'Australian English' ('AuE', 'AusE', 'en-AU') is the form of the
English language used in
Australia.
[1]
History
Australian English began diverging from
British English shortly after the foundation of the Australian
penal colony of
New South Wales (NSW) in
1788. British
convicts sent there, including the
Cockneys of London, came mostly from large
English cities; and they were joined by free settlers, military personnel, and administrators, who often brought their families.
In 1827,
Peter Cunningham, in his book ''Two Years in New South Wales'', reported that native-born white Australians of the time — known as "
currency lads and lasses"
[2] — spoke with a distinctive accent and vocabulary, with a strong
Cockney influence. The deportation of convicts to Australia ended in
1868, but immigration of free settlers from Britain, Ireland and elsewhere continued.
The first of the
Australian goldrushes, in the
1850s, began a much larger wave of immigration, which would significantly influence the language. During the 1850s, when
Great Britain and
Ireland were under economic hardship, about two per cent of their combined population emigrated to the Colony of NSW and the
Colony of Victoria .
[3]
Among the changes wrought by the goldrushes was "
Americanisation" of the language — the introduction of words, spellings, terms, and usages from
North American English. The words imported included some later considered to be typically Australian, such as ''dirt'' and ''digger''.
[4] ''Bonzer'', which was once a common Australian slang word meaning "great", "superb" or "beautiful", is thought to have been a
corruption of the American mining term bonanza,
[5] which means a rich vein of gold or silver and is itself a loanword from
Spanish. The influx of American military personnel in
World War II brought further American influence; though most words were short-lived;
[6] and only ''okay'', ''you guys'', and ''gee'' have persisted.
[6]
Since the 1950s, American influence has mostly arrived via pop culture, the
mass media—books,
magazines,
television programs, and
computer software—and the
world wide web. Some words, such as ''freeway'' and ''truck'', have even naturalised so completely that few Australians recognise their origin.
[6]
Some American and British English variants exist side-by-side, as ''TV'' and ''telly'' (an abbreviation of ''television''). British words predominate, however: as ''mobile'' or ''mobile phone'' instead of ''cell'' or ''cellphone'', and ''lift'' instead of ''elevator''. In many cases—''telly'' versus ''TV'' and ''
SMS'' versus ''text'', ''freeway'' and ''motorway'', for instance—regional, social and ethnic variation within Australia typically defines word usage.
[9]
Australian English is most similar to
New Zealand English, each having a shared history and geographical promiximity. But speakers of either country can easily distinguish the differences, particularly in vowel sounds; and there are striking differences in vocabulary.
Irish influences
There is some influence from
Hiberno-English, but perhaps not as much as might be expected given that many Australians are of
Irish descent. One such influence is the pronunciation of the name of the letter "H" as "''haitch''" , which can sometimes be heard amongst speakers of "Broad Australian English", rather than the unaspirated "''aitch''" more common among English speakers worldwide. This is also true of the
Scouse accent in
Liverpool where many Irish people settled at the same time as emigrating to Australia, and the United States.
Other Irish influences include the non-standard plural of "you" as "''youse''" , sometimes used informally in Australia, and the expression "''good on you''" or "''good onya''". Of these the former is common in parts of North America and in working class South African English the latter is encountered in New Zealand English and British English. Another Irish influence is use of the word ''me'' replacing ''my'', such as in the phrase ''Where's me hat?'' This usage is generally restricted to informal situations.
Phonology
Main articles: Australian English phonology
Australian vowels
Australian dipthongs
Australian English is a
non-rhotic dialect. It is most similar to
New Zealand English and bears some resemblance to dialects from the South-East of
England, particularly those of
Cockney and
Received Pronunciation. Like most dialects of English it is distinguished primarily by its vowel
phonology.
[10]
The vowels of Australian English can be divided into two categories: long and short vowels. The short vowels, consisting only of
monophthongs, mostly correspond to the lax vowels used in analyses of
Received Pronunciation. The long vowels, consisting of both monophthongs and
diphthongs, mostly correspond to its tense vowels and centring diphthongs. Unlike most varieties of English it has a
phonemic length distinction: that is, certain vowels differ only by length.
Australian English consonants are similar to those of other non-rhotic varieties of English. In comparison to other varieties, it has a
flapped variant of and in similar environments, as in American English. Many speakers have also
coalesced and into and , producing standard pronunciations such as .
Vocabulary
Main articles: Australian English vocabulary
Australian English has many words that Australians consider unique to their language. One of the best-known is ''outback'', meaning a remote, sparsely-populated area. Another is ''bush'', meaning either a native forest or a country area in general. However, both terms have been widely used in many
English-speaking countries. Other similar words, phrases and usages were brought by the convicts to Australia. Many words used frequently by country Australians are, or were, also used in all or part of England, with variations in meaning. For example, ''creek'' in Australia, as in North America, means a stream or small river, whereas in England it means a small watercourse flowing into the sea; ''paddock'' in Australia means field, whereas in England it means a small enclosure for livestock; ''bush'' or ''scrub'' in Australia, as in North America, means a wooded area, whereas in England they are commonly used only in proper names (such as
Shepherd's Bush and
Wormwood Scrubs). Australian English and several British English dialects (for example,
Cockney,
Scouse or
Geordie) both use the word ''mate'' for a close friend of the same sex and increasingly for a platonic friend of the opposite sex (rather than the conventional meaning of "a spouse"), but this usage has also become common in some other varieties of English.
The origins of other words are not as clear or are disputed. ''Dinkum'' (or "fair dinkum") means "true", or when used in speech: "is that true?", "this is the truth!", among other things, depending on context and inflection. It is often claimed that dinkum dates back to the
Australian goldrushes of the 1850s, and that it is derived from the
Cantonese (or Hokkien) ''ding kam'', meaning "top gold". But scholars give greater credence to the conjecture that it originated from the
East Midlands dialect in England, where dinkum (or dincum) meant "hard work" or "fair work", which was also the original meaning in Australian English (though it is now extinct in the original dialect).
[11] The derivative ''dinky-di'' means a 'true' or devoted Australian. The words ''dinkum'' or ''dinky-di'' and phrases like ''true blue'' are widely purported to be typical Australian sayings, even though they are more commonly used in jest or parody than as authentic slang.
Similarly, ''g'day'', a stereotypical Australian greeting, is no longer synonymous with "good day" in other varieties of English (it can be used at night time) and is never used as an expression for "farewell", as "good day" is in other countries.
Some elements of
Aboriginal languages have been included into Australian English—mainly as names for places, flora and fauna (for example
dingo). Beyond that, little has been adopted into the wider language, except for some localised terms and slang. Some examples are ''
cooee'' and ''Hard
yakka''. The former is used as a high-pitched call, for attracting attention, (pronounced ) which travels long distances. ''Cooee'' is also a notional distance: ''if he's within cooee, we'll spot him''. ''Hard yakka'' means ''hard work'' and is derived from ''yakka'', from the
Yagara/
Jagara language once spoken in the
Brisbane region. Also from there is the word ''bung'', meaning broken or pretending to be hurt. A failed piece of equipment may be described as having ''bunged up'' or as "on the bung" or "gone bung". A person pretending to be hurt is said to be "bunging it on". A hurt person could say "I've got a bung knee".
Though often thought of as an Aboriginal word,
didgeridoo (a well known wooden ceremonial musical instrument) is probably an
onomatopoeic word of Western invention. It has also been suggested that it may have an
Irish derivation.
[12]
Main articles: List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin
Spelling
Australian spelling is almost always the same as British spelling, with only a few exceptions. The ''
Macquarie Dictionary'' is generally used by publishers, schools, universities and governments as the standard spelling reference. Well-known differences to British spelling include:
★ ''program'' is more common than ''programme''
[13][14][15]
★ ''jail'' is prevalent, ''gaol'' is generally still used in official contexts
★ ''-ise'' and ''-ize'' are both accepted, as in British English, but ''-ise'' is preferred in Australian English by a ratio of about 3:1 according to the Macquarie
There is a widely-held belief in Australia that controversies over spelling result from the "
Americanisation" of Australian English; the influence of American English in the late 20th century, but the debate over spelling is much older. For example, a pamphlet entitled ''The So-Called "American Spelling"'', published in Sydney some time before 1901, argued that "there is no valid etymological reason for the preservation of the ''u'' in such words as ''honor'', ''labor'', etc.",
[14] alluding to older British spellings which also used the ''-or'' ending. The pamphlet also claimed that "the tendency of people in Australasia is to excise the u, and one of the Sydney morning papers habitually does this, while the other generally follows the older form". The
Australian ''Labor'' Party retains the ''-or'' ending it officially adopted in 1912. However, while many Australian newspapers did formerly "excise the u", in words like ''colour'', this is no longer the case. The town of
Victor Harbor has the ''Victor Harbour Railway Station'' and the municipality's official website speculates that excising the ''u'' from the town's name was originally a "spelling error".
[17] This continues to cause confusion in how the town is named in official and unofficial documents.
[18]
Varieties of Australian English
Most linguists consider there to be three main varieties of Australian English: Broad, General and Cultivated Australian English. They are part of a continuum, reflecting variations in accent. They often, but not always, reflect the
social class or
educational background of the speaker.
Broad Australian English is the most recognisable variety. It is familiar to English speakers around the world because it identifies Australian characters in non-Australian
films and
television programs. Examples are television/film personalities
Steve Irwin and
Paul Hogan. Slang terms ''
Ocker'', for a speaker, and ''
Strine'', for the dialect, are used in Australia.
General Australian English is the
stereotypical variety of Australian English. It is the variety that the majority of Australians use and predominates among modern Australian films and television programs. Examples are actors
Nicole Kidman,
Cate Blanchett and
Russell Crowe (who, although born and partly-raised in New Zealand, does not speak
New Zealand English).
Cultivated Australian English has many similarities to
British Received Pronunciation, and is often mistaken for it. Cultivated Australian English is now spoken by less than 10% of the population. Examples are actors
Judy Davis and
Geoffrey Rush.
There is significant variation in
Australian English vocabulary between different regions; perhaps the most prominent example being the many
names for processed pork products, generally known in other countries as "
baloney" or "
luncheon meat".
It is sometimes claimed that there are variations in accent and pronunciation among people of different states and territories. However, these are small in comparison to those of the British and American English, and Australian pronunciation is determined less by region than by social, cultural and educational influences. But there are some well-documented regional preferences. For example, in
Tasmania, words such as "dance", "grant" and "branch" are usually heard with the
older pronunciation of these words, using , whereas in
South Australia, is preferred.
[19] Both pronunciations are common in other parts of Australia, although when people sing the national anthem, "
Advance Australia Fair", they often use where they might otherwise use .
Use of words by Australians
Australian English makes frequent use of
diminutives. They are formed in various ways and are often used to indicate familiarity. Some examples are ''arvo'' (afternoon), ''servo'' (
service station), ''bottle-o'' (
bottle-shop), ''barbie'' (barbecue), ''cozzie'' (swimming costume), ''footy'' (
Rugby League or
Australian rules football) and ''mozzie'' (mosquito). Similar diminutives are commonly used for personal nicknames (''Johnno'', ''Fitzy''). Occasionally a ''-za'' diminutive is used, usually for personal names where the first of multiple syllables ends in an "r": so Barry becomes ''Bazza'' and Sharon ''Shazza''.
Many phrases once common to Australian English have become
stereotypes and caricaturised exaggerations, and have largely disappeared from everyday use. Among the words less used are ''cobber'', ''strewth'', ''you beaut'' and ''crikey''; and stereotypical phrases like ''flat out like a lizard drinking'' are rarely used without irony.
The phrase ''put a
shrimp on the barbie'' is a misquotation from a phrase made famous by
Paul Hogan in tourism advertisements that aired in America. Australians use the word
prawn rather than
shrimp, which means something quite different, and do not commonly
barbecue them. Many people trying to impersonate or mock an Australian use this line, though it is generally only used by Australians, ironically, when mocking Americans making fun of Australians.
Australian patriotic song ''
Waltzing Matilda'', written by bush poet
Banjo Paterson, contains many obsolete Australian words and phrases that appeal to a rural ideal and are understood by Australians even though they are not in common usage outside the song. One example is the title, which means travelling (particularly with a type of bed roll called a swag).
Samples of Australian English
One of the first writers to attempt renditions of Australian accents and vernacular was the novelist
Joseph Furphy (a.k.a. Tom Collins), who wrote a popular account of rural New South Wales and Victoria during the 1880s, ''
Such is Life'' (1903).
C. J. Dennis wrote poems about working class life in Melbourne, such as ''
The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' (1915), which was extremely popular and was made into a popular silent film (''
The Sentimental Bloke''; 1919).
John O'Grady's novel ''
They're a Weird Mob'' has many examples of pseudo-phonetically written Australian speech in Sydney during the 1950s, such as ''"owyergoinmateorright?"'' ("How are you going, mate? All right?")
Thomas Keneally's novels set in Australia, particularly ''
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'', frequently use vernacular such as "yair" for "yes" and "noth-think" for "nothing". Other books of note are "Let's Talk Strine" by Afferbeck Lauder—where "Strine" is "Australian" and "Afferbeck Lauder" is "alphabetical order" (the book is in alphabetical order)—and "How to be Normal in Australia".
Some Australian
actors use their natural accents in international films and television programs. But Australian actors in non-Australian productions generally use non-Australian accents, or adjust their natural accent to make it broader and closer to the archetypal modern Australian accent. One example of an internationally-popular film containing several characters with Australian accents is ''
Finding Nemo'', a 2003 computer-animated film. These characters include Nigel the Pelican (played by Geoffrey Rush), the three sharks, the sewage-eating crab, the dentist and his niece.
See also
★
Australian Aboriginal English
★
Australian English vocabulary
★
International Phonetic Alphabet for English
★
IPA chart for English
★
Nickname
★
Strine
References
1. Mitchell, Alexander G., 1995, ''The Story of Australian English'', Sydney: Dictionary Research Centre.
2. Hughes, Robert. ''The Fatal Shore''. London: Harvill (1986).
3. Geoffrey Blainey, 1993, ''The Rush That Never Ended'' (4th ed.) Melbourne University Press.
4. Bell, R. ''Americanization and Australia''. UNSW Press (1998).
5. Robert J. Menner, "The Australian Language" ''American Speech'', Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr., 1946), pp. 120
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Oliver, Mackay and Rochecouste. 'The Acquisition of Colloquial Terms by Western Australian Primary School Children from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds' in ''Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development'' 24:5 (2003), 413-430.
10. An acoustic phonetic study of broad, general, and cultivated Australian English vowels, Harrington, J., F. Cox, and Z. Evans, , , Australian Journal of Linguistics, 1997
11. http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/ozwords/November_98/7._dinkum.htm
12. http://www.flinders.edu.au/news/articles/?fj09v13s02
13. Peters, Pam. (1986) "Spelling principles", In: Peters, Pam, ed., Style in Australia: Current Practices in Spelling, Punctuation, Hyphenation, Capitalisation, etc.,
14. ''The So Called "American Spelling." Its Consistency Examined.'' pre-1901 pamphlet, Sydney, E. J. Forbes. Quoted by Annie Potts in this article
15. Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers of Australian Government Publications, Third Edition, Revised by John Pitson, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1978, page 10, "In general, follow the spellings given in the latest edition of the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary.''
16. ''The So Called "American Spelling." Its Consistency Examined.'' pre-1901 pamphlet, Sydney, E. J. Forbes. Quoted by Annie Potts in this article
17. http://www.victor.sa.gov.au It appears that the spelling of Victor Harbor without the 'u' started in the early days of the Colony. It was around the turn of the century that the ''u'' crept into the spelling of Harbor with new businesses spelling it including the ''u'' (which is the way most people would have been taught to spell harbour. The Victor Harbour Railway Station is still signposted today with the spelling including the ''u''. Victor Harbor was declared a legal Port on the 28th June 1838 and was officially known to the Harbour's Board as Port Victor until 1921. In 1921 due to the similarity of the name to Port Victoria on the Yorke Peninsula and the confusion it caused, it was decided by the Harbour's Board to change the name back by proclamation to its original name of Victor Harbor. The local newspaper the 'Victor Harbor Times' has always been published without the ''u'' since it started in 1912. It was gazetted in 1914 that the township was named as the 'Municipal Town of Victor Harbor'. It can be surmised from the above spelling of all South Australian Harbour's without the ''u'' that it originated probably from a spelling error made by an early Surveyor General of South Australia.
18. http://www.smh.com.au/news/south-australia/victor-harbor/2005/02/17/1108500204729.html There were suggestions at the time that Victor Harbor would make an ideal harbour for the whole South Australian colony. Colonel Light was so convinced that Adelaide was the ideal spot that he looked at Victor Harbor and dismissed it.
19. Crystal, D. (1995). ''Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language''. Cambridge University Press.
External links
★
Australian National Dictionary Centre
★
Australian Word Map at the
ABC - documents regionalisms
★
Introduction to Australian Phonetics and Phonology
★
Macquarie Dictionary
★
World English Organisation
★
Australian English Dictionary
★
Aussie English for beginners — the origins, meanings and a quiz to test your knowledge at the National Museum of Australia.
★
English for Australia Some words and expressions are taken from British slang, while others are derived from Aboriginal terms.
★
Strine — Australian Terms Explained — basic list of Strine words at ''
School Spirit'' webstrip.
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