"The basis of our accent is Southern British. Americans, in particular, often confuse us. They think the cockney accent is the Australian accent." "It's a mystery lost to time.
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.
Australian English is most similar to British English in spelling and sentence construction, although its accent and vocabulary are very distinct from the UK.
Early European settlers to Australia — many of whom were convicts — were from all over Great Britain and Ireland, and their speech patterns blended to form the new Australian accent.
The Aussie accent started with kids
The Aussie accent, as we know it today, started more than 200 years ago with the children of the convicts, soldiers and other European arrivals. The parents spoke with all different kinds of English accents because they came from many places in England.
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.
There's two types of english speaking accents, rhotic and non-rhotic. One reason the Australian accent is so hard to imitate is because it's a combination of these. An example are the words “can” and “can't”. We say can the rhotic way “caan” and can't the non-rhotic way “cahnt”.
The terms pommy, pommie, and pom used in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand usually denote a British person.
Despite cheerful jabs about Poms and criminals, Australian-British relations are usually considered pretty affectionate. Every couple of years we like to remind ourselves of our close ties: when the Commonwealth Games are on, maybe, or every time there's a new something Royal — baby, wedding, stamp.
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”.
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.
Three main varieties of Australian English are spoken according to linguists: broad, general and cultivated. They are part of a continuum, reflecting variations in accent.
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.
(Noun) An uncouth or uncultured person, usually. See also: feral, ratbag, reptile, bevan etc. “I can't understand that bogan's broad Australian accent.”
G'day (guh-day) / Hello.
Aussies are friendlier than the British – sometimes even too friendly. Some say it's the weather, others say it's the carefree attitude – the Aussie motto is “she'll be right” which means “don't stress, it's all good”.
The tough conditions of settler times also played a part in Australians' dry, self-deprecating and sarcastic sense of humour. While in many countries it's considered poor taste to find humour in difficult circumstances, Australians tend to look at the lighter side.
Brits and Aussies share a similar sense of humour, language and laid-back culture; therefore, it's a lot easier for Aussies to settle in and feel at home despite being thousands of miles away. Additionally, because so many Aussies live in the UK, it's not rare that groups of Aussies meet and become friends.
' As a nation the Australians rarely use polysyllables when one will do and so pom became the pejorative name for a newly-arrived British immigrant. The Anzac Book of 1916 supported this theory, attributing 'Pom' as an abbreviation of pomegranate.
bloke – man or guy
A stereotype of a typical Australian man: loves beer, sport and barbies.
“Mate” is a popular word for friend. And while it's used in other English-speaking countries around the world, it has a special connection to Australia. In the past, mate has been used to address men, but it can be gender-neutral. In Australia, you'll also hear mate used in an ironic sense.
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!