Lyla Lindsey
Australian English varies across the country, with three main varieties of Australian English spoken: broad, general, and cultivated. These accents are not indicative of a person's social class, education, or background. The broad Australian accent is prevalent nationwide, especially in rural areas, and is recognizable worldwide. The general Australian accent is the most common and is prominent in urban areas, while the cultivated accent is perceived as indicating high social class or education. Along the East Coast, there is a correlation between latitude and accent, with the accent becoming more nasal and broad further north. Australian Aboriginal English is a dialect used by a large proportion of Indigenous Australians, and the Torres Strait Islands have their own distinctive dialect, Torres Strait English.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of main accent varieties | 3 |
| Names of accent varieties | Broad, General, Cultivated |
| Most common accent variety | General |
| Accent variety with most extreme features | Broad |
| Accent variety with most similarities to British Received Pronunciation | Cultivated |
| Accent variety with highest ratings in intelligence, competence, reliability, honesty, and status | Cultivated |
| Accent variety with highest ratings in humorousness and talkativity | Broad |
| Accent variety with tendency for slower speech | Broad (in remote country areas) |
| Accent variety with tendency for longer diphthongs | Broad |
| Accent variety with tendency for greater nasality | Broad (in northern areas) |
| Accent variety with tendency for upward inflection | General |
| Accent variety with tendency for use of slang | Males |
| Accent variety with tendency for heavier accent | Males |
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What You'll Learn
- The three main varieties of Australian English are broad, general, and cultivated
- The Australian accent doesn't vary much by region
- The further north you go along the East Coast, the more nasal/broad the accent
- Australian Aboriginal English is a dialect used by a large proportion of Indigenous Australians
- Australian English has been influenced by immigration from Asia
The three main varieties of Australian English are broad, general, and cultivated
Australian English is the set of English language varieties native to Australia. It is the country's common language and de facto national language. While there is no official language in Australia, English is the first language of the majority of the population.
Australian English is relatively homogeneous when compared with British and American English. The major varieties of Australian English are sociocultural rather than regional. The three main varieties of Australian English are broad, general, and cultivated. They are part of a continuum, reflecting variations in accent, vocabulary, grammar, words, meanings, and language use. They can, but do not always, reflect the social class, education, and urban or rural background of the speaker.
Broad Australian English is prevalent nationwide but is especially common in rural areas. It is recognizable and familiar to English speakers around the world. Examples of people with this accent include Steve Irwin, Paul Hogan, and former prime ministers Julia Gillard, Bob Hawke, and John Howard. In Australia, this dialect is sometimes called Strine or Strayan, a shortening of the word Australian. Speakers of Broad Australian English are rated higher in terms of humorousness and talkativity.
General Australian English is the most common of Australian accents. It is especially prominent in urban Australia and is used as a standard language for Australian films, television programs, and advertising. It is used by Hugh Jackman, Rose Byrne, Rebel Wilson, Chris Hemsworth, and Eric Bana. "General Australian" describes the de facto standard dialect, which is perceived to be free of pronounced regional or sociocultural markers.
Cultivated Australian English has in the past been perceived as indicating high social class or education. It has some similarities to Received Pronunciation and the learned "Transatlantic" accents and Northeastern elite accents of the United States. In recent generations, its usage has fallen sharply. Speakers with a Cultivated Australian accent include Cate Blanchett, Lisa Gerrard, Geoffrey Rush, and former prime minister Malcolm Fraser.
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The Australian accent doesn't vary much by region
Australian English is made up of a range of forms that vary across a continuum, from Standard Australian English to more non-standard forms. There are distinctive features of accent, grammar, words and meanings, as well as language use. However, compared to British and American English, Australian English is relatively homogeneous and does not vary much by region. The major varieties of Australian English are sociocultural rather than regional.
There are three main varieties of Australian English spoken according to linguists: broad, general, and cultivated. These accents do not always reflect the social class, education, and urban or rural background of the speaker. Broad Australian English, for example, is prevalent nationwide, especially in rural areas. General Australian English is the most common accent and is especially prominent in urban Australia. Cultivated Australian English, on the other hand, is associated with high social class and education and has similarities to Received Pronunciation and Northeastern elite accents in the United States.
While there may be some regional variation in Australian English, it is not as significant as the variation found in other countries, such as the United States or the United Kingdom. For example, one source notes that the Melbourne accent seems slightly "clipped". Additionally, there is an approximate correlation between latitude and accent along the East Coast, with more northern accents being more nasal and broad. However, these differences are not solely based on region, and there is a lot of overlap between different areas.
The lack of significant regional variation in Australian accents may be due to the relatively late settlement of the country by Britain. Additionally, Australia's large landmass and relatively small population may contribute to the consistency of the Australian accent across regions.
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The further north you go along the East Coast, the more nasal/broad the accent
Australian English has three main varieties of accents: broad, general, and cultivated. These accents are part of a continuum, with variations in accent, grammar, words, meanings, and language use. The broad accent is prevalent nationwide, especially in rural areas, and is often associated with the working class. The general accent is the most common type of English spoken in Australia, especially in urban areas. The cultivated accent is perceived as an indication of high social class or education and has similarities with British Received Pronunciation.
While there may be slight variations, it is generally agreed upon that there is only one Australian accent. However, some sources suggest that the Australian accent becomes more nasal and broad the further north you travel along the East Coast. This correlation between latitude and accent is known as the "nasal boundary." The nasality becomes evident at the New South Wales/Queensland border.
The broad Australian accent is known for its syllable assimilation, consonant elision, weak consonants, and restricted intonation. It is often associated with humorousness and talkativeness. Notable speakers include Steve Irwin, Paul Hogan, and former Prime Ministers Julia Gillard, Bob Hawke, and John Howard.
The general Australian accent is the standard language used in Australian films, television programs, and advertising. It is spoken by celebrities such as Hugh Jackman, Rose Byrne, Rebel Wilson, Chris Hemsworth, and Eric Bana.
The cultivated Australian accent, though less common today, is considered prestigious and reminiscent of British Received Pronunciation. Speakers with this accent include Cate Blanchett, Lisa Gerrard, Geoffrey Rush, and former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
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Australian Aboriginal English is a dialect used by a large proportion of Indigenous Australians
Australian English varies along a continuum, from forms close to Standard Australian English to more non-standard forms. There are three main varieties of Australian English: broad, general, and cultivated. These varieties do not vary by region, but rather reflect the social class, education, and urban or rural background of the speaker. The broad variety is prevalent nationwide but is especially common in rural areas. The general variety is the most common type of English spoken in Australia, especially in urban areas. The cultivated variety is associated with high social class and education.
Australian Aboriginal English (AAE or AbE) is a dialect of Australian English used by a large proportion of Indigenous Australians. It is made up of a number of varieties that developed differently in different parts of Australia. The grammar and pronunciation of AAE differ from those of Standard Australian English. Some words from AAE have been adopted into standard or colloquial Australian English.
Specific features of AAE vary between regions. For example, in Nyungar country in Perth, Western Australia, AAE includes address terms and kinship, uninverted questions, the utterance tag unna, and Nyungar terms such as boya, boodjar, maya-maya, and moorditji. Nunga English, the South Australian dialect of AAE, includes words from the Narungga, Ngarrindjeri, and West Coast languages, as well as local variations in pronunciation.
AAE is often accompanied by a lot of non-verbal cues. Speakers of AAE tend to change between different forms of AAE depending on whom they are speaking to, striving to speak more like Standard Australian English when speaking to a non-Indigenous English speaker. This is sometimes referred to as diglossia or codeswitching and is common among Aboriginal people living in major cities.
The Aboriginal English vowel space shares the same lower boundary as Indigenous language vowel spaces but shares an upper boundary with Standard Australian English. Basilectal varieties of AAE tend to merge a number of vowels, sometimes merging all Australian English vowels into the three or five vowels of a given speaker's native language. Acrolectal Aboriginal accents tend to have a smaller vowel space compared to Standard Australian English.
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Australian English has been influenced by immigration from Asia
Australian English has been influenced by various factors, including immigration from different parts of the world, proximity to other English-speaking countries, and the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788. The language has evolved over time, with different spellings, vocabulary, and grammatical constructions.
In recent decades, Australia has experienced significant immigration from Asian countries, which has influenced Australian English. The country's immigration policies have shifted from a "'White Australia' policy, which aimed to maintain a predominantly white population, to a more inclusive and non-discriminatory approach. The percentage of the Australian population born in an Asian country increased from 5.5% in 1996 to 13.4% in 2016. This influx of immigrants has led to a greater diversity of languages and cultures in Australia, which has had a noticeable impact on Australian English.
Indian immigrants, for example, have become the largest migrant ethnic group in Melbourne and Adelaide, and their presence is also significant in Sydney. Chinese immigrants are predominantly female and concentrated in specific suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney. Other Asian countries, such as Korea, Taiwan, and East Timor, have also contributed to the diversity of Australia's population.
The children of Asian immigrants have influenced Australian English by blending their heritage languages with General Australian English. This can be observed in the adoption of certain words and expressions from Asian languages, such as "shoo" (what's up) and "yallah" (let's go/goodbye) from Arabic, used by Arab Australians. Additionally, new words have emerged to reflect cultural practices, such as "smoko" (cigarette break), which may be influenced by the smoking culture in some Asian countries.
While the influence of Asian immigration on Australian English is evident, it is important to note that Australian English has also been influenced by other factors, including Aboriginal languages, American English, and British and Irish dialects. The diversity of influences has shaped the unique characteristics of Australian English, including its accent, vocabulary, and grammatical constructions.
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Frequently asked questions
Australian accents do not vary much by region, but there are three main types: broad, general, and cultivated. The broad variety is prevalent nationwide, especially in rural areas, and is often described as more extreme and recognizable to English speakers around the world.
The late Steve Irwin, Paul Hogan, and former Prime Ministers Julia Gillard, Bob Hawke, and John Howard are known for their broad Australian accents.
The further an accent is on the broad end of the spectrum, the more "Australian" it sounds. The diphthong in "kite," "ride," and "mine" are good indicators. General Australian English is the most common accent and is especially prominent in urban areas. Cultivated Australian English is less common and has similarities to British Received Pronunciation.
If you want to learn an Australian accent, it is best to go straight to the source or find a donor—someone from the same neighborhood as the accent you want to learn. You can also work with a dialect coach who can help you consistently change key sounds.
