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you're probably more correct than me in that case *smiles* I just thought it was different - but again that could be to do with broadness of accent etc? and as I said, in Aus you certainly don't have the variety of accents that we do in Britain. I didn't notice the word beer being markedly different but I did like the way my friends in Perth would say "tour" sort of like "too-a" sorry, its difficult to replicate.
I've noticed a bit of a divergence occurring amongst young people from Melbourne where there is a bit of a vowel merger of 'a' and 'e' which is quite noticeable. For instance the words salary and celery have become homophones.
And yes one of the few discernible differences in the way Perth people talk is in the way we say beer which sounds more like 'bee-yah' whereas in other states it sounds more like a cross of 'bee' and 'bear'.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Originally Posted by clovervale
you're probably more correct than me in that case *smiles* I just thought it was different - but again that could be to do with broadness of accent etc? and as I said, in Aus you certainly don't have the variety of accents that we do in Britain. I didn't notice the word beer being markedly different but I did like the way my friends in Perth would say "tour" sort of like "too-a" sorry, its difficult to replicate.
I know what you mean...
To me the easiest way to spot someone from QLD or WA tends to be how they say the 'a' vowel in 'stand.' It almost sounds American, kind of like 'stairnd.'
Also notice how some of them say 'here.' It sounds more like 'he' while here it's more like 'hee-yah.'
Of course there's the plahnt/plaent thing. This is most common in SA, and least common in Victoria and Queensland.
this is so interesting! I really like the aussie accent (more than the american ones) and I love the slang and different words you have for things. I did laugh once though when someone mentioned my "thongs" I had to point out that in Britain thongs are completely different to what they are in Australia *smiles* The only time I had trouble was when a friends brother said something to me. I understood the "Hi, how you going" bit, then he said something really fast. I just smiled and said, "sorry?" he repeated it, and I just said yes, hoping it'd be the correct answer. Apparently he'd asked me if I was enjoying my time in Australia! my friend said that he was a bit cheeky though, and did put on a stronger accent when British people were there!
There's really not much regional variation in accent, it's very slight. It's not enough to be able to tell where someone is from how they sound. Over all the accent is quite uniform across the country.
The Australian accent differs significantly on social circles though. There's the general accent, which most people have. The broad accent, made famous by people like Steve Irwin and Paul Hogan, usually associated with labourers and sports fans. And the cultivated accent, which is an upper class educated accent, Cate Blanchette is a good example. And it's the most similar to British.
Here are some examples.
General accent, these two well known YouTubers.
Broad accent, ex-Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
Cultivated accent, Cate Blanchette. And note the contrast with the broad accented Australian interviewer from News Limited at 2:45.
Another example of a cultivated accent, Bronwyn Bishop, member of Parliament, being interviewed by a general accented young female journalist.
Sydneysiders tend to have a stronger accent than Melburnians (maybe listen to how Kerry Packer used to speak). The cultivated Sydney accent tends to almost sound slightly rural, whereas the Melburnian is more like what Mornb posted.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Originally Posted by BCC_1
Sydneysiders tend to have a stronger accent than Melburnians (maybe listen to how Kerry Packer used to speak). The cultivated Sydney accent tends to almost sound slightly rural, whereas the Melburnian is more like what Mornb posted.
Listen to Margaret Pomeranz, co-host of 'At the Movies' for an example of a cultivated Sydney accent. It's still Australian, but quite posh. Sydney can definitely as cultivated as Melbourne, although these days the difference isn't so great. Even in the 70s you had elocution at private schools, and very rich people often sounded British. Now they at least sound Australian, thank God.
Still, the accents of some young people are a bit of a worry. Some are barely recogniseable as dinky-di Aussie. This is especially prevalent in parts of Sydney and Melbourne.
Listen to Margaret Pomeranz, co-host of 'At the Movies' for an example of a cultivated Sydney accent. It's still Australian, but quite posh. Sydney can definitely as cultivated as Melbourne, although these days the difference isn't so great. Even in the 70s you had elocution at private schools, and very rich people often sounded British. Now they at least sound Australian, thank God.
She sounds normal to me. Maybe I need to get out of the bubble more often!
I had elocution back when I was 7, although you wouldn't know it to speak to me now. Apparently when I used to say "open the gaaate" to the driveway at my grandparents house my grandmother worried that I was sounding far too uneducated.
She was in a class of her own though. Her and my grandfather were flying first class on British Airways and because they were such frequent travelers BA offered to upgrade them to the Concorde (which despite it's cost ~$30k round trip was known for it's fairly cramped seating), my grandmother apparently smiled at the lounge attendant and said "Darling, I don't care how fast it flies, I won't be sitting in economy".
Listen to Margaret Pomeranz, co-host of 'At the Movies' for an example of a cultivated Sydney accent. It's still Australian, but quite posh. Sydney can definitely as cultivated as Melbourne, although these days the difference isn't so great. Even in the 70s you had elocution at private schools, and very rich people often sounded British. Now they at least sound Australian, thank God.
Cultivated Australian sounds more like British, but is still quite distinctly Australian. I think it's quite an attractive accent and it's a shame private schools no longer teach it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCC_1
Sydneysiders tend to have a stronger accent than Melburnians (maybe listen to how Kerry Packer used to speak). The cultivated Sydney accent tends to almost sound slightly rural, whereas the Melburnian is more like what Mornb posted.
Well, both of those examples are Sydneysiders! Cate Blanchette lives in Hunters Hill, and Bronwyn Bishop is MP for Mackellar, which is the electorate for the northern beaches, Palm Beach etc.
Well, both of those examples are Sydneysiders! Cate Blanchette lives in Hunters Hill, and Bronwyn Bishop is MP for Mackellar, which is the electorate for the northern beaches, Palm Beach etc.
Cate was born and raised in Melbourne. Then again, I don't see much difference in how she speaks as compared to Hugh Jackman who would be considered as having a general accent. Cultivated Australian English is closer to how Malcolm Fraser or Alexander Downer sounds. They could easily be mistaken as being from Britain, even by an Australian. I guess the US equivalent would be mid-Atlantic, eg Kelsey Grammar.
I think Bronwyn is from the upper North Shore, around Killara, you don't get those accents on the Northern Beaches.
I'm fairly certain that the rising intonation at the end of a sentence is more a Victorian thing too. Bloody annoying.
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