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1. Brief History of Australian English

2. Influences on Australian English

3. Pronunciation & Spelling

4. Grammar

5. Vocabulary

I n d e x

Western Australia

NorthernTerritory

South Australia

Queensland

Adelaide

Melbourne

Sydney

Victoria

Perth

Darwin

Brisbane

Canberra

HobartTasmania

New South Wales

Australian Capital

Territory (ACT)

ETIMOLOGY

1. Brief History of Australian English

• Latin “Australis” - Southern

• La Tierra Austral del Espíritu Santo - Pedro Fernandes de Queirós - House of Austria

• The original inhabitants: Aboriginal

tribes who arrived in Australia approx.

40,000 to 60,000 years ago.

• 2 main indigenous ethnicities of

Australia - Australian Aborigines and

Torres Strait Islander

• 1788 - British Settlement - Colony

of New South Wales - Captain

James Cook

• First Fleet (11 ships) – Botany Bay

(Sidney)

Australian Penal colonies (petty offences: larceny - Large number of Irish)

CONVICTS

First Speakers: the native-born children of the colony

• Children born in New South Wales

• Exposed to different dialects from all over the British Isles, (Ireland and South

East England)

1820 Recognition of Australian English as different from British English

1901 Federation of Australia - 6 British colonies formed 1 nation

English: no official status, but de facto official language and 1st language used

British English: 1850: 1st Australian Gold Rush

– Wave of immigration (2% of population of

UK – Irish convicts)

2. Influences on Australian English

Aboriginal languages: 27 language families

Torres Strait islands languages: Western-Central and Eastern

Names of places (cities, suburbs), flora, fauna. Ex: Canberra = meeting place

American English - introduction of words, spellings, terms and

usage• 19th c. Gold Rush - dirt and digger

• World War II - okay, you guys and gee

• TV and Media

STANDARD AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH

• Most people raised in Australia• Broadness continuum

1965

1. Broad (34%)

2. General (55%) The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain

3. Cultivated (11%)

* The general category is increasing at the expense of broad and cultivated

• Dominant variety, but not the only one:

• Aboriginal English• Various ethno-cultural AusE dialects (e.g. Lebspeak)

3. Pronunciation & Spelling

CONSONANTS

• Non-rhotic, linking /r/ e.g. car, there are

• Glottal stop (ʔ) e.g. kitten, department

• Intervocalic /t/ as a flap /d/ e.g. written, got it

• I-glide (/j/ sound) between some consonants and /u/ e.g. /nju:z/ (news)

VOWELS

• Long /a:/ coexists with /æ/ e.g. half, arm, father

/a:/ more prestigious

• Schwa rather than /ɪ/ e.g. naked, acid

• /æ/ sound /e/ e.g. I love that hat (ðet het)

• /i:/ rather than /ɪ/ e.g. very, many, happy

• /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ e.g. right, life, sign

• /eɪ/ tends to /aɪ/ e.g. no way, say

Dry sound (Cockney)

Twangy sounds + rising inflection or high-rising terminal (Australian

English)

DIPHTONGS

• No official regulator of correct spelling and grammar MacQuarie Dictionary

• AusEng spelling similar to British English...

* “ou” retained: honour, favour* “-re” instead of “-er”: theatre, metre, litre* “-ise” more frequent: organise, realise

... BUT THERE IS A TENDENCY TOWARDS AMERICAN SIMPLIFICATION

* Australian Labor Party* program (programme)* analog (analogue)* -ize coexists* No Latin/Greek diphthongs: encyclopedia (encyclopaedia)

diarrhea (diarrhoea)

ANDY: HEAR YE, HEAR YE. THIS SESSION WILL NOW COME TO ORDER. WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WE HAVE PRESENT TODAY ONE BART SIMPSON. I BELIEVE HE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY. BART?

BART: I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY FOR WHAT I DID TO YOUR COUNTRY. ANDY: WELL, YOU'RE FREE TO GO, BART... RIGHT AFTER YOUR__ADDITIONAL

PUNISHMENT. HOMER: PUNISHMENT? ANDY: WELL, A MERE__APOLOGY WOULD BE A BIT EMPTY, EH? LET THE BOOTING BEGIN. HOMER: BOOTING? ANDY: AW, IT'S JUST A LITTLE KICK IN THE BUM.

5. Grammar

• Collective nouns concord in singular

E.g.: The team is

winning.

• “Different from / to” rather than “different than”

E.g.: My car is different from yours.

• Present Perfect Simple Past

E.g.: He has played for us last year

• Usedn’t to

E.g.: He usedn’t to go to Church everyday.

• May = might/could

E.g.: If we found out who caused the problem, we may solve it.

• Mustn’t = can’t

E.g.: He mustn’t have wanted the money.

4. Australian Vocabulary

A B O R I G I N A L

KangarooKoalaWombatEmuCurrawongkookaburraGalah

Other words

boomerangcorroboree: dancejackeroo: farm manager

bindieyecalomboboreebanksiaquandongmallee

1/3

A NEW REALITY HAD TO BE DESCRIBED

NON-ABORIGINAL

roo

chook

stove

frock

sheila

daks

bloke

durry

amber

crook

dunny

spell

quids

-o

abo (aborigine)

arvo (afternoon)

bizzo (business)

doco (documentary)

UNIQUE SET OF DIMINUTIVES

-ie

-y

Aussie (Australian)

brekkie (breakfast)

barbie (barbeque)

Chrissie (Christmas)

lippy (lipstick)

exy (expensive)

surfy (surfing fanatic)

g’day mate!

(hello

friend)

AUSSIE SLANG

How ya going?

(how are you?)

Ace, ta!

(Very good,

thanks!)It’s been yonks

(long time no

see) Too right!

(definitely!)

Catch ya

later!

(see you

later!)

Cheers!

(goodbye!)

ACTIVITY Identify in the following video the 5 words of Australian English which are the same in British English and

that we already saw in the Am. Eng. vs Br. Eng. Exercise we did a few

weeks ago.

1. Diaper

2. Sidewalk3. Parking lot4. Sweater5. Shopping cart

ANSWERS

NappyFootpathCar parkJumperTrolley

Hooroo! (goodbye!)