Australian English began to
diverge from British English soon after the foundation of the Colony of New South Wales (NSW) in 1788. The settlement was intended mainly as a penal colony. The British convicts sent to Australia
were mostly people from large English cities, such as Cockneys from London
In 1827, Peter Cunningham, in his book Two Years in New South Wales, reported that
native-born white Australians spoke with a distinctive accent and vocabulary,
albeit with a strong Cockney influence. (The transportation of convicts to
Australian colonies continued until 1868.) A much larger wave of immigration,
as a result of the first Australian gold rushes, in the 1850s, also had a
significant influence on Australian English, including large numbers of people
who spoke English as a second language. Since that time, Australian English has
borrowed increasingly from external sources.
The so-called "Americanisation"
of Australian English — signified by the borrowing of words, terms, and usages
from North American English — began during the
goldrushes, and was accelerated by a massive influx of United States military personnel during World War II. The large-scale importation of television programs and other mass media content from the US, from the 1950s onwards, has
also had a significant effect. As a result, Australians use many British and
American words interchangeably, such as pants/trousers or lift/elevator.
Due to their shared history and
geographical proximity, Australian English is most similar to New Zealand English. However, the difference between
the two spoken versions is obvious to people from either country, if not to a
casual observer from a third country. The vocabulary used also exhibits some
striking differences.
Spelling
The exposure to the different
spellings of British and American English leads to a certain amount of spelling
variation such as organise/organize. British spelling is generally
preferred, although some words are usually written in the American form, such
as program and jail rather than programme and gaol
(although commonly one could be ‘jailed’ in a ‘gaol’). Publishers, schools,
universities and governments typically use the Macquarie Dictionary as a standard spelling
reference. Both -ise and -ize are accepted, as in British English, but ‘-ise’
is the preferred form in Australian English by a ratio of about 3:1 according
to the Macquarie’s Australian Corpus of English.
There is a widely-held belief in Australia that
"American spellings"are a modern intrusion, but the debate over
spelling is much older and has little to do with the influence of North
American English. For example, a pamphlet entitled The So Called
"American Spelling.", published in Sydney some time before 1900, argued that
"there is no valid etymological reason for the preservation of the u in
such words as honor, labor, etc." The pamphlet noted, correctly, 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".
Some Melbourne
newspapers once excised the "u", but do not anymore, and the Australian Labor Party retains the
"-or" ending it officially adopted in 1912.
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" /hæɪtʃ/, which can sometimes be heard amongst
speakers of "Broad Australian English", rather than the unaspirated
"aitch" /æɪtʃ/ found in New
Zealand, as well as most of Britain
and North America. This is thought to be the
influence of Irish Catholic priests and nuns. Others include the
non-standard plural of "you" as "youse" /jʉːz/, which is commonly used by those who are
considered uneducated and often used deliberately because it is a ‘common’ way
to speak, and the expression "good on you" or "good
onya", although the former is common throughout North America and the
latter is also encountered in New Zealand English and British English. Another
usage indicative of an Irish influence is use of the word ‘me’ replacing ‘my’.
Example: Where’s me hat?
Samples of Australian English
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
provides many streams of their radio programs.
Non-Australians can also gain an
impression of Australian English from well-known actors and other native
speakers. The normal speaking voices of Cate Blanchett, Russel Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Heath Ledger are examples of General Australian accents, unless they are
acting in roles as non-Australians. Several Australian actors provided voices for Finding Nemo: Nigel the pelican, the three sharks, the sewage-eating crab and
the dentist have broad Australian accents.
Television star Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin also has such
an over-the-top accent and as a result his voice is often parodied inside Australia as
well as out. John O’Grady’s novel They’re a Weird Mob has many good examples of pseudo-phonetically written Australian speech during the 1950s, such as "owyergoinmateorright?"
("how’re you going mate, alright?") and Thomas Keneally’s novels, particularly The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith,
of putatively 19th century Australianisms such as "yair"
for "yes" and "noth-think" for "nothing". In the
two novels by Phillip Gwynne, Nukkin Ya and Deadly Unna, the author utilizes Australianisms
that have become familiar the world over, particularly ‘Gidday (or G’day)
mate’, ‘bloody’, ‘bloke’ and ’sheila’.
Vocabulary
The origins of Australian words
Australian English incorporates
many terms that Australians consider to be unique to their country. One of the
best-known of these is outback which means a remote, sparsely-populated
area. The similar bush can mean either native forests, or country areas
in general. However, both terms are historically widely used in many English -speaking countries. Many such
words, phrases or usages originated with the British convicts transported 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: a creek in Australia, as in
North America, is any stream or small river, whereas in England it is a small
watercourse flowing into the sea; paddock is the Australian word for a
field, while in England it is a small enclosure for livestock and; wooded areas
in Australia are known as bush or scrub, as in North America,
while 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 (eg. Cockney; Geordie) also both use the word mate to mean a close
friend of the same gender and increasingly with platonic friend of the opposite
sex (rather than the conventional meaning of "a spouse"),
although this usage has also become common in some other varieties of English.
The origins of other terms 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!", and other meanings, 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". However, scholars give greater credence to the
notion that it originated with a now-extinct dialect word from the East Midlands in England,
where dinkum (or dincum) meant "hard work" or "fair work",
which was also the original meaning in Australian English.
The derivation dinky-di means a ‘true’ or devoted Australian.
Similarly, g’day, a
stereotypical Australian greeting, is no longer synonymous with "good
day" in other varieties of English and is never used as an expression for
"farewell", as "good day" is in other countries.
Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been
incorporated into Australian English, mainly as names for places, flora and
fauna (for example dingo,
kangaroo).
Beyond that, few terms have been adopted into the wider language, except for
some localised terms, or slang. Some examples are cooee and Hard
yakka. The former is a high-pitched call which travels long distances and is used to attract attention. Cooee
has also become 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 the Brisbane
region comes the word bung meaning broken. A failed piece of equipment
might be described as having bunged up or referred to as "on the
bung" or "gone bung". Bung is also used to describe an
individual who is pretending to be hurt; such individual is said to be
"bunging it on".
Though often thought of as an
Aboriginal word, didgeridoo (a well known wooden musical instrument) is
probably an onomatopaoeic word of Western invention. It has also
been suggested that it may have an Irish
derivation.
Varieties of Australian English
Most linguists consider there to
be three main varieties of Australian English. These are Broad, General and
Cultivated Australian English. These three main varieties are actually part of
a continuum and are based on variations in accent. They often, but not always,
reflect the social class and/or educational background of the speaker.
Broad Australian English is the archetypal
and most recognisable variety. It is familiar to English speakers around the
world because of its use in identifying Australian characters in non-Australian
films and television programs.
General Australian English is the
stereotypical
variety of Australian English. It is the variety of English used by the
majority of Australians and it dominates the accents found in contemporary
Australian-made films and television programs.
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.
It is sometimes claimed that
there are regional variations in pronunciation and accent. If present at all,
however, they are very small compared to those of British and American English
– so much so that linguists are divided on the question. Overall, pronunciation
is determined less by region than by social, cultural and educational
influences, as well as by a general difference between urban and rural voices
that can be heard throughout Australia.
There is, however, some variation
in Australian English Vocabulary between different
regions. Of particular interest in this respect are sporting terms and terms
for food, clothing and beer glasses.
Phonology
Australian English is a non-rhotic variety. It is unique in
its remarkable homogeneity over a vast area. Unlike most varieties of English,
it has a phonemic length distinction. It has a reasonably standard
consonant inventory.
Use of words by Australians
Perception has it that a common
trait is the frequent use of long-winded similes, such as
"flat out like a lizard drinking".
Many Australians believe
themselves to be direct in manner, and this is typified by statements such as
"why call a spade a spade, when you can call it a bloody shovel".
Such sentiments can lead to misunderstandings and offence being caused to
people from cultures where an emphasis is placed on avoiding conflict, such as
people from East Asia.
Spoken Australian English is
generally more tolerant of offensive and/or abusive language than other
variants. A famous exponent was the former Prime Minister Paul keating, who referred in Parliament to various political opponents
as a "mangy maggot", a "stupid foul-mouthed grub", and so
on. He drew ire from then Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohammed for calling him a "recalcitrant" . This tradition was
continued by former Labor MP Mark Latham who, in 2002, unapologetically described a visit by Prime Minister John Howard
to George W. Bush as "an arse-licking effort". On another occasion he
referred to the Prime Minister and Cabinet as a
"conga-line of suckholes".
It must be noted that due to
increased travel between the countries and the popularity of Australian TV
programs (such as Neighbours and Home & Away) in the
UK and Ireland there has been a recent
increase in Australian English usage. One example is the word ‘uni’ which is
extremely common amongst young adults in the UK and Ireland
to refer to university. Despite its widespread use today the word was rarely
used before the late 1980s. As a result other vocabulary which is now widely
understood (and slowly becoming more popular in usage) include
"beaut" for beautiful and "arvo" for afternoon.
Humour
An important aspect of Australian
English usage, inherited in large part from Britain
and Ireland,is the use of deadpan humour, in which a person humour outrageous indicating will make
extravagant, and/or ridiculous statements in a neutral tone,and
without explicitly they are joking. Tourists seen to be gullible
and/or lacking a sense of may be subjected to tales of kangaroos hopping
across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and similar tall tales.
Diminutives
Australian English makes far more
frequent use of diminutives than do other varieties of English. They can
be formed in a number of ways, such as by adding -o or -ie to the
ends of abbreviated words. They can be used to indicate familiarity, although
in many speech communities the diminutive form is more
common than the original word or phrase.
Examples of -o endings include arvo
(afternoon), demo (demonstration), devo (deviant), docco
(documentary), muso (musician), servo (service station, known in
other countries as a "petrol station" or "gas station"), bottle-o
(bottle-shop or liquor store), derro (derelict), dunno (don’t
know), fazzo (fabulous), gyppo (an Egyptian), limmo
(limosine), possie (position), porno (pornography), promo
(promotion), rego (still pronounced with a /ʤ/) (annual motor vehicle registration), traino (train station), compo
(compensation), lebo (Lebanese, considered offensive), lezzo
(lesbian), secco (a sex pervert), sicko (literally ‘mentally sick’
but reserved for extreme cases such as psychopathic or gratuitous killers,
pedophiles and the like), smoko (cigarette break), speedo
(speedometer), stinko (stinking drunk), susso (sustenance
payment, ie. dole), unco (uncoordinated), whacko (wonderful), zippo
(nothing, zero, zip) or ambo (ambulance officer). The same applies to
names: Jono (John), Freo (Fremantle), Jacko (Michael Jackson), and The Salvos (The salvation Army).
Examples of -ie or -y endings
include Aussie (Australian), barbie (barbecue), biggie (a
big issue), bikkie (biscuit; or money if plural), bikie (member
of a motorcycle club), bodgie (inferior), brekkie (breakfast), blowie
(blowfly or occasionally meaning oral sex), brickie (brick layer), Chrissie
(Christmas), cissie (a circumcision), clittie (clitoris), cozzie
(costume, particulary swimming costume), dunny (toilet), fastie
(a fast cunning act), flatties (shoes with low heels), footy
(Australian rules football), foreignie (foreign; as in doing unofficial
or foreign jobs in the office), greenie (a conservationist), gremmie
(a surf boarder with objectionable behaviour), hollies (holidays), Hughie
(the weather god), lippie (lipstick), maggie (magpie), mozzie
(mosquito), pollie (politician), rellie (relative), rollie
(hand-rolled cigarette), sickie (sick leave; feigned or genuine), spekkie
(special), surfie (a surf boarder), sweetie (sweetheart), premmie
(premature baby), pressie (present), swiftie (a swift confidence
trick), two-ie (two against one; ie. to gang up on; Qld only), U-ie
(U-turn), vegies (vegetables), wedgie (when your trousers get
caught in your bum crack), widgie (a woman who dresses in a 1950s
American style), willie (penis), woollies (woollen clothing), wrinklie
(anyone older than your parents). The city of Brisbane is
often called Brissie (pronounced with a /z/) and Tasmania is
often called Tassie. Chippie (carpenter), postie
(postman), sparkie (electrician), tekkie (technician), truckie
(truck driver), yachtie (yachtsman) also conform to this pattern.
Occasionally, a -za
diminutive is used, usually for personal names where the first of multiple
syllables ends in an "r": Bazza (Barry), Dezza (Derek),
Kazza (Karen), Jezza (Jeremy). Also common is the -z
diminutive form (also found in British English) whereby Barry becomes Baz,
and so forth. Although this is increasingly uncommon.
Other diminutive forms include:
- last one or two syllables, prefaced with a definite article : for example, The Gabba
for the Brisbane Cricket ground at Woolloongabba; The Gong for Wollongong.
- first syllable plus "-s": turps turpentine (usually referring to drinking alcohol, e.g. "a night on the turps") or Ian Turpie; Gabs, pet form of Gabrielle.
Rarely-used phrases
Because of common stereotypes,
over-use and Hollywoods
caricaturised ‘overexaggerations, of some phrases attributed to Australians,
some of these have dropped out of common conversation (at least in most urban
areas). Words being used less often are cobber, digger, strewth
and crikey, and archetypal phrases like Flat out like a lizard
drinking are rarely heard without a sense of irony.
Other terms were never used in
the first place. The much-quoted line "Throw another shrimp on the barbie"
was a phrase that has never been used by Australians, but was a concoction of
the Australian Tourist Commission for a US
advertisement for tourism to Australia.
"Shrimp"
is an American English term — they are called prawns in Australia.
References
- Harrington, J., F. Cox, and
Z. Evans (1997). "An acoustic phonetic study of broad, general, and
cultivated Australian English vowels". Australian Journal of Linguistics 17: 155–84.
- Mitchell, Alexander G., 1995, The Story of
Australian English, Sydney: Dictionary Research Center.
- Peters, Pam. (1986) "Spelling
principles", In: Peters, Pam, ed., Style in Australia:Current Practices in Spelling,Punctuation,Hyphenation , Capitalization, etc.
- The So Called "American Spelling." Its Consistency Examined. pre-1900 pamphlet, Sydney, E. J. Forbes.
In this month of December 2K7 I will be graduating for Postgraduate Degree and I will be qualified for a new degree, a Master of Education from Monash University Australia. 
Time flies so fast … and soon I will be back to my Beloved Country… I dream someday my Country will be like the Country where I am (was) living at the moment, not necessarily identical but at least I attempt to change it through giving better education to make Indonesian people conscious of their roles in modern society, and I believe through Education those objectives can be fruitful…..and after all, …I’m a dreamer……..but I’m not the only one….
eh nggak seh, ngene loh: Ckekekekkkkkk……ckkekkkkkk……..kkk..kkkkkk.kkkkk ….Grrkrrr….. Grrreeeenngnngnggggg!!……. Alhamdulillah…montore orip. Wong Pilipin iku ngomong suwon-suwon nang aku karo arek-arek, Thank you…thank you….. Muchas Gracias! Merci, Arigato, Xie xie, Kamsiyah, Dank Je, Grazie, Matur Nuwun…lho kok???? Kikikikkkkkkk 
