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CHAPTER 4:

LESSON 8: AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH

LESSON 9: CANADIAN ENGLISH

Hello everyone! You have finished chater 1, 2, 3. Now, let's start with
chapter 4. Chapter 4 includes two lessons, AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH AND
CANADIAN ENGLISH

LESSON 8: AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH

Firstly, we will study lesson 8, Australian English. The main points of the
lesson include:

1. Socio-historical linguistic context

2. Variation and change of Australian English

3. Phonology

4. Vocabulary

5. Influence of Australian Aboriginal languages

6. Spelling

7. Colloquialisms

1. Socio-historical linguistic context

1.1. Introduction Australian English:

- Australian English is a major variety of the English language and is used

throughout Australia.

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- Australian English began to diverge from British English after the founding
of the colony of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognized as being different
from British English by 1820.

However, a large part of the convict bodies were Irish and other non-English
speaking Welsh and Scots, or at least, not from the South/East of Britain.

In 1827 Peter Cunningham reported that native-born white Australians of the

time-known as “currency lads lasses” – spoke with a distinctive accent and
vocabulary, with a strong Cockney influence.

1.2. American influence

The first of the Australian goldrushes, in 1850s, began a much larger wave of
immigration, which would significantly influence the language.

Among the changes wrought by the gold rushes was “Americanization” of

the language – the introduction of words, spelling, terms, and usages fron Northern
American English.

In 1950s American influence has mostly arrived via pop culture, the mass
media-books, magazines, TV programs, and computer soft ware, and the world
wide web. Some words, such as freeway and struck, have even naturalised so
completely that few Australian recognise their origin.

2. Variation and change of Australian English

+ According to linguists, three main varieties of Australian English: Broad,

General, Cultivated

They are part of a continuum, reflecting variations in accent. They often but
not always, reflect the social class or educational background of the speaker.

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- Broad Australian English is recognisable and familiar to English speakers

around the world because it is used to identify Australian characters in non-
Australian films and television programs.

- The majority of Australians speak with a similar accent – ‘General

Australian English’. This predominates among modern Australian films and TV
programs. The Wiggles, Kylie Minogue, and actors Nicole Kidman…speak this.

- Cultivated Australian English has many similarities to British Received

Pronunciation, and is often mistaken for it. Spoken by some within Australian
society, ex: Judy Davis, Geoffrey Rush…

Regional differences

There are no discernible variations in accent and pronunciation among people

of different states and territories, though this is claimed. However, there are some
regional differences. For example: In Tasmania, “dance” and “grant” are usually
heard with the older pronunciation of these words, using /æ/, whereas in South
Australia, /a:/ is more common.

3. Phonology

Australian English is a non-rhotic dialects most similar to New Zealand

English and South African English and bears some resembance to dialects from the
Southeast of England.

+ The vowels of Australian English can be divided into two categories: Long
and short vowels.

- The short vowels (only of monophthongs) mostly correspond to the lax

vowels used in analyses of Received Pronunciation

- The long vowels (of both monophthongs and diththongs) mostly correspond
to the lax vowels and centring diphthongs

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in England, where dinkum (or dincum) meant “hard work” or “fair work”.

- Unlike most varieties of English, it has a phonemic length distinction:

certain vowels differ only by length.

_ex: /ai/ instead of /ei/: mate /mait/…

3.2. Consonants

Australian English consonants are similar to those of other non-rhotic

varieties of English. It has a flapped variant of /t/ and /d/ in similar environments,
as American E

Many speakers have also coalesced /dj/, /sj/, /tj/ into /dʒ/, /tʃ/, /ʃ/ such as
/tʃu:n/ for tune.

4. Vocabulary

Australian English has many words that some consider unique to the langage.
Here are some examples:

“Outback” means a remote, sparsely populated area.

“The Bush” means either a native forest or a country area in general. It is a

word of Dutch origin: “Bosch”.

“Creak” (Australia+ North America) is a stream or small river; (the UK) - a

small watercourse flowing into the sea.

“Paddock” (Australia) means field. In the UK it means a small enclosure for

livestock…

“Dinkum” can mean “true”, “is that true?” or “this is the truth!”

It derived from the Cantonese (or Hokkien) “ding kam”, meaning “top gold”.

It originated from the extinct East Midlands dialect

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The derivative “dinky-di” means “true” or devoted: a “dinky-di Aussie” is a

“true Australian”.

5. Influence of Australian Aboriginal languages

Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been adopted by Australian

English- mainly as names for places, flora and fauna. Little has been adopted into
the wider language.

A few words of Australians origin are now used in other parts of the
Anglosphere as well.

Almost 440 words.

Names for places, flora and fauna (for example: dingo, coala, wallaby,
billabong).

Cooee/ ku:i:/ - high-piched call, for attracting attention; also a national

distance: “if he’s within cooee, we’ll spot him”.

Hard yakka (hard work) is derived from yakka, from the Yagara/Jagara
language once spoken in Brisbane region.

Bung: broken or pretending to be hurt.

6. Spelling

Australian spelling is usually the same as British spelling, with only a few
exceptions

Few exceptions:

+ “program” is more common than “programme”.

+ “jail” > “gaol”.

The Macquarie Dictionary is generally used, as the standard spelling

reference.

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A widely-held belief in Australia: controversies over spelling resulted from

the “Americanisation” of Australian English, but the debate over spelling is much
older.

7. Colloquialisms

Diminutive

Ripper: really great

+ Diminutives are used by some. They are formed in various ways and are
often used to indicate familiarity.

Arvo: afternoon

Barbie: barbecue

Chockers: very full

Grommet: young surfer

Mozzie: mosquito

Ta: thank you!

Sook: to sulk. If someone calls you a sook, it is because they think you are
whinging.

_ Roo: kangaroo. A baby roo, still in the pouch, is known as a Joey.

+ Litotes, such as “you’re not wrong”; “She’ll be right” (everything will be

all right) used by some.

Many idiomatic phrases and words (now stereotypes, caricatured

exaggeration, and have disappeared from everyday use): “cobber”, “strewth”, “you
beaut and crikey”, “Prawn” is used rather than “shrimp”…

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SUMMARY

+ That comes to the end of the lesson Australian English. Now, we would
look at the main points of the lesson again. These the main points:

1. Socio-historical linguistic context

2. Variation and change of Australian English

3. Phonology

4. Vocabulary

5. Influence of Australian Aboriginal languages

6. Spelling

7. Colloquialisms

Thank for listening and see you the next lesson. Goobye!

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