14th February 2012

Project

Rohit Reddy

Australian English A dialect of English The English language originated in England. This was called the standard form of English. From that time, various countries were colonized by England. To ease communication, the English taught their language to their colonies. This way, English spread across the world. But the natives of the colonized countries didn t speak English as it was supposed to be spoken. Rather, the cultural and societal aspects of the people reformed the English language and diversified it. This gave birth to a variety of Dialects of English. One such dialect is Australian English. Australian English was first spoken by children taught at schools set up by the British. This dialect developed in the early 18th Century. The Aboriginal vocabulary had a moderate impact on the dialect. The dialect actually gets recognized in 1945 when Prof. Sidney Baker publishes his book, The Australian Language Since then, The Australian vernacular continues to flourish. The dialect incorporates numerous unique Australian terms. For example, the names of indigenous flora and fauna and names of places are taken from the aboriginal language. The word kangaroo for instance, refers to an animal. This word is a pure Australian word. This word also exists in the dictionary of Standard English. Other onomatopoeic terms were used which were coined by the English. For example, the word cooee is a high pitched call to attract attention. But, this onomatopoeic word now exists in Australian English with a close meaning. If a person said He is within my cooee it actually meant He is within my vicinity . It is interesting to see how this word got its meaning. The Australian English also has a unique set of words that are formed by adding o, ie or y to the end of words. For example, thingo (thing), smoke (smoke) and servo (serve). Sometimes they also insert za at the end of names of people. Australian English also incorporates some funny ways to refer to outside people. If an Australian didn t know your name, he would use terms that relate to an outsider s ethnicity. For example, an Australian would call a person with red hair as Reddie. A tall person would be called tallie and a short person shortie. Another unique aspect of Australian English is that names of places, people, companies etc. (proper nouns) would be shortened. A person named Gibbson would be called Gibbo , Paris is Pari. Australian English also has different terms that relate to items of clothing. Most of these terms are regional. What would normally be called a sweater would be called jumper . T-shirts are called singlets and sunglasses are called sunnies. As seen in some examples Australian English not only consists of American and British words, but also the native words. What Americans call foot Path and what British call pavement is called walkon in the Australian lexicon. By the middle of the century, the gold rush in Australia attracted the Americans into Australia. The Americans added to the Australian lexicon. This was confusing for the natives because British and

English L & L SL

11-B IBDP

14th February 2012

Project

Rohit Reddy

American English are very different. Tensions rose among the natives. They were confused whether to say cookie instead of biscuit or truck instead of lorry. At the end, they inculcated both American and British aspects. From then on, Australians got water from faucets and not taps, drove cars using petrol not gas, used elevators instead of lifts and drove on freeways instead of highways. It clearly showed how the American language influenced the native Australian English. However, aspects of the British English were also evident. Students went to 6th Class but not 6th grade. People watched cinemas but not movies. People wore boots and not shoes. Despite the diversity in Australian English, the British influence was greater because they were colonialized by England for a longer time. Australians have a distinct accent, which varies between social classes and it sometimes claims to vary from state to state. Accents tend to be stronger in remote areas because of lesser education. For example, the long ee sound (as in see ) is heard by the diphthong sayee . The long oo sound is pronounces o . So soup becomes soap . The diphthong air becomes a monophthong eh . Care becomes Ceh Although relatively homogenous, regional variations in the Australian version of English are noticeable. The dialects of English spoken in the south east differ from those which are spoken in the extreme south and west. Differences in terms of lexicon and phonology exist. Most of these regional differences come down to the way people in these regions use words. The uneducated classes like to use the short forms of words instead of the full word itself. The pronunciation of words is also short. For instance, what we call computer in Standard English is called komptr ; Journey is pronounced kurney. Another example is the use of n instead of and . There are many such words in the Australian Vocabulary. Another aspect of Australian English is the use of slang. Most of the slang came from the military. The Australian Defense Force is a diverse group of people from the west, east and south. Each of them had their own distinct traditions but shared the same defense force culture. This gave rise to slang. The word digger meant Soldier. Another funny slang word is crap. It meant to coward out, flee or escape. For example, We crapped out of the war meant to flee away from the war. Another aspect of the Australian slang is that it is used in such a way that is creates a rhyming tune. Ducks n Geese referred to the police. Grim n Gory meant fairy tales. Australian English isn t really corrupting the Standard English. Instead, it could be called a language which is similar to Standard English. No matter how Australian English changes, Standard English would remain the same. Australian English brings out the culture and social backgrounds of its people while it is being spoken. Dialects of any language provide variations for the parent language. They also help in conveying the cultural values of a country.

English L & L SL

11-B IBDP

14th February 2012

Project

Rohit Reddy

English L & L SL

11-B IBDP