The Australian Accent

[ScottyB 2,086]

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/australian-accent-moulded-by-booze-and-weve-become-inarticulate-because-of-it/story-fnu2q5nu-1227585547259

So I came across this today and found it amusing. Everywhere has their bogan type speakers so I wonder how true it is. I'll never hear the Aussie accent the same again

Hopefully you can access the link outside australis, if not, let me know and I'll find another one or copy the article

Edited October 28, 2015 by ScottyB

[Squirrel 5,180]

Quite an interesting read.

 

Wonder how much of the Australian accent has been influenced by the Northern UK accents. Liverpool was one of the main ports where the convicts and forced migrants departed from. Dropping H's and T's is normal from us folk in Yorkshire.

 

The American accent will have been influenced in a similar way, the large proportion of Irish migrants will certainly have had an effect on the local dialects in the early years.

[LN-MLB 2,583]

What I find interesting is how in North America, Aussie accents are often mistaken for English accents or vice versa.  To me (and I'm fairly certain to both Aussies and the English alike) they sound nothing alike.  Granted, they appear more similar compared to the accents from North America, but much of that has to do with North America being colonized much earlier and receiving a bulk of its population from continental Europe as opposed to primarily from the UK.

 

I also read somewhere that Australia doesn't seem to have wide-spread accent variety like Great Britain and the United States, but I can tell a difference between some of the ones I hear when gaming with you guys.  I've never had any trouble understanding you though.

 

 

Quite an interesting read.

 

Wonder how much of the Australian accent has been influenced by the Northern UK accents. Liverpool was one of the main ports where the convicts and forced migrants departed from. Dropping H's and T's is normal from us folk in Yorkshire.

 

The American accent will have been influenced in a similar way, the large proportion of Irish migrants will certainly have had an effect on the local dialects in the early years.

 

I read somewhere that Australian English was heavily influenced by English from the southeastern part of England mixed in with some Irish and other varieties.

 

There are probably hundreds and hundreds of distinct American accents though--I definitely agree that a good many were heavily influenced by the Irish--especially Ulster Scots-Irish, but from what I have been able to gather, the core American sound heavily evolved from a mixture of 17th century dialects.  Back then, Rs were not dropped as they are in many places throughout England today, and that combined with the influences from Scotland and Ireland are the reason they are preserved in most varieties of American and Canadian speech.

 

Not to go too off topic, but what irks me is when people in this country claim they have "no accent".  How the hell is that even possible?

[RichnLin 612]

As a relatively recent immigrant to Australia I was amazed at how difficult I initially found it to properly understand a lot of the locals! I am happy to say that none of our Aussie crew members sound remotely like the "Strayans" from the report!

 

What I've also noticed recently is the tendency of younger Australians to add an "s" onto a lot of words. Their accents also seem to be heavily influenced by Lebanese, Greek and Turkish intonations. Even more recently, I've noticed that a lot of kids are now speaking as though they are London gangsters!

 

However, I don't have a lot of time for those who bemoan the demise of languages and the changing of accents. This sort of argument has been going on since language was invented. I'm sure Shakespeare despaired at the murdering of his language and yet we speak a vastly different kind of English to the Elizabethans and don't think twice about it. And we don't all still speak Latin do we?! Gracias Dei! Or something like that!

[Xyon14 2,312]

Mr Frenkel said the “Australian” alphabet really only had 23 letters. - that made me laugh.  The 3 letters that are gone would make the US's Wheel of Fortune really difficult 

[omarcomin71 3,892]

Personally I think the Australian accent is the coolest of all accents.

 

As much as I drink I'm surprised I don't have an Australian accent.

 

Is anyone else thirsty?

[JustHatched 12,123]

Some Aussies have a pretty thick accent, I'll admit I have difficulty understanding Skorpian at times and even Scotty, they seem to have a bit more than Snacks or Rev. But it could be a mic thing as well.

And some of the Euro members are though and makes me wonder if we are speaking the same language, I have the hardest time with Squirrel.

TO be fair though there some Americans that can't speak English for shit (the Cajun accent drives me crazy).

[ScottyB 2,086]

Haha I thought I spoke pretty clearly I used to speak pretty poor English and not articulate the words very well but now I do, and especially in a professional scenario. When I'm relaxed, mumble, or get a little excited I can definitely go back though and sound pretty bogan.

It's funny throughout England how you can virtually identify what suburb you live in by your accent! I don't get how that works haha. What I have noticed with he Australian accent is if you start down south, they tend to send a bit more posh and be well spoken and then it slowly gets worse when you move north. Not sure how different the western side sounds. Obviously there are always places and people that will sound different but that is generally what I have noticed.

As rich said, there are a lot of Different cultures here and the young people are very influenced by it. It's virtually ghetto talk and it's disgusting. No idea why they speak like that. Most of their parents or the older people are very well spoken but their children don't seem to be.

[HoTWiiReD 150]

Some Aussies have a pretty thick accent, I'll admit I have difficulty understanding Skorpian at times and even Scotty, they seem to have a bit more than Snacks or Rev. But it could be a mic thing as well.And some of the Euro members are though and makes me wonder if we are speaking the same language, I have the hardest time with Squirrel.TO be fair though there some Americans that can't speak English for shit (the Cajun accent drives me crazy).

Lmao, as an Aussie, for me Snacks and Rev have a thicker accent than Skorpion and Scotty

I'd hate and love to know how my accent sounds, pretty sure it's a mix between speech impediment, an Australian accent and partly a Romanian-German accent (because of my descent). Even according to my IRL aussie mates I have an accent..

[revbouncer 1,431]

I've given public speeches as a kid. With a script or without had the gift of the gab so to speak. Alas I'm lazy and i love my slang and profanities so I'm a bit 'ocker' as they say!

[Skorpion 2,527]

I honestly feel like Chewy, Snacks, and Rev have the strongest Aussie accents. Scotty and Garb, to me have very clear and articulate Aussie accents.

While working in aged care, I had many UK-born residents ask if I was from England due to my accent. My grandparents have a strong accent (Liverpool), and I notice myself sometimes articulate words with a bit of an English accent. Not sure if any of the UK members here have noticed it though, or if they'd even agree if they did hear it lol.

The 'Strayan' accent is something I only ever hear when people are putting on a 'bogan' accent. Ive never heard it as a real accent. Of all the Aussies here, I think Rev's the closest to it lol. Everyone Ive every met says 'Aussie' not 'Strayan', or 'Australia' not 'Straya'.

There isnt much difference in accents around Australia compared to USA and UK, but I can almost always tell is someone is from eastern states. Just get them to say; pool, school, or cool. Theres a distinct difference in the 'oo' sound. Just like New Zealand and 'six' (or 'sex' if they say it lol )

I have a hard time understanding some English accents, and will quite often have to get them to repeat what they said. American accents are far easier though, and I rarely have trouble understanding. Probably thanks to TV lol.

The 'demise' of a language based on a wide-spread change in accent over an extended period of time is a joke. Shit changes, simple as that. We can understand each other, and thats what language is about.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Skorpion

[Xyon14 2,312]

I've personally never had a problem understanding any of you, unless you've used obscure "Aussie only" words where I've thought "huh?"    Snacks and Scotty are clearer when speaking, but I think its also because the are just quieter on the mic when they do speak. Rev sounds like a typical "Hollywood" Aussie if that make sense, in a good way of course

 

As for most accents I'm pretty lucky as I understand most of the members in the crew but that's partly due to lots of travel and living abroad for so long

 

I even understand Mr. Yorkshire... and that's almost as impossible as understanding a drunken Geordi stumbling into your house at 3 am with their Bristolian girlfriend       <--- true story.

 

 

 

 I am glad though, that whatever Rev was building when he has playing on the PS3 he finished making because he sounds so better without the "power tools  ​ " on the PS4.

[Pb76 3,952]

I can't understand a word any of you say

[zmurko 7,622]

 I am glad though, that whatever Rev was building when he has playing on the PS3 he finished making because he sounds so better without the "power tools  ​ " on the PS4.

 

 

Does he still microwave stuff during playlists?

[LN-MLB 2,583]

From my perspective, Snacks sounds the most proper, but you all sound clear and understandable to me. There are a few slang terms here and there that I may not understand right away, but that goes with any dialect. I notice that Aussies often use the word "heaps", whereas in NA, we generally say "a lot". Scotty, you do speak very clearly from my perspective and Skorpion, you definitely sound more Australian (as opposed to English), but you also sound clear and I've never had any issues understanding you.

I agree that some of the UK dialects can be a bit more of a challenge, but there are some American dialects that are harder for me to understand compared to anything I have ever heard from the UK. I too have heard Geordie spoken, and I would say that was by far the most difficult.

I know the general sound of American dialects is well-known thanks to film and TV, but are there those of us who sound extraordinary different, harder/easier to understand, or "more American" to you guys?

[DavidCore89 7,404]

To be honest, I thought Skorpion had a bit of English in there somewhere, I can definitely hear it.

 

I understand everyone in the crew, the toughest to understand in general will be Squirrel and Gunner, people living outside of the UK will struggle with the Yorkshire accent.

 

I'm not always easy to understand, the Welsh typically talk fast and I tend to mumble a lot.

 

I'm a huge fan of accents, I often use them to troll call centre people. The Aussie accent is up there with the best IMO.

[G37 3,445]

What I find interesting is how in North America, Aussie accents are often mistaken for English accents or vice versa.  To me (and I'm fairly certain to both Aussies and the English alike) they sound nothing alike.  Granted, they appear more similar compared to the accents from North America, but much of that has to do with North America being colonized much earlier and receiving a bulk of its population from continental Europe as opposed to primarily from the UK.

 

I also read somewhere that Australia doesn't seem to have wide-spread accent variety like Great Britain and the United States, but I can tell a difference between some of the ones I hear when gaming with you guys.  I've never had any trouble understanding you though.

 

 

 

I read somewhere that Australian English was heavily influenced by English from the southeastern part of England mixed in with some Irish and other varieties.

 

There are probably hundreds and hundreds of distinct American accents though--I definitely agree that a good many were heavily influenced by the Irish--especially Ulster Scots-Irish, but from what I have been able to gather, the core American sound heavily evolved from a mixture of 17th century dialects.  Back then, Rs were not dropped as they are in many places throughout England today, and that combined with the influences from Scotland and Ireland are the reason they are preserved in most varieties of American and Canadian speech.

 

Not to go too off topic, but what irks me is when people in this country claim they have "no accent".  How the hell is that even possible?

 

I think the confusion between Scottish and Irish is even worse here. 

 

Then when you start getting into oriental tongues, whew. We've got almost no hope there.

[revbouncer 1,431]

LOL Xyon, that's my neighbours upstairs who DGAF about anyone. Those noises can go on all night sometimes. They're meth heads and stay up for days at a time. Hence my eratic sleep patterns. I tend to sleep when i can these days. If i get more than 5 hours sleep in one go I've done well. I think my new mic system has cut the background noise out somewhat. It's still the same on ps3 though.

[ScottyB 2,086]

I can't understand a word any of you say

Ahh, so that's why you don't speak much

[ScottyB 2,086]

From my perspective, Snacks sounds the most proper, but you all sound clear and understandable to me. There are a few slang terms here and there that I may not understand right away, but that goes with any dialect. I notice that Aussies often use the word "heaps", whereas in NA, we generally say "a lot". Scotty, you do speak very clearly from my perspective and Skorpion, you definitely sound more Australian (as opposed to English), but you also sound clear and I've never had any issues understanding you.

I agree that some of the UK dialects can be a bit more of a challenge, but there are some American dialects that are harder for me to understand compared to anything I have ever heard from the UK. I too have heard Geordie spoken, and I would say that was by far the most difficult.

I know the general sound of American dialects is well-known thanks to film and TV, but are there those of us who sound extraordinary different, harder/easier to understand, or "more American" to you guys?

I think with us growing up wit American TV, we understand and know most of the accents fairly easily. I would consider the typical Hollywood type voice to be rather neutral in accent, only because that's what everyone around the world hears. Then you have your different types of American accents, let's just call them country I can't say I would know where different ones are from or what they are called but I would have most likely heard them before and could relate them to some movie or to character.

[LN-MLB 2,583]

To be honest, I thought Skorpion had a bit of English in there somewhere, I can definitely hear it.

 

I understand everyone in the crew, the toughest to understand in general will be Squirrel and Gunner, people living outside of the UK will struggle with the Yorkshire accent.

 

I'm not always easy to understand, the Welsh typically talk fast and I tend to mumble a lot.

 

I'm a huge fan of accents, I often use them to troll call centre people. The Aussie accent is up there with the best IMO.

 

I've never had any trouble understanding you, DC.  Your mic used to be a bit quiet, but I quite like the Welsh accent.  It's one of the easiest (in my opinion) to understand among UK accents.

 

I think the confusion between Scottish and Irish is even worse here. 

 

Then when you start getting into oriental tongues, whew. We've got almost no hope there.

 

I've seen that too, and to me, Irish sounds nothing like Scottish.  Of course, I'd probably be a little rusty with separating an Australian accent from a Kiwi accent, but I've had limited exposure to the latter.  I guess it would be the same as people trying to separate a TV influenced American accent from the standard Canadian accent.

 

I think with us growing up wit American TV, we understand and know most of the accents fairly easily. I would consider the typical Hollywood type voice to be rather neutral in accent, only because that's what everyone around the world hears. Then you have your different types of American accents, let's just call them country I can't say I would know where different ones are from or what they are called but I would have most likely heard them before and could relate them to some movie or to character.

 

I wonder if that means we all sound neutral or country. 

[Jaggy 2,811]

I think with us growing up wit American TV, we understand and know most of the accents fairly easily. I would consider the typical Hollywood type voice to be rather neutral in accent, only because that's what everyone around the world hears. Then you have your different types of American accents, let's just call them country I can't say I would know where different ones are from or what they are called but I would have most likely heard them before and could relate them to some movie or to character.

 

Yeah, you said I sound country and I'm far from it.  

 

All of you Aussie's have different sounding accents too.  Like the American accents, you can tell if someone is from "up North" or from the south, east coast, etc...

[ScottyB 2,086]

Yeah, you said I sound country and I'm far from it.  

 

All of you Aussie's have different sounding accents too.  Like the American accents, you can tell if someone is from "up North" or from the south, east coast, etc...

Haha I did say that I would also say Hatch has a country accent too, but I know you guys sound completely different, it's just that I have no idea what you would call each one since I don't know each areas dialect.

For the most part you are fairly refined and don't have a strong accent, although once you get a bit excited or start drinking it comes out a lot

I don't really hear much of a difference between us Aussies to be honest. I couldn't tell where anyone (from the crew) is from just from their accent because their voice is unique and the accents don't show through very much. Mind you, there is little difference between most of our accents from all around the country and unless you have been exposed to all the different types it would be hard to pinpoint it.