Australian

English
Group 4:
Delia Mamonto | Nasywa Heriyanto | Triviona Polak | Shawn Mamuaja
What is Australian English?
Australian English is a regional dialect of English which shares its
phonemic inventory with Southern British English through the
historical connection with the dialects of the British Isles (In
particular London) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
(Cochrane 1989, Yallop 2003, Leitner 2004).
 Topics

01 02 03
History Accent Pronunciation

04 05 06
Grammar Words Examples
 01
History of Australian English
History of Australian English
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.
 02
Australian English Accent
 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.
 03
Australian English Pronunciation
 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 Sound
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."
 04
Australian English Grammar
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:
“Colour” instead of “color”
“Analyse” instead of “analyze”

Tapped T
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:
"My family is kind" or "my family are kind."
"The football team is handsome" or "the football team are handsome."
 05
Australian English Words
 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:

Australian English slang word Meaning

Barbie Barbecue

G’day mate Hey friend

Arvo Afternoon

Ace! Great! / Amazing!

Lippie Lipstick
 06
Australian English Examples
Check out a few examples of Australian English sentences and their phonetic transcriptions:

Phonetic
Example sentence
pronunciation
Meaning

Let’s have a barbie. /lets hæv ə baːbi/ Let's have a barbecue.

G'day mate! /ɡədeɪ meɪʔ/ Hey friend!

Do you wanna hang out /dʒu wɔnə hæŋ æɔʔ ðɪs Do you want to hang out
this arvo? ɑːvəʊ/ this afternoon?
 CONCLUSION
Australian English is, in its origins, a set of dialects transported by British
convicts and immigrants which interacted with indigenous and migrant
languages, American English and other varieties of English, ultimately
emerging as an independent variety embodying the country’s national identity.
The distinctive features of AusE suggest that it has consolidated its own norms
as an independent national standard. AusE is today recognized as a major
variety of English, one for which there may be an increasing role as an
epicentre in the Asia-Pacific region (Leitner 2004).
THANK
YOU
REFERENCES
Study Smarter. Australian English.
https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english/global-english/australian-english/
Collins, P. (2012). Australian English: Its Evolution and Current State. International
Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication, 1, 75–86.
https://doi.org/10.12681/ijltic.11
Journal of the International Phonetic Association (2007) 37/3
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025100307003192 Published online by Cambridge University
Press