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Australian English

Introduction

Australian English (AusE) is a vibrant and distinct variety of English that reflects the linguistic and cultural diversity of its origins. Emerging in the late eighteenth century following the establishment of the British penal colony in New South Wales, Australia, the dialect was shaped by the convergence of English, Irish, and Scottish linguistic traditions brought by convicts, settlers, and colonial administrators. This early contact, combined with the social stratification between free settlers and convicts, laid the foundation for what would become a unique English variety.

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Background

The isolation of Australia from other English-speaking regions allowed AusE to develop independently, fostering innovations in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. By the mid-nineteenth century, gold rushes and increased immigration from Britain accelerated the spread and consolidation of the dialect across the continent. Over time, Australian English adapted further, incorporating indigenous words and reflecting the evolving cultural identity of the nation.

Today, Australian English represents more than a means of communication—it is a marker of national identity, rich in regional nuances and expressions that resonate with Australia's history, environment, and societal values. Understanding its origins provides critical insight into the interplay of language, culture, and identity in this unique linguistic landscape.

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Pronunciation

Vowels

Vowel Inventory

 

All time stamps are from Australia 23 

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Tense monophthongs: FLEECE [i], GOOSE [ʉ], CLOTH [o:], BATH [ɐ:] or [æ], NURSE [ɜ:]

Lax monophthongs: KIT [ɪ], FOOT [ʊ], LOT [ɔ], STRUT [ɐ], DRESS [e], TRAP [æ]

Rising diphthongs: FACE [æe], GOAT [əʉ] or [əʊ], CHOICE [oɪ], PRICE [ɑe], MOUTH [æɔ]

Falling diphthongs: NEAR [ɪə] or [ɪ:], SQUARE [eə] or [e:], CURE [ʊə] and [ɔ]

 

Vowel length can be a way of distinguishing between different words (e.g., bared vs. bed; bid vs. beard; hear vs. hair).

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Features

GOOSE-fronting

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This is when the GOOSE vowel /u/ is pronounced farther forward in the mouth. 

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Ex. "When she got there, there was a woman with a goose waiting for her" (0:44)

  • [gʉ:s]

​​

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Raised short front vowels of TRAP, DRESS, and KIT​

 

This is when the tongue is raised in the mouth, shifting the pronunciation of the vowel.

Ex. “Sarah Perry was a veterinary nurse who had been working daily at an old zoo.” (0:17)

  • TRAP vowel

  • [hɛd]

Ex. “Even so, on her first morning she felt stressed.” (0:34)

  • DRESS vowel

  • [ʃtrɪst]

​

​​

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Raised MOUTH and PRICE

 

Here the tongue is also raised higher in the mouth to shift the diphthong vowel sound.

Ex. “The letter implied the animal could be suffering from a rare form of foot and mouth disease.” (0:51)

  • [ma̝ʊθ]

Ex. “That area was much nearer for her and more to her liking.” (0:29)​

  • [la̝ɪkiŋ]

​

​​

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Monophthongization of FACE

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Normally, when a diphthong is pronounced, the tongue changes position within one vowel sound. Monophthongization is when the pronunciation of the FACE vowel /eɪ/ stays in the same position, making it sound more like /e:/.

Ex. “She ate a bowl of porridge, checked herself in the mirror, and washed her face in a hurry.” (0:44)

  • ​[fe:s]

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Consonants

/l/ Vocalization

 

This is when the /l/ in a word is replaced by a vowel, often at the end of a word.

Ex. “Because they’ve got good laws about the transplantation of organs between people that protect against some of the more unscrupulous things that have happened.” (4:11)

  • [pipo]​​​​

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R-lessness

 

This is when the /r/ is not pronounced before consonants or at the end of a word or utterance.

Ex. “She was very happy to start a new job at a superb private practice in north square near the Duke Street tower.” (0:25)

  • [skweə]​​​​

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Linking or Intrusive /r/

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This is when an /r/ is added between two vowels where there isn’t originally an /r/.

Ex. “Emergently, via a line.” (2:43)

  • [vaɪər ə]​​​​

Ex. “Because it’s traditionally been a terminal disease, it’s got the same social stigma attached to it as cancer.” (3:16)

  • [stɪgmər]

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Palatalization of /t, d, s, z/​

 

This is when /t, d, s, z/ are pronounced as /tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ/, respectively, preceding /u/.

Ex. “First, she gently tried stroking the goose’s lower back with her palm, then singing a tune to her.” (1:21)

  • ​​[tʃʉn]​​

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H-dropping​

 

This is when the /h/ at the beginning of a word is not pronounced or is dropped.

Ex. “She ate a bowl of porridge, checked herself in the mirror, and washed her face in a hurry. Then she put on a plain yellow dress and a fleece jacket, picked up her kit, and headed for work.” (0:40), (0:46)

  • ​[əselv]​​

  • [ər]

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​T-flapping

 

This feature is common in American English, but it is different from Received Pronunciation (RP). T-flapping is when the /t/ between vowels is pronounced more like a short /d/. The pronunciation is shorter because it’s a quick tap of the tongue on the roof of the mouth. 

Ex. “I hope I’m getting it right.” (3:54)

  • ​[gɛɾɪŋ]

​

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Grammar

Grammar in AusE is largely the same as in American English. The difference mostly lies in how frequently they use different types of grammatical constructions. That being said, here are some grammatical structures sometimes found in Australian English that may be different from American English. 

 

Leveling of past tense or past participle forms with irregular verbs: 

At times, the past participle form of an irregular verb may be used in the place of a past tense form. This is especially common with verbs similar in structure to sing. Begin follows this pattern, having the past tense began (similar to sing’s past tense, sang) and the past participle begun (similar to sing’s past participle, sung). In AusE, begun is sometimes used in place of began (e.g., “He begun to eat” in place of “He began to eat”).  

 

Present perfect for simple past tense with temporal adjunct: 

The present perfect may be used in place of a past tense verb to express progression of time. It is usually used with a temporal adjunct referring to a specific time in the past. An example of this would be “I’ve gone there on Friday,” where “I’ve gone” takes the place of the simple past tense “I went” and “on Friday” indicates a specific time or time period in the past.

 

Use of existential there’s even with plural objects:

There may be constructions where the existential there is used with a singular verb (is) but a plural noun—for example, “There’s some cars over there” or “There’s eggs in the fridge.”

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Lexical Items

The following words are common in Australian English:

 

Bonzer: ‘terrific, excellent’

 

Cobber: An endearing term meaning ‘buddy, mate.’

 

Chook(ie): ‘chicken’

 

Cooee: Taken from Australian Aboriginal English, the word cooee is a call used to attract attention or give a warning from a distance. This became a noun in 1790 and a verb in 1824 in Australia.

 

Coolamon/kooliman: A cultural term used to describe a container for liquids.

 

Crook: ‘ill, injured, bad’

 

Dinkum: ‘genuine, authentic’

 

Larrikin: describes a mischievous or rowdy person

 

Tucker: ‘food’

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Hypocorism

Hypocorism is a common lexical process in Australian English.

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Hypocorism is the creation of a nickname through adding a suffix to the end of a word or name. This is common in Australia, especially with the suffixes of -ie and -o. These hypocorisms began with children in Britain, but they are now widely accepted in social situations by adults in Australia. 

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Examples of hypocorism in Australian English:

  • Brekkie: breakfast

  • Arvo: afternoon

  • Mozzie: mosquito

  • Prezzie: present

  • Aussie: Australian

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References

  1. Barbara M. Horvath, "Australian English: Phonology," in The Pacific and Australasia, ed. Bernd Kortmann, Edgar W. Schneider, and Kate Burridge (Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2008), 89–109, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110208412.1.89.

  2. Scott F. Kiesling, "English in Australia and New Zealand," in The Handbook of World Englishes, ed. Braj B. Kachru, Yamuna Kachru, and Cecil L. Nelson, 2nd ed. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2019), 109–128, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119147282.ch5.

  3. Felicity Cox and Sallyanne Palethorpe, “Australian English,” Journal of the International Phonetic Association 37, no. 3 (2007): 341–50, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025100307003192.

  4. Marianne Hundt, "Australian/New Zealand English," in Varieties of English, ed. Name(s) of Editor(s) (Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton), https://research-ebsco-com.byu.idm.oclc.org/linkprocessor/plink?id=340a667e-255a-374d-85e6-18d36518db8c.

  5.  Pam Peters and Peter Collins, "Colloquial Australian English," in The Mouton World Atlas of Variation in English, ed. Bernd Kortmann and Kerstin Lunkenheimer (Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 2013), 585–600, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110280128.585.

  6. Stephan Gramley, Vivian Gramley, and Kurt-Michael Pätzold, "English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa," in A Survey of Modern English, 3rd ed. (London: Routledge, 2020), 304–321, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429300356.

  7. Horvath, "Australian English: phonology.”

  8. Australia 23 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2010, September 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-23.

  9. Horvath, "Australian English: phonology.”

  10. Cox, “Australian English,” 341–50.

  11. Kiesling, "English in Australia and New Zealand.”

  12. Australia 23 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2010, September 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-23

  13. Hundt, “Australian/New Zealand English.”

  14. Australia 23 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2010, September 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-23

  15. Australia 21 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2008, July 4). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-21.

  16.  Kiesling, "English in Australia and New Zealand.”

  17. Australia 23 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2010, September 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-23

  18. Kiesling, "English in Australia and New Zealand.”

  19. Australia 16 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2002, October 28). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-16.

  20. Kiesling, "English in Australia and New Zealand.”

  21.  Australia 21 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2008, July 4). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-21.

  22. Kiesling, "English in Australia and New Zealand.”

  23. Australia 23 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2010, September 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-23

  24. Kiesling, "English in Australia and New Zealand.”

  25. Australia 21 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2008, July 4). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-21.

  26. Horvath, "Australian English: phonology.”

  27. Australia 23 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2010, September 15). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-23

  28. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  29. Australia 19 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2008, June 27). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-19.

  30. Horvath, "Australian English: phonology.”

  31. Australia 16 | IDEA: International Dialects of English Archive. (2002, October 28). https://www.dialectsarchive.com/australia-16.

  32.  Hundt, “Australian/New Zealand English.”

  33. Peters and Collins, “Colloquial Australian English.”

  34. Peters and Collins, “Colloquial Australian English.”

  35. Peters and Collins, “Colloquial Australian English.”

  36. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  37. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  38. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  39. Hundt, “Australian/New Zealand English.”

  40. Hundt, “Australian/New Zealand English.”

  41. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  42. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  43. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  44. Gramley, “English in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,” 297.

  45. Hundt, “Australian/New Zealand English.”

This page was created by the following students at Brigham Young University, in 2024:  Phoebe English, Rachel Hart, Jordyn Sanders, Elen Streickland, and McKenna Tolman
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