Australian English is a bundle term for the varieties of English language spoken by the people of Australia. English is de facto national language of Australia as it is the only language spoken at home by 72% of the population. It is also the language of legislature and courts. The medium for compulsory education in Australia is also English.
Australian English is primarily based on British English but over the years it has developed its own unique style, sound, vocabulary, and slang. The linguists consider it as a mixture of standard British English and standard American English. In this write-up, we are discussing features of Australian English and how it is different from other forms of Standard English.
What is Australian English?
Australian English is the version of the English language spoken by the people of Australia. It is the first language of the majority of the Australian population.
English was introduced to Australia by the British – hence originally the language spoken in the country was based on British English.
In 1788, British ships brought British convicts to Australia and established the Colony of New South Wales. The convicts came from different regions and had different dialects. When all these people with different dialects started living together, a new and unique accent emerged. This unique accent developed over the years is now called Australian English.
An interesting fact about Australian English is that the accent is almost similar throughout Australia. The differences in the accent are very subtle and they are typically associated with the socioeconomic status of the speaker.
The Australian English spoken in Australia is generally seen as a hybrid variety of British English and American English. But, these aren’t the only languages to contribute to the richness of Australian English. It is influenced by Irish, Chinese, and various Aboriginal languages too.
What Makes Australian English Unique?
Till now we discussed Australian English is different from other varieties of English. Let us now see the characteristics that make it different from other varieties of English.
Use of diminutives or shortened versions
One of the distinguishing features of Australian English is that it uses shortened versions of standard English words much more than any other form of English. These shortened forms, also called diminutives, sometimes make Australian English so different that English speakers from other countries might struggle to even get the context of the conversation. For example,
- Barbie for Barbeque
- Defo / Defs for Definitely
- Sunnies for Sunglasses
- Smoko for Cigarette or a Cigarette break
- Sanga for Sandwich
- Arvo for Afternoon
- Mozzie for Mosquito
Unique Spelling Conventions
Australian English uses unique spelling conventions that neither totally align with British English nor with the American English. For example,
- In words like ‘colour’ and ‘flavour’ Australian English uses British English spelling but for words like ‘defense’, it uses American English spelling.
- Words, like ‘realise’ and ‘organise’, are spelt in the British style whereas words like ‘yogurt’ are spelt in the American way.
- In some words like ‘media’, Australia has unique grammar rules. It uses ‘media’ as singular and ‘medias’ as plural.
Idioms and other figurative speeches
Australians do have some unique phrases and idioms that are not known to speakers of other varieties of English. For examples,
- Good on ya! – Expression used for well done or congratulations
- Fair dinkum – It means genuine, true, or honest
- Barrack for – support or cheer a team; somewhat similar to ‘root for’
- Chock-a-block – crowded
- Up a gum tree – stuck in a difficult or tricky situation
- Flat out like a lizard drinking – Very busy or working at a fast pace
- Go off like a frog in a sock – to go crazy
Unique Pronunciation
Australian English has some really interesting features that make it sound way different than any other varieties of English. For example,
- R at the end of a word is not pronounced. Car sounds like ‘cah’. Jar sounds like ‘jah’.
- G at the end of a word is not pronounced. Dancing is dancin and going is goin in Australian pronunciation.
- I in words like sit is pronounced as ‘ee’ making it sound ‘seet’ instead of sit.
- ‘th’ sound is replaced by ‘f’ or ‘v’. Think may sound ‘fink’ and both become ‘bof’.
- Australians typically use rising intonation at the end of the sentence making it sound like a question rather than a statement.