Australian Variant

1
Australian Variant

• Of English

2
Socio-historical linguistic context

• convicts sent there Cockneys, Irish, non-English
  speaking Welsh and Scots.
• Cockney the dominant dialect
• Americanization gold rushes (1850s), American
  military personnel in World War II

3
Influence of Aboriginal languages

• Almost 440 words
• names for places, flora and fauna (for example
  dingo, coala, wallaby, billabong )
• Cooee (/k??.i/) - high-pitched call, for
  attracting attention also a notional distance
  if he's within cooee, we'll spot him.

4

• Hard yakka (hard work) is derived from yakka,
  from the Yagara language spoken in the Brisbane
  region.
• Bung - broken or pretending to be hurt.
• Although didgeridoo, a wooden musical instrument,
  thought to be an Aboriginal word, is now believed
  to be an onomatopoeic word invented by English
  speakers. It may also have an Irish derivation
  because the word dúdaire means "pipe player" in
  Irish Gaelic, and dúdaire dubh dud?r?? du
  means 'black pipe player'

5
British vs. American

• TV vs. telly
• SMS vs. text
• freeway vs. motorway
• regional, social and ethnic variation within
  Australia typically defines word usage.

6
The Influence from Irish English

• word 'Ta' for Thank You
• the name of the letter "H" as "haitch" /hæ?t?/
• bum backside (Irish bun), tucker - food,
  provisions (Irish tacar)
• paddock field, cf. Irish páirc Australian
  paddock

7
Variation of Australian English
8
Broad Australian English

• Its used to identify Australian characters in
  non-Australian films and television programs
• Terms Ocker (a speaker), Strine, (the dialect)
• Examples are television/film personalities Steve
  Irwin and Paul Hogan.

9
General Australian accent

• predominates among modern Australian films and
  television programs
• is used by the Wiggles, Dannii Minogue, Kylie
  Minogue, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett.

10
Cultivated Australian English

• has many similarities to RP, and is often
  mistaken for it
• spoken by some within Australian society, for
  example Judy Davis and Geoffrey Rush.

11
Regional differences

• In Tasmania, words such as "dance" and "grant"
  are usually heard with the older pronunciation of
  these words, using /æ/, whereas in South
  Australia, /a/ is more common
• fritz in South Australia devon in New South
  Wales Belgium sausage in Tasmania Empire
  sausage in Newcastle polony in West Australia
  Windsor sausage in Queensland German sausage or
  Strasburg in Victoria

12

• Kindergarten in New South Wales prep class in
  Victoria and Tasmania reception class in South
  Australia

13
Australian Vowels

• The short vowels, (only monophthongs) mostly
  correspond to the lax vowels used in analyses of
  RP
• The long vowels (both monophthongs and
  diphthongs) mostly correspond to its tense vowels
  and centring diphthongs.
• a phonemic length distinction certain vowels
  differ only by length.

14

• /ai/ instead of /ei/ mate /mait/
• /a/ in closed syllable /?//b?t/, /fl?t/
  instead of /bæt/, /flæt/ (common with New Zeland
  English)

15
Australian Consonants

• are similar to those of other non-rhotic
  varieties of English
• a flapped variant of /t/ and /d/ in similar
  environments, as in American English
• /dj/, /sj/ and /tj/ into /d?/, /?/ and /t?/, such
  as /t???n/ for tune

16
Vocabulary

• The Bush (either a native forest or a country
  area in general). Dutch origin 'Bosch'
• creek - a stream or small river, (in the UK - a
  small watercourse flowing into the sea)
• Australian English and several British English
  dialects (for example, Cockney, Scouse,
  Glaswegian and Geordie) use the word mate

17

• Dinkum (or "fair dinkum") can mean "true", "is
  that true?" or "this is the truth!
• derived from the Cantonese (or Hokkien) ding kam,
  meaning, "top gold?
• originated from the extinct East Midlands dialect
  in England, where dinkum (or dincum) meant "hard
  work" or "fair work?
• The derivative dinky-di means 'true' or devoted
  a 'dinky-di Aussie' is a 'true Australian'.

18
Spelling

• is usually the same as British spelling, with
  only a few exceptions.
• program is more common than programme
• jail is prevalent, gaol is generally still used
  in official contexts
• -our/ or controversies elder or modern spelling
  of words such as labour, flavour etc.

19
Colloquialisms

• Diminutives arvo (afternoon), barbie (barbecue),
  footy (Australian rules football, rugby union
  football or rugby league football), doco
  (documentation), smoko (smoke break).
• Litotes, such as "you're not wrong"
• idiomatic phrases and words (have almost
  disappeared from everyday use)cobber, strewth,
  you beaut and crikey. Prawn is used rather than
  shrimp.

20
Regionalisms of XVIII and XIX from

• sheila (Irish origin) a woman,
• Bloke a man
• Seppo an American (Yanks -gt Septic tanks -gt
  Seppos
• pommy, pommie or pom a British (pommergranate)
• dust-up a fight, tootsy (? foot)
• billy (? bally) (Scottish)
• Larrikin hooligan (Yorksire)
• to stonker (? to stonk) (Central countries of
  England)
• clobber (? clubbered up ?????????) (Kent)
• Cockney rhymed slang
• china plate -gt good mate
• have a captain Cook -gthave a look
• Noah's ark -gt Shark

21

• past the black stump - being the last outpost
  of civilization
• shark biscuits - beginners at surfing
• Wouldn't shout if a shark bit her - a scrooge
  person (shout also means to treat sb to the
  alcohol)
• boomerang - sth that should be returned
• bush telegraph (moccasin radio/telegraph in
  Canada) ?????????? ?????
• station  AustrE ????????????????,
  ????????????? ?????
• to tie up  AustrE ??????????? ???????? ?
  ??????.

22
Recent borrowings

• hoon hooligan
• spunky sexy
• a dag ?????????????, ???????? ??????? ?????????
  ?????? ???????
• a rort, to rort ?????? ????????? ??????????,
  ???????????
• shonky ??????????, ?????, ??????????
• the Pacific peso

23
Pseudo-phonetic spelling

• "owyergoinmateorright? ("How are you going,
  mate? All right?")
• "yair" for "yes, "noth-think" for "nothing".
• The book "Let Stalk Strine" by Afferbeck Lauder
  where "Strine" is "Australian" and "Afferbeck
  Lauder" is "alphabetical order
• Knife a samich? Can I have a sandwich?
• - Ill gechawun inn a sec Ill get you one in a
  sec.
• - Emma chisit? How much is it?
•  - Attlebee aitninee Thatll be eight ninety.