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As a non-Aussie living in Oz and also very familiar with the English accents, I can say some Aussie accents can at times sound a little British, as in, on the odd occasion I have watched a UK TV show and through instantly "Is he an Aussie, sounds a bit like one?" only to find out they're English, but overall they don't in general and deffo not 'cockney-ish' IMO, that's a whole 'language' to itself!
Great topic! I have to agree with most posters...I love a good British Accent - especially some of my favorite actors - Patrick Stewart could be reading VCR instructions and I'd be mesmorized! Just something about that good Queen's English!
The other is a West Indian accent - love the sing song way that they pronounce words!
Strange. I don't think Australian and Brits sound alike at all. I can always tell the difference between their accents.
There are 3 kinds of Australian accents, one is "Queen's English", one is something like "General Australian," and there's "Ocker"
Ocker is very strong sounding, as it was invented to sound uniquely Australian by very patroitic Australians. It has some strong-sounding vowels and drawls. It's kind of like an Austalian version of a "redneck."
Queen's English is just that.
Deliberately un-Australian sounding, by people born there, even Australian by several generations, who still think of England as "home."
Common Australian is somewhere in between the two extremes, though to my ears, it sounds like a mild-variation on "Queen's English." (Obviously, the Croc Hunter or Crocodile Dundee didn't sound like that) I've met people with this accent and it took a few minutes for me to tell that they sounded Australian, instead of British.
I asked Australians if there were different accents in different parts of the country. The best answer; not really. All of those accents can be heard in any part of Australia, as attitude and/or family uprbringing has the most (or only) influence on one's dialect.
I asked Australians if there were different accents in different parts of the country. The best answer; not really. All of those accents can be heard in any part of Australia, as attitude and/or family uprbringing has the most (or only) influence on one's dialect.
From my experience of living here, the 'General Aussie' accent get's stronger as you go up towards Queensland and is softer in places like Melbourne. My husband grew up partly in Brisbane and when we visit his mates there I always notice a stronger accent in them. Sydney I have found has more 'posh' Aussie accents with a slightly stronger English twang to them (But I secretly think they all just put that on to appear more 'significant' to the rest of the country )
There are 3 kinds of Australian accents, one is "Queen's English", one is something like "General Australian," and there's "Ocker"
Ocker is very strong sounding, as it was invented to sound uniquely Australian by very patroitic Australians. It has some strong-sounding vowels and drawls. It's kind of like an Austalian version of a "redneck."
Queen's English is just that.
Deliberately un-Australian sounding, by people born there, even Australian by several generations, who still think of England as "home."
Common Australian is somewhere in between the two extremes, though to my ears, it sounds like a mild-variation on "Queen's English." (Obviously, the Croc Hunter or Crocodile Dundee didn't sound like that) I've met people with this accent and it took a few minutes for me to tell that they sounded Australian, instead of British.
I asked Australians if there were different accents in different parts of the country. The best answer; not really. All of those accents can be heard in any part of Australia, as attitude and/or family uprbringing has the most (or only) influence on one's dialect.
Hey I could have grabbed any of these last few Australian post, but is anyone here familiar with the history of Australia? Okay, then If so I shouldn't have to explain why in my opinion they sound like cockney british people.
Okay, this paragraph although not on point with the topic is dedicated to those that are unfamiliar with Australias history and why people speak british english in the colony. Well, here is the short story of how Australia became, well, Australia. The brits used to house prisoners on boats most of those prisoners were cockney in speech. Why? Well, typically cockney brits represented the lower classes of british society and they were like most down trodden individuals more prone to petty crime etc. Anyway, Australia was a penial colony created to house these prisoners etc.(People thought it was cruel and unusual to house prisoners on floating ships etc)
I'm sure most knew this, but hence the reason they sound the way they do. They are just the descendents of british theives, murderers, and petty criminals. Next time you have the chance to travel i'd ask you to visit a small shire outside of one of the main cities that is filled with cockeny speaking brits and then visit Australia you'll notice the similarities in speech. It is reallly the chicken and the egg. They had british accents and speech patterns long before they were considerd Australian. The colony is less than 150 years old.
There are 3 kinds of Australian accents, one is "Queen's English", one is something like "General Australian," and there's "Ocker"
Ocker is very strong sounding, as it was invented to sound uniquely Australian by very patroitic Australians. It has some strong-sounding vowels and drawls. It's kind of like an Austalian version of a "redneck."
Queen's English is just that.
Deliberately un-Australian sounding, by people born there, even Australian by several generations, who still think of England as "home."
Common Australian is somewhere in between the two extremes, though to my ears, it sounds like a mild-variation on "Queen's English." (Obviously, the Croc Hunter or Crocodile Dundee didn't sound like that) I've met people with this accent and it took a few minutes for me to tell that they sounded Australian, instead of British.
I asked Australians if there were different accents in different parts of the country. The best answer; not really. All of those accents can be heard in any part of Australia, as attitude and/or family uprbringing has the most (or only) influence on one's dialect.
I think you might be missing a few. There is an Adelaide accent, which is one of my favorite Aussie accents. Aussies seem to not like it though. I've heard them make fun of the Adelaide accent before.
I think you might be missing a few. There is an Adelaide accent, which is one of my favorite Aussie accents. Aussies seem to not like it though. I've heard them make fun of the Adelaide accent before.
Well that's what one girl from Sydney told me. Plus I learned about the 3 kinds of speech off the internet.
I like Southern accents, but after more than three days of vacation in a Southern place...
There are many British accents- I only like the type of accent that Victoria Beckham has, not too strong or accentuated but pleasant to the ears.
The Australian, British Cockney & NYC/ Boston accents can seem harsh to the ears sometimes. The accent that is least pleasant to me is the English accent of Singapore.
I think my favorite accent is just the general accent spoken in places such as the Pacific NW or Mountain states. Perhaps it's just what I'm completely used to, but you've got to think of accents as in, will you like a given accent if you heard it day after day?
Accents are so interesting & phenomenal- subtleties differentiate geography, cultural background & often even class (especially in the UK). Cross over a state line & the accent changes...even within states there's multiple different accents. Cross 5 minutes into BC, Canada from WA & the accent changes...Cross from Central/ South Florida to North Florida & the 'drawl' begins...accents are amazing!
Mine. That would be 95% North Texan and (somehow) 5% New Yorker. I guess the New Yorker part comes from watching too much Bugs Bunny, Timon & Pumba, and anime....
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That would be 95% North Texan and (somehow) 5% New Yorker. I guess the New Yorker part comes from watching too much Bugs Bunny, Timon & Pumba, and anime....
