for actors in Hollywood.
One key distinction between Australian English and American English in terms of orthography (spelling) is the use of, 's,' as opposed to, 'z. ' For example, in America, words such as, 'specialise,' 'authorise,' and, 'analyse,' are spelt with a, 'z,' as opposed to the, 's' that is used in Australian English.
New Zealand. The New Zealand accent is most similar to Australian accents (particularly those of Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia) but is distinguished from these accents by the presence of three "clipped" vowels, slightly resembling South African English.
Hooroo = Goodbye
The Australian slang for goodbye is Hooroo and sometimes they even Cheerio like British people.
One of the first things you'll notice about Australia will no doubt be the very unique speaking habits of its people. Australians speak fast, 'chew' words and skip pronunciation of letters – combine this with their penchant for slang and abbreviations, and you have a language that's quite difficult to comprehend!
In a 1950 copy of Meanjin, Phillips used the term 'cultural cringe' to define the penchant for Australians to see their artists and writers' work as inferior to anything from overseas, Britain and the United States in particular. As a consequence, many Australians in the cultural field spent time or moved overseas.
Naur is literally just the phonetic spelling of the word “no” in an Australian accent, which has become a playful way to mock the nasal, drawn-out sounds of an Aussie speaking. As mentioned above, the word naur was already in everyone's minds from the lingering H20 Challenge trend on TikTok.
Drop the "r" sound at the end of words or before consonants.
For example, take the phrase "matter of fact." Said with an Aussie accent, it sounds more like "madda rof fac-." You typically won't hear an "r" before consonants in the middle of words either. Instead, the vowel sound is more rounded.
Australia legally has no official language. However, English is by far the most commonly spoken and has been entrenched as the de facto national language since European settlement.
"The basis of our accent is Southern British. Americans, in particular, often confuse us. They think the cockney accent is the Australian accent."