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English in Australia
Tiếng Anh ở Úc
In the 18th century, the British and Irish were the first settlers to settle in New South Wales, now inhabited by Aboriginal Australians. They brought English of the British, Irish, and dialects of many other parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, Scotland, etc. The different language forms of newcomers have naturally blended and changed into a form of English with its own vocabulary and intonation. That is the very early form of English in Australia.
In the 18th century, the British and Irish were the first settlers to settle in New South Wales, now inhabited by Aboriginal Australians. They brought English of the British, Irish, and dialects of many other parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, Scotland, etc. The different language forms of newcomers have naturally blended and changed into a form of English with its own vocabulary and intonation. That is the very early form of English in Australia.
When the gold-digging movement flourished in the middle of the 19th century and World War I occurred, English in Australia was also influenced by American English due to the widespread "Americanization" process in this country. The increasing number of US troops and the rapid increase in the number of immigrants from the United States along with the strong impact of film, television, mass media, and music that took place in the middle of the twentieth century have caused English in Australia to change greatly in the direction of the use of American vocabulary and intonation. For example, some Australians have used the word "truck" from American English instead of the British word "lorry" or the word "freeway" instead of "high–speed, the grade-separated road". However, the difference between English in Australia and in the UK and the US is only in a few aspects of phonetics or vocabulary, not completely transforming the English language.
In terms of phonetics, Australian accents are classified into three categories: Broad, General, and Cultivated English. About 10 percent of Australians speak a 'Broad Australian' accent (e.g. former Prime Minister Bob Hawke), 80 percent speak a General Australian accent (actress Nicole Kidman) and the remaining 10 percent are Cultivated Australian (former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser). This difference does not come from geographical differences but is usually due to the social origin, level, culture, or education of each person.
In terms of phonetics, Australian accents are classified into three categories: Broad, General, and Cultivated English. About 10 percent of Australians speak a 'Broad Australian' accent (e.g. former Prime Minister Bob Hawke), 80 percent speak a General Australian accent (actress Nicole Kidman) and the remaining 10 percent are Cultivated Australian (former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser). This difference does not come from geographical differences but is usually due to the social origin, level, culture, or education of each person.
In terms of intonation, English in Australia today is relatively similar to the southeast of England. Australians mostly only pronounce the /r/ sound when it is in front of a vowel. When standing at the end of a word, the /r/ sound is often not pronounced clearly (e.g., roar, water, etc.) like in American English. The sounds /wh/ and /w/ are pronounced the same by Australians, for example: which with a witch, whether with the weather, whales with wales... Americans often pronounce /t/ into /d/ very clearly when it stands between 2 vowels (e.g., metal, water, etc.), Australians and British still keep the pronunciation as /t/.
Australians use a relatively similar vocabulary and spelling to the British. They all accept the last words of many words (e.g. favorite, organize, etc.) as "our" to "or" or "ise" to "size", but the first spelling is usually more common. In addition, Australians also use many words that are rarely used by other English-speaking countries or a lot of slang, local dialects with Aboriginal accents, or shortened words for long phrases. This can be strange and confusing for many people when they first set foot in this country. However, Australians are also very open and willing to help explain to you. The following are some abbreviations and common expressions in Australia.