Australian Accents

[voyager70]

Hello :)

 

Just curious - in the US & UK there are many different accents based on geographical locations. Are there many different accents based on location within Australia? Do people in Queensland have a different accent than people from Western Australia? How about Victoria accent vs. Northern Territory? Is Tasmania any different? Sorry for my ignorance - not yet been to your beautiful country but plan to someday - but as an American every Aussie I've heard be it in person or on TV seems to have a very similiar accent, whereas people in some areas of the UK sound like they are speaking a foreign language! Not to leave the Kiwi's out - the NZ accent sounds very similiar to the Aussie accent to Americans. Can you all tell the difference? Don't mean to start any wars here - accents just fascinate me!

[bobhsv]

Yes, we all have slightly different accents. To me, SA, WA and Vic have more of a 'refined English' accent, whilst the eastern states seem to be more of a drawl. However, in the major cities, you will find all types of accents, due to the multicultural mixes. Something interesting for you though, is the different names across aust for the same/similar product.

[bazzaw]

Kiwis get all their I's , O's and U's all mixed up!! :) But it is easy to talk with a NZ accent . Just replace all I's with U's - So six becomes s.. And replace all E's with I's , so a Deck party becomes a D... party. You'll soon get the idea :)

 

Queenslanders speak with perfectly clear diction.

 

Barry

[rugbypopsie]

We have an accent? LOL Nah just the Kiwis:)

I agree with Barry but the regional accent is more pronounced in the country areas rather than the cities...probably because families have stayed in those regions for generations. Northern Australians can be picked out by the use of eh! at the end of sentances as in "its a nice day eh? Check out Milton Snr in the series Keeping up with the Jones' he is a great exponent.

[voyager70]

Thanks guys - keep it coming :).

[Flipper133]

When I first went to work in England (many moons ago) as I was from the refined state Queensland it often confused the Brits, as I didn't go around talking like Paul Hogan or indeed like Barry Mackenzie. :p

 

They settled therefore on regarding me as a Kiwi (New Zealander). I was never sure if I should have regarded that as a compliment or an insult :D

 

I was also often introduced as "our Australian Company Secretary" with particular emphasis on the adjective. Invariably I was asked to say something in "Ozstralian"

 

Kept them amused with expressions like "Gooday mate" "Whats up Bluey" and "She'll be right"

 

I guess what all this means is that its not how "Stralians" say it, but more of what they say

 

cheers (a pommie expression many of us now use)

[voyager70]

Pommie? Cheers is used to toast a drink in the US - in Britain I believe it means thank you. It's all good :)

[voyager70]

Kiwis get all their I's , O's and U's all mixed up!! :) But it is easy to talk with a NZ accent . Just replace all I's with U's - So six becomes s.. And replace all E's with I's , so a Deck party becomes a D... party. You'll soon get the idea :)

 

Queenslanders speak with perfectly clear diction.

 

Barry

 

LOL Barry always love a good deck party :)

[voyager70]

BTW us midwesterners speak perfect diction as well <bring it on New Yawkers> :D

[Sandielle]

Eh? Whatya sayin'??? There ain't much difference init roolly! It's just that the rest of them Awstrayyyyylians don't talk posh like what we duz! :cool:

 

Seriously, I don't think there's as much difference between Australian accents as there is in the UK. My DH comes from Cheshire - not far across the Mersey from Liverpool, but the difference in local accents can be huge.

 

A funny story - we came back from the UK in a migrant ship - English, Dutch, German and Italian folk. One morning I was in the laundrette having a conversation of sorts with a girl from Liverpool. Another English woman came in to do some ironing and my friend told her to be careful. She said, "I burnt my shirt with that iron". The English woman said, "I'm sorry, I'm English!" Soooo funny - we all had a good laugh! :D (Didn't see any laundry rage in those days, lol.)

 

I like the TV show, Taggart, but I must admit I do struggle with the accents on that show, especially when they have music in the (not so) background. :rolleyes:

[Sandielle]

Pommie? Cheers is used to toast a drink in the US - in Britain I believe it means thank you. It's all good :)

 

It can mean both here. We're very adaptable. :)

[voyager70]

It can mean both here. We're very adaptable. :)

 

Thanks for the clarify Sandielle. BTW love your Avatar :)

[Raison]

We are from country NSW and have a fairly typical Australian accent (or so we thought). We don't speak with a long drawl or anything! When we were in Hawaii earlier this year we were mistaken for being British several times due to our accent.

[voyager70]

We are from country NSW and have a fairly typical Australian accent (or so we thought). We don't speak with a long drawl or anything! When we were in Hawaii earlier this year we were mistaken for being British several times due to our accent.

 

Sorry this happened to you! Many Americans have trouble distinguishing between English & Aussie accents. As an American I can say your accents are indeed similiar, but with some obvious differences. For example, both Americans & Aussies tend to pronounce the "tt" combination as in better as a "d" sound where as the proper Brit pronounciation is a true "t sound. However, the hard "o" sound as in "no" or "go" is more alike in UK or US but in Aussie it sounds more like "nay" or "gay". Can you tell I'm a language geek :D

[Aussie One]

how to tell the differant accent of Canadian and American.

Canadians say Yep USA Yea or yes Canadians say oot USA say out.

This will stir up the Colonys.

[cjm66]

Can you tell I'm a language geek :D

 

In that case you probably already have a copy of Lets Stalk Strine

 

 

It celebrates one of the distinctive markers of a true aussie speech pattern - dropping the final consonants from most words. Others have more to do with intonation - rising tones at the end of sentences (female) or choice of words.

 

Colleen

[Izabelle]

Hi Sandie....wow small world, I am also from across the Mersey near the great city of Liverpool, my childhood memories are of taking a ferry across the Mersey from Birkenhead to the Pier Head in Liverpool, I don't have a lot of Liverpool accent left but my dear Mum still has a real scouse accent.

[voyager70]

how to tell the differant accent of Canadian and American.

Canadians say Yep USA Yea or yes Canadians say oot USA say out.

This will stir up the Colonys.

 

Canadians will fight to the teeth that they don't say aboot/ oot /etc. but they do but we still love 'em.

[bazzaw]

We are from country NSW and have a fairly typical Australian accent (or so we thought). We don't speak with a long drawl or anything! When we were in Hawaii earlier this year we were mistaken for being British several times due to our accent.

 

OH! -- the ignominy of it!!!

 

Barry

[Aus Traveller]

We are from country NSW and have a fairly typical Australian accent (or so we thought). We don't speak with a long drawl or anything! When we were in Hawaii earlier this year we were mistaken for being British several times due to our accent.

Overseas people, particularly Americans, nearly always think we are British.

 

The funniest time was in the US when a woman asked where we were from and we said 'Australia'. She then complimented us on our English. We asked her what language she thought we spoke in Australia. She replied 'Germany' or 'France' (not German/French). We just smiled and said, "No, its English". The poor women was probably even more confused. :) Maybe we were cruel by not explaining the difference between Australia and Austria.

[snoodqueen]

Canadians will fight to the teeth that they don't say aboot/ oot /etc. but they do but we still love 'em.

 

What's not to love, eh? :) Other than Maritimers, I don't know of any fellow Canadians who say aboot or oot. Like any country, there are different regions with their own unique ways of speaking but most of us have no accent.

[bazzaw]

Maybe we were cruel by not explaining the difference between Australia and Austria.

 

There is an easy way to remember which is which - Australia/Austria

 

There are no kangaroos in Australia

 

 

Barry

[Aus Traveller]

There is an easy way to remember which is which - Australia/Austria

 

There are no kangaroos in Australia

 

Barry

Barry - There is something wrong with what you said, but I can't work out what it is :D:D.

[leggyliz]

Watch an episode of 'Houso's' on SBS - you can download from the website and then you will very much hear a different kind of Australian. lol!!:D:D

[cjm66]

There is an easy way to remember which is which - Australia/Austria

 

There are no kangaroos in Australia

 

 

Barry

 

Yes there are. They are albino and merge into the snowscape.

 

Colleen