It is sometimes claimed that regional variations in pronunciation and accent of
Australian English exist, but if present at all they are very small compared to those of British, Irish and North American English – sufficiently so that linguists are divided on the question. Overall, pronunciation is determined less by region than by
social and educational influences.
Regional vocabulary
There is, however, some variation in Australian English vocabulary between different regions. An example often cited by linguists is the given by Australians to bland, processed
pork products – known in other countries as pork
luncheon meat or
baloney – is so great, that these words are used by linguists to ascertain not only which Australian state or territory a person is from, but also regional origin within states in some cases.
Regional variation does not respect
state borders, and this is shown, for example, by the fact that both Queenslanders and people from northern New South Wales say ''port'' (short for
portmanteau) while people in the other states say ''case'', ''school bag'', ''backpack'', ''rucksack'' and/or ''knapsack''. In the past variation was so strong that the residents of the NSW town of
Maitland would use the word port where
Newcastle, some 20 kilometres away, would prefer the latter term.
There is also great variety in the
names of beer glasses from one area to another. For example, a standard 285ml (10 fl.oz.) glass, in different states or regions, is known as a ''middy'' (NSW/WA/
ACT), ''pot'' (Vic/Qld/Tas), ''handle'' (NT/SA), ''ten'' (SA/Tas) or ''schooner'' (SA) and a ''ten ouncer'' (Tas). Such variation causes great confusion, especially since a schooner is a 425 ml (15 fl.oz.) glass in every state that uses the word except SA.
In NSW is known as ''swimmers'' or ''cossie'' and in Queensland it is ''togs''. In most other areas the term ''bathers'' is preferred.
Another example is the word ''tuckshop'' which is used in Queensland and NSW to describe a food outlet on school premises; the word ''canteen'' is now more common in other areas of Australia, although tuckshop may occasionally be used in those areas as well.
There are many regional variations for describing
social classes or
subcultures. One example is probably ''
bogan'' , which is also referred to as ''bevan'' in Queensland, ''westie'' in NSW, and ''booner'' in the ACT.
The differences are not restricted to words. For example, it is often said that people from some parts of
Queensland end sentences with the interrogative "''eh''?" (or "''hay?''", "''hey''"). This is also common in both
New Zealand English and
Canadian English. However, in Australian English, this form has also spread into some parts of New South Wales.
The steadily increasing centralisation of film, TV and radio production, however, may be spreading new words more rapidly and blurring such distinctions.
Sport variations
Many regional variations are as a result of the Australian passion for sport and the differences in non-linguistic traditions from one state to another: the word ''
football'' refers to the most popular code of football in different States or regions, or even ethnic groups within them.
Victorians start a game of
Australian rules football with a ''ball up'',
Western Australians with a ''bounce down'';
New South Welsh people and
Queenslanders start a game of
rugby league football or
rugby union football with a ''kick off'', as do
soccer players across Australia.
From 2004, the national governing body for
soccer (the
Football Federation Australia), has promoted use of "football" in place of "soccer". Several media outlets have adopted this use
[1][2], while others have stuck with "soccer"
[3][4][5][6][7]. However, use of
the word "football" to mean either
Australian football or
rugby league, depending on the major code of the state, is still more common in Australia. In all places, the specific name or nickname of the code ("soccer", "league", "union" or "Aussie rules") can often be heard used for disambiguation - vital when there are four competing major codes of football.
The slang word ''footy'' has been traditionally associated with either Australian rules football (Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania) or rugby league football (New South Wales, Queensland). A prominent examples in popular culture is
The Footy Show; also FootyTAB, a betting wing of the NSW
TAB. The use of "footy" in Australia parallels its use in other countries:
New Zealand usage to refer to
rugby union.
For many Australian rules followers, the verb ''barrack'' (or the accompanying noun form ''barracker''), is used to describe following a team or club. Barrack has its origins in British English, although in the UK it now usually means to jeer or denigrate an opposing team or players. The expression "root (or rooting) for a team", as used in the United States, is not generally used in Australia as ''root'' (or rooting) is slang for
sexual intercourse.
Specific Regional Dialects
South Australian English
'South Australian English' is the collective name given to the varieties of
English spoken in
South Australia. According to the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the
Macquarie Dictionary there are three localised varieties: ''
Adelaide English'', ''Eyre and Yorke Peninsula English'' and ''Northern South Australia English''.
It is sometimes claimed that South Australians have a distinct regional
accent. However there is no hard evidence for this. The more significant distinguishing feature of South Australian English is vocabulary which has been strongly influenced by early settlers to the state. Of particular interest here are the
German and
Cornish immigrants. South Australian dialects also preserve some British English usages which do not occur elsewhere in Australia.
Western Australian English
'Western Australian English', or 'West Australian English', is the collective name given to the variety or varieties of
English spoken in
Western Australia. According to the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the
Macquarie Dictionary there are three localised, regional varieties of English in WA: ''
Perth English''; ''Central West Australian English'' and ''Northern West Australian English''.
While there is no well-known "West Australian accent", some linguists have suggested that Western Australians tend to pronounce words such as beer with two syllables (), in cases where other Australians use one syllable.
It is in vocabulary where Western Australian English is most distinct from other regional varieties. Some common British usages, which are rare in other parts of Australia, have survived. Some
US terms have found a niche in WA. Many words from Aboriginal languages have found their way into West Australian English. There are also many unique, invented
slang words.
Tasmano-Victorian English
Most notable in the pronunciation of words such as graph, chance, castle, and branch where the pronunciation is the older /æ/ form rather than the longer /aː/ sound. In Tasmania, "cobber" (an old Australian word for friend) is still widely used whereas it is gradually dying out in other parts of Australia.
See also
★
Australian English
★
Australian words
★
Australian English phonology
★
Varieties of Australian English
References
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