How many Australian accents are there really? | ABC Australia

You know it when you hear it, right? The Aussie accent.
If you know Australians or you are Australian, you've heard the voice.
But you're not crazy if you think there are differences in the way Australians speak around the country and between generations.
Does the word "here" have one syllable or two? Does "France" rhyme with "pants" or "aunts"?
Angus Mackintosh digs deeper to explore the sounds of Australian voices.
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[@smurfette_blues7922]

I cant find any videos about the difference in accents between states in Australia. Finally a video that doesnt just talk about the 'cultivated' and 'general' accent.

[@girabbit]

Three types: broad, general and cultivated. But I believe that research was from the 50s or 60s so unlikely to be accurate anymore!

[@adamsidebottom5023]

Yes!

[@Beensash]

Yes there were always differences and in the past those differences were much greater

[@jacobpaint]

@@girabbitThey still divide the accents into similar categories if you search KZbin for Australian accent videos. The differences spoken about in this video are often more subtle and as he said, linguists don’t consider these smaller differences as unique accents but rather differences within those core categories. The Australian accent was still relatively new in the 50’s and 60’s because schools still taught the queens English in the early 20C. Maybe if the TV and telephone hadn’t become ubiquitous soon after then we might have developed more distinct regional accents. I think there is room for a more in depth doco about this that tries to categorise Australian accents into more useful groups. There are some comedians who are good at imitating the various subtle variations in Australian accent, they would be great to interview for such a doco.

[@Bismvth]

"We don't wanna sound like a wanker" WOW what an efficient way of conveying that sentence

[@Puddy_Muddle]

A bloody great way, sums it up quite well😂

[@manbearpig9368]

I didn’t know I’ve been a wanker. I always say the a in Dance like in Can’t

[@Peleski]

@@Puddy_Muddle it's rude and judgemental. I know people who speak that way and for them it's just normal.

[@johnbullen7836]

its so true too

[@alittlebitoflight]

@@manbearpig9368 be proud of it. Hillbilly Aussie bogans be damned 😄

[@fromchomleystreet]

The most noticeable and distinctive element of South Australian accents (or at least the Adelaide accents with which I’m familiar) is that all classes seem to use the long “a” in words like “dance”, “chance” etc. This means that, while everywhere else in the country “plant” rhymes with “ant”, for everyone but perhaps a few super-posh people affecting quasi-English accents, in Adelaide it rhymes with “aunt”, “can’t” and “shan’t”

[@KanyeKetchup]

That's normal

[@KanyeKetchup]

That's normal

[@creamtoned]

@@KanyeKetchup what?

[@StarlitWitchy]

that's normal

[@suzanneedmonds1566]

As a South Australian I agree with you. I spent 12 years in Melbourne where there is a flatter vowel sound than the rounder vowel sound of South Australian's or at least Adelaidians which is where I grew up. For the last ten plus years I have been living in Michigan, USA and majority of people on first meeting me think that I am British. Everyone I have met here who is Australian have said the same and every person I have met here who is British have told me people think they are Australian.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

If I'm honest, the only Australian accent I can pick straight away is South Australian (I'm from Victoria). It really can veer into English and New Zealand at times to my ear. I used to play gigs at a venue which had an owner who I swore was British, when I became Facebook friends with him I discovered that he was born and educated in Adelaide. Couldn't believe my ears.

[@mr.gilbert2790]

Once on a night out in the Gold Coast, I ran into 3 different people from Adelaide and I asked each of them if they grew up in England or something of that nature. They all replied, nope, I’m from Adelaide. Never had met a south Australian before and haven’t spoken to one since, but they definitely have their own accent

[@EE-uj6tw]

Had a friend marry an Englishman and within months had “adopted” an English accent. The absolute most phoney thing someone can do is change your nationality.

[@jasmine.lavender]

I was born in Perth and moved to Brisbane when I was ten. I’m 41 now and people still ask if I’m from NZ. I’ve found that people from SA and WA have a bit more of a rounded accent; almost posh? Queensland, especially the further north you go, has a very nasal forward accent. I never picked up the Qld accent so I think that’s why people get a bit confused. I haven’t finished watching the video yet, but I was told the accent differences between the east coast and SA / WA is because free settlers made up the majority of people in those states, as opposed to the convicts that lived on the east coast. And the ‘worst of the worst’ were sent up to Qld which is why Queenslanders have a stronger / thicker accent (like Steve Irwin, for example).

[@Chris-NZ]

Very much agree, being a kiwi and having lived for a short time in Sydney and spent time in Brisbane and Melbourne it’s definitely the further south you go the accents sound more like ours . I think it was in Sydney back in 1980 that the differences seemed the biggest with my Aussie colleagues getting me to say the number six for their own amusement 😀. We have a number of regional dialects here as well even though we are so small we’d fit into NSW at least 4x !! In the deep south there is a particular rolling of the letter “r” , very noticeable if you are aware of it and I would say becoming more widespread across the South Island.

[@Dave_Billing]

@@Chris-NZ the rolling or rhotic 'r' is becoming a lot more prominent all around NZ, especially in younger people. It's the next big change to the NZ accent, IMO.

[@JTProductions3]

Loved the article! Devo that you didn't get some ethnic Aussie accents in the report too. As an ESL teacher and a world traveller I am hyper aware of accents and I often tell students and others that there are many different types of Australian accents. People often tell me that I'm not Australian when I'm abroad because they can understand me! I often get Americans immitating me when I say words like "know", "so", "go". It's really annoying. That and people not believing me that I'm not Australian or that I don't have an Australian accent. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure when you go to Melbourne you'll find many people with my accent. More articles about Aussie accents please!

[@simonbrennan7283]

Strine.

[@minnatodd9023]

I agree! Growing up I remember my friends with migrant parents would all have their own accent, and there are MANY people like this is in Melbourne so its a really variable accent here

[@emjay5718]

Heh, an Aussie would say "overseas", rather than "abroad". I wouldn't think that you're one of us either. 😅

[@gomeze8230]

@@emjay5718damn that’s true

[@triarb5790]

Abroad? Ooh you're posh. It's 'O.S' or 'overseas' 😂

[@corioboy]

As a South Aussie living in Victoria and for awhile QLD I used to get lots of flak about my posh la de da accent, not so much now it's more a gentle ribbing. I have noticed the younger people seem to be influenced by regions and dialects from social media where there is an influence of world wide english speakers adding to the flavour.

[@OriginalKatie86]

So true. My kids use an American accent for certain words that they learned on KZbin.

[@mushy111]

That's quite odd. South Australians have always sounded a little rough around the edges to me, due to the mostly working class free settlers that migrated there seeking out a better life.

[@bugsygoo]

Yep, same here. Whenever I've been interstate, and especially in Queensland, I'm told that I have a posh English accent. Both my parents are Poms but they are both very much working class, so I can only put it down to a peculiar SA accent variant. Maybe it's the lack of convict heritage in SA. 😄

[@aussieausdeutschland4245]

South Aussies definitely have a posher accent than Queenslanders, my mum's mum grew up just outside of Adelaide at One Tree Hill and she had a posh accent whereas my dads mum who grew up here in Brizzy didn't

[@Fraudemusic]

Was shocked at how many times I was called posh when moving from SA to QLD

[@CarlosMossman21]

I was a taxi driver for thirty years in Sydney and am fascinated by the various accents from all over the world. I would constantly alter my accent depending on my passengers - it made the job that much easier when driving long shifts.

[@Bookooky]

Fun game!

[@A·c·h·i·l·l·l·e·s·Last·Stand]

This reminds me of when I went to America and they didnt understand anything I said so I spoke with an American accent to get by😂

[@rainbows_trees_clouds_dais1766]

My friend did an internship in the States …. And she said when she was on the phone she had to spell things and say numbers with an American accent so often, that she’d just do it automatically. My Dad has a really strong Australia accent and uses lots of slang + when we went over for my Cousin’s wedding people didn’t realise he was speaking English (and thought he said he was Austrian)😂. Meanwhile my Mum and I speak quite neutrally, and everyone thought we were English and very posh. My parents are polar opposites (my father even says fil-mmm for film… he has a Prado - only had Prados since they were first released - and he still calls them Pray-dow… he just freestyles his accent and how he pronounces words as he goes 😂)

[@douglassmithe9799]

In England, you can tell where someone is from just by hearing them speak. In Australia you mostly can't (unless that person is from SA and they say 'chah-nce'/'dah-nce' instead of 'chance'/'dance'). For me, there are only 6 different Australian accents: -The 'standard' Aussie accent -The ocker/bogan/working class/regional accent -The 'wog' accent -The South Australian accent -The various Aboriginal accents -The Torres Strait Islander accent (which sounds similar to the Papua New Guinean accent)

[@minksrule2196]

There is a Melbourne accent and a Tassie accent although Tassie accents can be subtle

[@aztralsea]

​@@minksrule2196Yeah I'm from Tassie and even I can't pick it up 😭

[@melikama]

How about Sydney-Novocastria variation do becomes deuww. Northern Yorke Peninsula , SA, there is , or was a lingering Cornish sound RR.

[@travzdoolan]

As someone that’s lived in SA his whole life I honestly haven’t heard anyone pronounce dance that way 😅 plant, can’t, chance is all true though

[@peepeetrain8755]

you can tell when someone is from Victoria though, it's not just Malbin they pronounce but most of the short e's have been merged with /a/. Once you notice it you can't unnoticed it.

[@cyberpunk.386]

The last comment sums it up "Australian accent is a bloody good accent."

[@dwj8620]

Bias but agreed

[@Ragnar6000]

actually i think its horrendous and im aussie lol

[@g3rmany600]

​@@Ragnar6000nuh uh

[@allisonbergh4429]

That guy sounded so much like my Aussie father-in-law I did a double take 😂

[@mOki.i]

@@Ragnar6000that seems about right matey lol

[@Mark_Williams.]

"Nicely, actually" lol. Smack down for that reporter.

[@blablabubles]

She was being bitchie. Grammar changes.

[@stevethea5250]

Timestamp

[@LittleBitOfLife]

3:55 @@stevethea5250

[@tarantuIas]

4:02

[@prodigalretrod]

3:58@@stevethea5250

[@bugsygoo]

I have lived outside of Australia for 15 years, but whenever I call someone in Australia, my son, who grew up in Europe, tells me that I suddenly become very Aussie in my accent. It is completely involuntary. I have a Malaysian friend who does the same when talking to fellow Malaysians and was very surprised when I told her. I reckon we just naturally change the way we speak depending on who we're talking to.

[@DrunkNamedJohn]

It is a documented phenomenon called the chameleon effect/unintentional mirroring.

[@wunnell]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Gillian Anderson. Listen to her interviewed in the US and the UK for some serious accent hopping.

[@solarebear5459]

I copy every accent I come into contact with for extended periods of time unless I consciously try not to. It's kind of embarrassing when hanging with Europeans 😅 i Catch myself and think what the hell am i doing

[@frankrusselldesign7563]

I have read that the actress Gillian Anderson who is English, speaks with her normal English accent when in England but an American accent when in the US.

[@thomasmcarthur211]

Couldn't agree more! I live in Toronto now, born and raised in Sydney. I have to tone down my aussie accent when speaking to people here. But on the phone to friends back home I be sounding like a sailor with all the swears 😂

[@Loupdelou-ly1ve]

I usually hate my Australian (Brisbane) accent - always have. But, there is nothing better than when I'm travelling overseas and I hear an Australian accent somewhere nearby.... it makes my heart sing 🥰

[@samuelleask1132]

Same here hahaha

[@Walsh2571]

And my heart sink when it’s an American accent

[@110Ironfist]

You think yours is bad. I live in Brissy but I'm from Rockhampton (which is a Far North Qld/Central Qld city) and even my mates and other people kinda mock me for it. I think they're all really gamin.

[@soviets-gaming]

so true whenever I'm in Australia Sydney, I just hate hearing it all the time but when overseas and I spot it I get all excited

[@therealjuralumin3416]

I've been pulled up on my pronunciation of certain things a few times, I'm not saying them incorrectly, just differently. I have autism, and it's incredibly common for autistic kids to pick up accents and pronunciations from the media they consume. A lot of autistic Aussie kids will speak with slight or even full American accent, albeit a sort of non-native sounding one, due to the amount of American cartoons and TV shows there are. The opposite has actually been happening recently, with the global spread of Bluey, more and more autistic kids in the US or UK are picking up Aussie accents. I've found people struggle to place my accent, often asking if I am from South Africa or Canada, despite having spent almost my entire life in southern Victoria.

[@twilightmist7369]

Love this comment! I'm autistic too but I watch more British TV than American. I'm from NSW but an English person once thought I was English, despite the fact that I've never left the country. I've also been told by Australians that I don't sound Australian and that I have an accent.

[@Sagealeena]

I did this too! Grew up around Melbourne and picked up a slight British accent, like English teacher British, rather than a casual accent. I never realised it because my grandma was English and my primary school strongly encouraged speaking “properly” (and I was undiagnosed). It wasn’t until years later that I realised my accent was nothing like my grandma’s because she’s from Yorkshire, and I’d actually picked it up from things like Harry Potter. I saw myself as being like Hermione Granger or Matilda (I only read the book, so didn’t pick up an accent from that movie).

[@thomasdemmery8814]

I'm teaching English in Spain at the moment, and I've had several people think that I'm Scottish at first blush - go figure!

[@jjperceval]

ive been told i sound slightly brittish for that reason. i grew up on an unhealthy diet of brum, noddy, and postman pat thanks to mid 90s abc

[@escapefr0mslender]

i'm autistic too and would speak with a hardcore merican accent as an aussie kid, thanks for sharing

[@mediamagpieka-pow3953]

Interesting topic. As a language gets older, it fragments into different accents. This is why the UK has so many, even broken down to different towns sometimes. The USA is about 100 years ahead of Australia in this process. This piece only scratched the surface really.

[@XDF745]

It's actually isolation that causes accents, dialects and eventually new languages rather than just the passage of time. In a modern world with rapid transport, communication and media this is less likely than in the past. This is also why the UK has so many accents because they developed before these technological advancements.

[@utha2665]

I believe everyone's accent, particularly in the western world is now influenced by each other, not only accent but word choice. The internet, the ease of streaming content from overseas, the ease of travel as compared to 50 or 60 years ago has had an impact. People in the past traveled far less frequently and far less distance, so their accent became far more regionalised. The accents from England are so diverse because they have spent well over 1000 years developing by region and you notice, the further north you get in England, the more Scottish they start to sound. It's a fascinating subject, and even over the last 50 years the Australian accent, particularly on TV has changed quite dramatically.

[@pavementpounder7502]

I'd say the opposite is happening in the US and UK. Accents converging as people become more mobile, due to media etc. Which is unfortunate.

[@thevannmann]

The US also has a much larger population with more historically large settlements which created many more distinctive accents compared to Australia.

[@frederikvandoren]

America is 200 years ahead of Australia! What became the US was settled first in the early 1600s whereas it picked up in Australia in the late 17s early 1800s

[@cjod33]

The accents are now quite distinct from each other in Sydney according to the area. Westen Sydney is very different from the northern beaches. And depending on the area of western/south western Sydney your in also changes. 30 yrs ago it was very different again.

[@reneewhite2687]

I met someone from western Sydney and I knew straight away, it’s very influenced by the ethnic diversity there

[@fruitytarian]

"'Nicely', I like grammar too." 😅

[@HIDGEL05]

That Karen annoyed me, so stuck up

[@DCLayclerk]

I loved that woman. I also love the woman before her, who spoke of people talking as though they had barbed wire their mouths. 😂

[@hoodooguri]

She had every right to correct an ABC reporter on their grammar. She’s paying taxes to the government to employ people who speak correctly

[@evd]

00:12 Paul Barry is a British expat, hence his accent is more British than Australian (although expat accents is probably another topic altogether).

[@triarb5790]

Been Australian from south England for 33 happy years. Australians say I sound mixed pommie with Australian sayings. Poms say I sound Australian with pommie traits ( I do put it on mind!). What's really funny is my son moved to the UK 18 months ago, and he tells me I sound full on Australian and he reckons he never noticed it before🤷‍♀️😂

[@vapx0075]

@@triarb5790 Sounds about right.

[@user34274]

British immigrant*

[@TopFix]

I can imagine if I, as a Melburnian, went and lived in QLD for a bit, I probably wouldn't notice. But if someone else from Melbourne came along to QLD and bumped into me after I've been there for a while, I would probably end up noticing that the person I bumped into was from Melbourne based on the way they spoke. So I'd say it's more of until you're a fish out of water and notice one of your own that you'll be hit with that reality, type of thing. Also I would have bought that man at the end of the video a drink. What a mad lad. 👍

[@mangolollipop_]

I'm from Philippines, but I spent over 17 years in Australia, 16 in Perth and 4 months in Melbourne. I did acquire somewhat of an Australian accent, more like a mix of Perthie and Queenslander accent because my mate was from QLD. I have a mixed accent ranging from Filipino, American, and whatever accent I picked up that day, usually Aussie. When I talk to my mates, it's usually a pretty thick ochre accent I talk with. At work, I keep it professional and make sure I speak politely. I did notice that Melbournians are clearer speakers, but yeah I think it'll take me time to develop an accent

[@yaguch_duck6372]

This is me now. I've been living in Australia for at least a decade and I came to Aus as a teenager. My accent fluctuates between Filipino, American and Aussie as well.

[@nguyenn99527]

Opposite for me, 16 in Melbourne 5 months in Perth.

[@rae6082]

Grew up in Perth and when I moved to the UK most people assumed I was British.

[@bebabodi5543]

Born and bred in Perth and everyone thinks im either American or British from the way I talk. After watching this it makes so much more sense.

[@s0ngsmith-dq5zu]

Our accent has changed in Melbourne too. Home vids from the 80s sound so much more ocker

[@asmrart6196]

Totally missing Tasmania out as always

[@justin9724]

Thats a good thing, its the Australia's best kept secret.

[@mmm-cs7tb]

Tasmania? Never heard of her

[@wunnell]

It always amuses me when people talk about the biggest islands in the world and some say that Australia is a continent and not an island. If the Australian mainland is a continent and not an island then that means that Tasmania is not even in the same continent, never mind the same country. Take that!

[@Piraneous]

Don’t worry mate, ACT didn’t get a mention either.

[@Duchess_of_Cadishead]

@@wunnellAustralia is an island and a continent. It is an island continent.

[@queenofthebutterflies5212]

I would love more content about Aussie accents, this was absolutely fascinating.

[@WatchThisSpaceMedia]

In Canberra they in a monotone with no inflection at the end of their sentences

[@HouseholdDog]

That's because you don't want to suck in too much air after a sentence. That's a good way of freezing your tongue off. I was born there and it's a much more English sounding accent, in some ways. I really notice it when I talk to another native Canberran.

[@thomasdemmery8814]

Canberra will do that to ya

[@jimmymifsud1]

Seems the accent comes from how boring the city is

[@lexnite22]

@@jimmymifsud1 🤣

[@K_8T]

yeah feels that

[@EarlJohn61]

In 2016, I was on a hiking holiday in Somerset (UK). One night I was staying in Shepton Mallet & visited a pub... I was chatting to the publican when suddenly he said, "I've got it!" I said, "Well you can bludy well keep it, I don't want it." _[typical sarcasm there]_ "No, you're from a farm in the upper mid-north of South Australia." I was gob smacked! Born in 1960 I lived on my parents farm for 17 years, before moving to Adelaide for work in 1978... I'd lived (at the time) for 38 years in Adelaide (more than twice as long) and yet he could still pick not only the region but also that I was a farmer's kid.

[@Nalianna]

And, I'm from a farm, in the South east of South Australia. (Glencoe, near Mount Gambier). I'm curious how different our accents are... and how similar.

[@scottlang7271]

Gee, that publican was a skilled linguist…and must have heard a lot of different Australian voices.

[@ErgonBill]

Tassie is small but there are variations in accent from N,S,E And West as well a variations from cities to country. It might well have provided a more interesting study.

[@stoopidapples1596]

Yea. Southern Tasmania is basically another state to the north. Everyone knows Launceston is the TRUE capital of Tasmania. And the west is a desert.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

I'm not familiar with the subtleties of Tasmanian speech. Being a sports fan, I'm familiar with many great Tasmanian sports people (Ricky Ponting, Matthew Richardson, David Boon, Russell Robertson, the Riewoldts etc.) and I can only surmise that it's a slightly more soft accent than a lot of mainland Australia, not as twangy and lazy.

[@92madsk]

I’m from Central Vic and our friends from Tassie used to always rib us about calling our friends mum as ‘Ally’ despite her name being ‘Ellie’ - for me it’s the same name!

[@rhiannon.de.rohan-thomas]

I had this exact same problem in my early teens (though, North East Vic bordering NSW, for me). Someone was called Ellie, & I said Aly, then they kept correcting me & I was thinking "I don't hear the difference" (I can now, but it's marginal.)

[@maximillianford9301]

Yep. I'm Melbourne and I got pulled up on calling a friend called Ellen 'Alan.' Legit didn't notice that there was a difference. I say the 'e' sound more noticeably now but I have to concentrate to do so. If I just spat the name out without thinking I'd revert back to the 'a' sound

[@_big_man_69_]

Yeah you sound like kiwis WA has a bit of that going on too I call it the free settler accent

[@ellebell5964]

My name is “Elle” , and it has been pronounced all my life as “L” (rhyming with Bell) in south Aus. I’m living in Victoria now, and yet people here see my name and pronounce it “L - E” (Elly/Ellie) So bizarre and I don’t know why hahah

[@azazelazel]

Yeah, I've noticed Victorians can sound half way between a Sydney accent and a Kiwi accent. This seems like a thing that's not commonly discussed, though.

[@Peak_Aussieman]

I'd say this is a symptom of Australia growing into it's natural environment. See unlike the Old World, or even most of America for that matter, both of whom have had hundreds of years to develop regional dialects following some kind of cultural intermingling, Australia on the other hand, in it's capacity as a cultural and political institution is still so incredibly young as a civilisation, even factoring in pre-federation back when the Colony of New South Wales was first founded and there were no other States at that time, it's still only been about 260 years or so, which simply isn't long enough to dialectically diverge away from the Mothertongue, in order for this to play out to it's final endpoint, you'd probably need another 400 to 700 years to see where this ends up with any degree of certainty, probably being increasingly influenced by American dialects and linguistic Americanisms. That's why if I had to put money on those 400 to 700 years I'd say Australians will end up with dialects that to us today would probably just sound like some blend of American accents, of course that's just speculation. But if I were to try and predict what Australian civilisation is going to look like after those 700 years are up, I'd say at least in some ways we'll end up being more American then the Americans are. Simply because since the end of WW2, Australians have trended more and more towards America both financially, culturally, politically and militarily, so why wouldn't we just adopt their culture as our own? That's what would have happened historically. So as I say, this is Australia simply becoming ingratiated with world history. Which we are. It's incredible seeing the history of a civilisation play out in real time like this.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Sitting on a bus in Sydney crammed packed with high school kids from the North Shore, I closed my eyes and lent against the window on my trip into the city and noticed very distinctly that most of the kids chattering away had American accents already

[@VanillaMacaron551]

260 years? Not even.

[@EarlJohn61]

In 2016, I was on a hiking holiday in Somerset (UK). One night I was staying in Shepton Mallet & visited a pub... I was chatting to the publican when suddenly he said, "I've got it!" I said, "Well you can bludy well keep it, I don't want it." _[typical sarcasm there]_ "No, you're from a farm in the upper mid-north of South Australia." I was gob smacked! Born in 1960 I lived on my parents farm for 17 years, before moving to Adelaide for work in 1978... I'd lived (at the time) for 38 years in Adelaide (more than twice as long) and yet he could still pick not only the State & region but also that I was a farmer's kid. *Just from my voice*

[@brie1796]

I disagree and the reason why Americans sounds like they do is because we speak with the original English accent the colonizers had. They use to pronounce their “r’s” back then which is why we do it as well and it wasn’t until the 1800s when the modern English accent wuz invented to distinguish themselves from the new American colonies.

[@amac2612]

i lost my accent a little bit having a german wife, if i spoke normally sometimes she didnt understand me, typical of american english, tv shows with what they learn with and what not but an hour or so of watching something australian i get it back and she cant understand me again. good times.

[@jeremysepicrun]

You forgot Tasmania! No joke: they say "four" as Forr-wah (two syllables) Similar to the WA "here" HEE-yah

[@Krisjoverovovejovovichtski]

Beh - eeeer

[@SanctusPaulus1962]

I'm Tasmanian and I've never pronounced "four" like that ever in my life. Nor have I ever met any other Tasmanian who has pronounced it like that. I'm not sure where you got that idea from

[@cityofnumbersix]

The WA feeling of being told “You don’t sound Australian” overseas, because you don’t have an Eastern States accent 😂😂

[@mmmbass6068]

You can tell if a younger person is a recluse by the sound of their “international” accent from watching social media

[@thomasrodwell563]

So many young people sound American nowadays. Really disappointing. Like if you're gonna change accent at least pick a good one 😂

[@WisdomRose]

@@thomasrodwell563 I live in Adelaide and have relatives who live in Sydney. I noticed and was surprised that my two young nieces (who are both in primary school) pronounce "can't" the American way and I wonder if they had picked this up from watching too much American TV.

[@alexxistiredofyourbullshit7144]

I really had not noticed that until recently in my work.

[@_big_man_69_]

My arse

[@roblue5470]

DAMN

[@MrBibi86]

*I feel like when I watch Aussie videos filmed in the 60s and before a lot of people had a bit of a British twang to their accent*

[@honeynfred]

I find it disconcerting than some young people are speaking with an American accent. My Neice does. And it's because she watches so much KZbin with USA presenters.

[@tarantuIas]

Kinda scary lmao

[@indiathylane2158]

Some young Aussies want to take their "pick-up" to Macca's for ''French fries"! It really bothers me.

[@mishabakunin4354]

I can't believe you didn't mention that conventionally there are three main Australian accents. Cultivated, General, Broad.

[@sanraku888]

My man that's an outdated concept from about 70 years ago haha.

[@Beensash]

There were always more than 3 varieties of accent

[@moblet]

In my experience regional differences are more apparent to immigrants, overseas visitors, and the locals when we're abroad, than to those born in Australia. I was once in a large workplace overseas where there were two other Australians and the (English-speaking) locals understandably struggled with some of our vowels, but one day a colleague said to me "you and John are from the same place in Australia, while Brian is from somewhere different" and they were right.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

1:44 All of my older relatives (born between 1920 and 1935) who lived their entire lives in New South Wales all said Hee-ya and Bee-ya (for Beer). maybe that’s how the entire country pronounced it a century ago, but it died out in New South Wales with the next generations, yet hung around in Western Australia.

[@heysoph.9]

Yes my Victorian grandparents say ba-loo-en and fil-em as well as poo-well etc so I always assumed it was an old Aussie accent haha

[@leeross8648]

I feel like it stuck around in Newcastle

[@Nalianna]

My grqandparents (from Tullamore, NSW) are the same. As are their neighbors.

[@jackbarrie6007]

That's why we love being isolated.

[@ErnestPiffel]

What about the accents of Lebanese Australians? Or Māori Australians? These are interesting.

[@Nalianna]

And, Indian Australians (and also Nepalese Australians). Their accents are slightly different again

[@ZootZinBootZ]

Im a wanker !!! My mother was the secret magic behind a long time ABC syd linguistics , annunciation & grammar advisor. Cat T had a snarly accent from south Island nz , so she sensibility often called up mum to double check or confirm the pronunciations of rarely known things , places and people who all cascade out of my mums mouth like free flowing castanets of pronunciation. Mum was an editor of some kind beforehand as well. Typically a dot of her professional punctuation or legible print dna has passed on to me - however i can talk like a plumby Paddington porkchop and im forever appreciative of being more or less made to be well spoken. Its the best free gift worth a million times more than money.

[@ScarlettDuchess]

My Mum and I were in Mexico and during the trip met an Aussie couple from NSW. The lady said you’re from Queensland. I was so surprised and asked how did she know!? She said it’s because we say eh at the end of a sentence. We hadn’t even realised! Funny eh 😂

[@echorome6260]

I work at a university, I have three accents: teaching; working with esl colleagues; smoko.

[@krispykruzer]

KZbin says video posted 4 mins ago, but I see comments from 21hrs ago 😮😮😮 And no spoke about Tasmanians and their accent

[@MandaPanda254]

A lot of KZbin channels also have KZbin membership or patron, where their subscribers can view videos early. That's why you'll see comments hours before a video is publicly posted on KZbin

[@tingtong5898]

Tasmania? That is not in Australia.

[@frederikvandoren]

@@tingtong5898 they should become a state within New Zealand for sure

[@tingtong5898]

@@frederikvandoren The West Island?

[@sethmadlad5573]

tasmanian here. we sound basically the same as queenslanders. thick boganish accent

[@jobredin29]

The fact that people in regional NSW say “but” rather than “though” at the end of a sentence is grating. “He ran into your car, he is sorry, but.”

[@beatrixpotter4609]

Hmm. I know what you're talking about, but I suspect it might just be less educated people from regional NSW that do this. I've only ever noticed it with people like tradies. Speaking as an ordinary, middle class person from regional NSW, I've never done this in my life. Nor do any of my friends, family or co-workers. Not trying to be snobby or anything, just an observation.

[@450clancy6]

​@beatrixpotter4609 the weirdest and most memorable comment/compliment I've received is that I had impeccable English while liaising with an English born and bred client Half my life in toowoomba qld, half in port stephens nsw High school education, was an apprentice at the time. I was just trying to set a good impression to get the job Around other tradies, mates and family I'm a little more relaxed but ;) I'm a sample size of one but the generalisation that regional education may be the cause just doesn't add up. It's not hard to be completely literate with good grammar and punctuation it's just a fkn waste of time and effort when the same message can be conveyed with 4 words merged into 1 mumble Regional folk are just more laid back I say

[@jadat7439]

we do this in regional qld too

[@robsl18]

This is common in Scotland especially on the west coast Glaswegian accents. I've never heard it anywhere else in the UK. I've started picking it up too, (context I have a Yorkshire accent but live in Scotland)

[@renleung]

It’s really common in the inner west of Sydney too.

[@selbie]

Having grown up in North Queensland I have definitely developed an "official" voice living in SE Qld perhaps as a result of making sure to properly articulate words. However, I do believe there is a NQ accent, as whenever I go back I subconsciously slip back to the Queenslander (pron. COIN-SLANDAH) sound I'm familiar with. Examples - Thes nah chans ah cleeh skuys in Melbun but hee-eh we feel loik gahn to the pooh-L.

[@uncle7162]

Grown up in Mackay been here all me life so has the last 5 generations of my family. I’ve picked up a hell of a lot of me grandfathers accent. Asked an Uber bloke where did he reckon I was from he reckoned Northern Territory most thick North Queensland accents are just mumbles but their good none the less

[@travisfurber1368]

Agreed. I’m a North Queensland boy who’s lived in Sydney for almost 15 years. Still got the strong FNQ twang

[@AJWRAJWR]

I've had English people thinking I was saying 'Coins Land' instead of Queensland. 😅 I'm from the Gold Coast though.

[@miakey8082]

Love your example sentence! I think you nailed it!

[@rainbows_trees_clouds_dais1766]

Haha… that’s hilarious. Half the people didn’t know my Dad was even speaking English when we went to the US… that’s how strong his accent was + slang. They thought he was Austrian. I didn’t realise how much slang he used until we went over there (he was constantly being asked to repeat himself or people would look at us like “wtf?!?” and we’d have to translate 😂)

[@kristinahebdon686]

I’m from Adelaide and when I went to Sydney they thought I was from New Zealand! I can also hear workmates who have come from Victoria NSW QLD who pronounce those words so differently from us South Aussies- graph, castle, dance chance , Lego!!

[@jenimcniven8704]

I'm from Sydney and pronounce Lego as Leg-go, like most Sydney folks, but I know a few South Australians who pronounce it Ley-go. I met a Danish guy recently and asked how it is pronounced in his homeland [i.e. the home of Lego] and South Australia has it correct apparently.

[@robman2095]

I am also from Sydney and I once asked a stranger I met at work how long she had been in Australia (thinking she had a NZ accent) but turned out she was from South Australia (bit embarrassing 😂)

[@Goralyna123]

That was really interesting. I’m from Qld, but was educated at an all girls convent, by nuns who were primarily from Victoria. When I’m talking to my working class siblings, my Qld accent gets stronger. But if I’m meeting new people or talking to strangers, I have a more refined, English-sounding voice.

[@mcrazza]

And Tasmania gets dropped off... again. Great work.

[@jimbooo1365]

Who? Never heard of her.

[@Slavicplayer251]

whats a ‘tasmania’ ?

[@lennylikesmusic]

Tasmania try not complain about not being mentioned challenge (impossible)

[@gomeze8230]

This is about Australia

[@jonathonsprott]

The crazy thing is that Tasmania has the most prominent of accents.

[@gomiladroogies5951]

Something i see often overlooked in these accent videos is the developing ethnic-city accent. Feel like asian, africans, wogs and islanders are slowly merging accents to create something unique. And this accent is crossing state boundries think west sydney and north/west melbourne.

[@oerrorcode]

I notice a lot in Sydney the hard Oh is being softened on No and kind of trails off into Noy but there are a lot more than that to many to list here.

[@theharper1]

I thought "noy" was Maburnian (Kath and Kim).

[@lonewonderer9771]

I don’t know about any other state but as a Tasmanian we say, “raal” instead of rail or “haal” instead of hail in certain areas for example. I’ve never heard any other states people pronounce it like that 🤷‍♂️

[@Beensash]

Lol, raaaaal for rail is very common among broad accented folk in NSW

[@Repomidnight]

Remember telling someone from Perth about the WA accent. I couldn’t convince him it was a thing. He thought there was no variation between states. It was hilarious as he made his case with his strong WA accent.

[@StuTheDon17]

Hahah yeah we definitely have an accent here in WA. I can hear it.

[@edwin5419]

There are a few WA accents. There are even a few just in Perth. Think Armadale versus Claremont

[@justbecause3187]

As a Perth native, I do remember finding it quite startling how pronounced people's accents were when I first started traveling interstate as a teenager, I seem to remember the NSW accent being especially noticeable at the time. I don't seem to notice it as much anymore, even though I'm sure it still exists.

[@fromchomleystreet]

Perth born and raised, but spent over a decade as an adult living in Melbourne, and never once did anyone clock me as Western Australian, or even as a non-Melburnian, from my accent. Nor was I ever consciously aware of the accents around me being appreciably different to my own. There are subtle differences, for sure (the pronunciation of the word “beer” is the classic example), but unless you have a particularly broad accent, it’s not necessarily going to be noticed.

[@adamsidebottom5023]

​@@fromchomleystreetsurely you noticed the Malbourne Celery Salary accent....

[@frankielove31]

As an Australian who has travelled extensively and who’s parents are from opposite sides of the country I have a very fluid accent that gets thicker when I put it on a bit for a tourist or when I’m a tourist overseas and I definitely speak more like Mick Taylor and Steve Irwin for a bit of a giggle, but the actual accent and pronunciation does change depending on where we are and who im speaking with. My voice is very nasal because I have had a violent life so I do have a real twangy sound to it that is unique within my family but it’s very common in the NT outback towns and roadhouses. In Victoria they say that the queen lives in a cassel but the rest of us know that she lived in a castle 🏰. The people of northern queensland have their own accent and dialect of Australian that is completely different from the cultured and stylish way that southern west Australians speak unless they are somewhere overseas together when we will all tone down the regional differences and ham up the ocker of our accent to sound like the cartoon version of ourselves

[@mirakimber6333]

No Tassie !? This is my experience as a Tasmanian: I regularly get asked where in England, Canada or the USA I am from. For real, mainlanders don't think my accent is Australian.

[@SatanicStorm]

As a West Aussie in QLD, I can tell you that QLD'ers make West Aussies sound posh.

[@robertkopp873]

I am old, so I remember when ... The number of accents in Australia (and New Zealand) was the subject of a study circa 1999 by University of Sydney & funded by SpeechWorks (from USA). AFAIR it found in the order of 93 measurable accents in AU & over 140 in NZ. The study was commissioned to learn why the newly installed White Pages directory software at Telstra was failing to decode AU speech. This was in the "early days" of computer-telephony integration.

[@lynchie2073]

i hadnt actually realised the merging of el and al sounds in victoria, and when i tried saying melbourne myself i couldnt hear it. but then i tried saying ellen, and low and behold, i absolutely do it this is the first time ive seen a video discussing actual differences between the states and what those sounds are, more than just general, broad, and cultivated, which are far too vague and broad for my taste. this feels much more specific and informed!

[@ProgrammedForDamage]

I live in a bayside suburb of Melbourne and I definitely pronounce it "Mal-bun". I was speaking to a customer in Canada the other day and they said I had a "great Australian accent." I should have asked them if it sounded more stereotypical or more clearer.

[@tophatjoe5042]

Im Canberran, the one accent I pick up on as being so distinct I cam safely feel as to declare it a truly distinct and noticable accent is Western Sydneysider. Otherwise, I agree the others arent distinct enough to be truly called a seperate accent.

[@jenimcniven8704]

I'd like to know what you think a Western Sydney accent is? I've lived here my entire life and know at least 5 different Western Sydney accents.

[@jameshatton4211]

Not bad ABC 👍 surprisingly interesting and not too mainstream

[@patrickpaganini]

Interesting video. I think to say "It's pretty clear to see who's genuine in their accent" at 3:37 is a big call. When I first came to NZ I heard accents that sounded to me "fake" and trying to be "posh" or "English" but I later found out these were completely genuine accents. But if I'm wrong and you have secret skills to know what is genuine and what is not, then I bow down to your super-powers.

[@Jacob_the_Dabbler]

That man at the end may have been a true blue Aussie through and through but he did one of the most accurate Kiwi giggles you'll ever bloody hear 😂😂

[@TWEAKER01]

The big one of course is "hoymes" instead of "homes" but that's really just TV reporters.

[@Lucrei.]

Our tv reporters pronounce everything in an awful way. I dislike that fake over-exaggerated accent and the cadence it brings to the speech

[@itskindofemily]

​@@Lucrei.And so nasally! Ugh!

[@hybridhazza]

Western Sydney!

[@martinquarrell6972]

Tassie’s accent is also quite different.

[@edenakasha7574]

I'm a voice artist whos lived in various places in Australia, the accents are very different to my honed ear. Melbourne has a sharper edge its more pronounced and harder endings to words, is generally spoken at an effienct speed and is a great "all round accent" that doesnt tend to annoy, the spund i think comes from the european influence which is obviously still dominant in some populations. Sydney refined is a bit less open with a touch more tonality but NSW is much broader mouthed and has way more twang and nasalness, and a rougher edge, think the radio personalities. Queensland is generally slower, has some lilting inflections and sounds a bit unpolished. SA can either be refined and annunciated with the English influence, but the younger generation is less stuffy sounding. But Sa can also be very country, wide, floppy mouth, slow speaking, but still say darnce. Its quite amusing to hear all the distinct differences.

[@fromchomleystreet]

American viewers would be very confused by the choice to spell the South Australian man’s pronunciation of the word chance as “charnce”, only a non-rhotic speaker would conceptualise it that way, as opposed to, perhaps, “chahnce”

[@Peleski]

Americans are also non rhotic, like in Boston

[@JulianTruscott]

Personally, I never used the Aussie voice despite being a voice mimicker as a result of my autism, purely because I have never really liked the word mate. It just felt weird being described as a friend even if the person who said it didn't even know me, I even complained about it.

[@BeyondDictation]

Raised in SA by QLD/NSW mum and a Country SA dad, I have had my accent described as “bogan”, though I do catch myself sometimes saying things in a rather British manner, which I put down to growing up in Adelaide, I’m proud of it, I’m too Australian for the Southern States and not Australian enough for NT and QLD.

[@NuGanjaTron]

The gentleman at 6:53 put it so well. It's a bloody good accent!

[@regina6838]

I'm Australian and I live abroad so I've had to answer this question a lot. So I arrived at the conclusion there's 1) a city Aussie accent 2) a countryside Aussie accent 3) Melbourne has it's own posh accent But I could be wrong 😅

[@Krisjoverovovejovovichtski]

4)darwin accent 5)Bogan accent 6)street accent 7)carny accent

[@daimus]

Old mate at the end.. bloody legend

[@DavidVICARY-e8p]

I think big region diverse peaked 25 years ago, before technology consolidated accents more. In the 90's I recognised 3 more distinctive accents- Adelaide squal, outback Queensland male drawl, and Melbourne, women only, drawn? Exasperated? Wave. The most bizarre accent I overheard once back then was from 3 posh New Zealanders.

[@dragoneer121]

Oh Ive definitely heard that outbakc/rural accent inn older men. I think thers just a rural vs urban part to the accent too thats maybe faded a fair bit now.

[@mohamadr6861]

Even within Sydney theres a distinctive difference between Western Sydney, North Sydney, Eastern suburbs and the Shire

[@kayzed6693]

There is also a Canberra accent.

[@vincentlevarrick6557]

Agree. When I first moved to Qld I was picked on for my posh accent 😂

[@callumdrage5889]

I’m from Adelaide, South Australia, but recently moved to Melbourne, Victoria. Since moving, I have noticed a change in the Aussie accent. Melbourne people tend to pronounce their “r”’s differently, as well as a more thicker accent, in my opinion. It’s very interesting.

[@allisonbergh4429]

When my Aussie now-husband visited me for the first time in America (we live in Oz now, happily🥰), servers at restaurants really struggled with his accent. Americans mostly hear the “broad” Aussie accent - by way of Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin - so when he ordered “bee(r)” instead of “bee-yuh” they would look at me blankly for a translation 😆

[@jonathanr72]

"People can judge you based on your accent", says the bloke with the mullet.

[@Natures_Son]

😂

[@liamschulzrules]

Young man with mullet: either the most racist in town or most liberal

[@glennfolau6959]

I'm a kiwi, and as much as Australians make fun of a Kiwi accent, we make fun of Australian accents, the nasal twang, and the mispronunciation of vowel sounds, and diphthongs e.g we say Rugby League, the "ea" combination should sound like an "ee" , but to our ears, whenever someone from Western Sydney says League, it sounds like Rugby "loigue", another example is "Parramatta Eels", sounds like Parramatta "Oils". I do recognise that there are regional and socio-economic variances in Aussie accents, as there are in NZ, someone from Far North Queensland will sound different to someone from Potts point or Vaucluse. By the way, I am also aware of how Kiwis pronounce and bugger up vowel sounds. Think "Hillin Cluck, former Primemunister of New Zulland.

[@jing713]

Good ol' fesh and cheps

[@taliaharding323]

100% heard the footy commentator Mick Innis with those examples!

[@sv6k0a39]

As a Canadian who moved here, I definitely noticed there are variations in accent across Australia. It is subtle but noticeable!

[@danielvittino6058]

This video is something I've been looking for, for so long - THANK YOU

[@leighchamberlain25]

Thank you for bringing this topic up!! First 20yrs of my life spent in Mandurah WA. And the last 20 on the transient Pilbara WA. Because people come from far and wide to earn a buck or 2 I've been surrounded by Interstate Aussies, Not to mention the Kiwis, Phillipinos, Brits, Millions of South Africans leeches

[@leighchamberlain25]

Probably one of the densest melting pots in the land. I can't always give an explanation how, but I've learned to pick a person's state from anywhere in the southern hrnisphere

[@thomasrodwell563]

Regardless of state, I'm sure we can all agree that young Australians adopting the American accent has been a dreadful development.

[@Natures_Son]

Exactly right!

[@danone987]

WA accent is the most polished of them of them

[@WaveWatcher10]

South Australians talk posh! No convicts came here!

[@WiggaMachiavelli]

There may have been no transportation to South Australia, but there were plenty of former convicts who settled freely.

[@fivetimesyo]

Basically to do the ozzy, when you encounter a vowel, pick another one, any one, and say that one. There, you nailed it.

[@davecannabis]

one difference i have noticed is in Melbourne they say his and ours in Sydney they say hees and arrs

[@comealongcomealong4480]

@davecannabis Maybe the lingering influence of the Irish accent? I've heard more Irish came to Sydney than Melbourne from the 1800s.

[@Aerialgrrl]

When I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne 20 years ago, I was astonished by how many people immediately went "South Australia". I do have real trouble saying "pool hall" or "Calla Lily".

[@MrAnperm]

Julia Gillard grew up in Adelaide. She's fond of a swim in the pewl.

[@Lucrei.]

I think it's because, at least educated people here are very up about perfect enunciation. I remember having classes about it. When people legitimately say things like "straya" I'm at a bit of a loss unless it's being done ironically! Then again I wouldn't know my own accent intricacies unless someone pointed them out to me.

[@GetIntoGateAStargatePodcast]

2:41 "Cuz we don't want to sound like a wanka" 🤣

[@JoeDouglas]

Love the clip of the old bloke right at the end

[@110Ironfist]

"We don't want to sound like a wanka" as a fellow Queenslander, that is the most Queenslander thing to say.

[@oufukubinta]

2:42 I love this lady

[@scottchristopher4040]

When you are a stranger accents become much more obvious.I have never noticed this warranting judgements on that alone.Here in Australia the only confusion is when getting asked to go along to the paaaty.When you are used to the potty being 1 at a time for children who are potty training.And going along to the party when you are an adult.R's seem to be the difference in most accents I've heard so far.

[@heatherfruin5050]

I often used to get asked whether I was english, er, no South Australian. 😊

[@mranonymous1876]

Everyone just gonna ignore western Sydney

[@itsmevarnami]

2:52 so true lol

[@JasonFoks]

😂😂😂

[@anthony.3614]

Hi ABC, one of your reporters always says "Leanne Wong, ABC News, Malbun".

[@annafrancan]

I was born and raised in the ACT and when I went overseas a lot of people thought I was English haha my Aussie accent is a lot softer than I realised. Though apparently it comes out when I say words like “app” or “wrap “

[@LunaEmpress777]

Raised mostly in WA, Living in QLD for over 13 years- I confuse the crap out of people

[@landcruiserfan4206]

Guy at the end is an absolute champion.

[@davidbailey1721]

I’m from Sydney, my mum is originally from Melbourne, so I’ve picked up on the differences from a young age. Beer is be-yah, this morning is t’smornin, weld is wald.