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.
A few historians believe that the slight 'drool' or 'slurring' which with Australians speak can be traced back to the fact that so many of the first Englishmen, colonizers, sailors and prisoners were drunk often, and that the children, upon hearing this garbled, mushy type of speaking, picked it up and passed it along.
The Australian accent emerged after the arrival of the European Settlers in 1788, who came from different parts of Britain. Unlike British English which is made up of nearly 40 different dialects, Australian English isn't as varied despite the east and west coast being approximately 4000 kilometers apart.
But the Australian accents are different from the accents of America, or Canada, or New Zealand because those accents were created from kids growing up in those places with different communities and histories. Accents are all about the people we spend time with when we are young.
Australian English is most similar to British English in spelling and sentence construction, although its accent and vocabulary are very distinct from the UK.
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.
The English accent is the one that is victorious, with the latest survey showing that 17 per cent of people have it at the top of their list. French came in next at 13 per cent, which is unsurprising considering that this is the language spoken in the city of love.
G'day (guh-day) / Hello.
Strine, also spelled Stryne /ˈstraɪn/, describes a broad accent of Australian English.
Unlike some of the strong accents and dialects used back in England, the Australian accent was clear and easy to understand, because it was developed by people trying to understand each other!
While some Australian speakers would pronounce “no” as a diphthong, starting on “oh” as in dog and ending on “oo” as in put, others begin with an unstressed “a” (the sound at the end of the word “sofa”), then move to the “oh” and then “oo”.
Australian goodbye is “Hooroo”; sometimes they even “cheerio” like British people, a UK slang word.
Why Do Aussies Use So Many Abbreviations? Nenagh Kemp, a psychologist at the University of Tasmania, told Australian Geographic her theories behind why Australians use these shortened words so often. Her theory is that Australians use them as a way of coming across as more friendly and less pretentious.
Stunner. To start off with a really good all-rounder, “stunner” is a common one that you can use. Most commonly, stunner is used to describe a person—often not to their face. So, someone who is particularly attractive would be a stunner: “I met this total stunner the other night,” for example.
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.
British, Australian, and Irish accents are the top 3 foreign accents people find to be most attractive.
While Australians have a reputation of being friendly, New Zealand "does it even better", the report says. New Zealand was named one of the easiest places in the world to settle in, coming in fifth place, while Australia ranked 20th.
What does it mean? Another word for friend. Common in Britain as well, but used even more enthusiastically by Aussies, who pepper the ends of their sentences with a longer, stretched out “maaaaate” that conveys friendliness and establishes a relaxed bond between the speakers.
Australia was colonised two centuries later, which explains why the accent of Australian English is more similar to British English compared to American English. However, American English became very popular in Australia later in history, which affected their pronunciation.