The English language is not as it was years ago. The language originated in early medieval English and is one of the most widespread languages in West Germany. It is through the Great British Empire and the United States of America that the English language gained international recognition. It is now being spoken worldwide.
Due to the widespread nature of the English language, it has developed hundreds of different accents. Australian English and British English are two of these accents. The Australian accent was derived from British and American English.
English Vs. Australian accent
British English focuses more on the pronunciation of words while Australian English is fast-paced. Words in Australian English are quickly spoken without giving room for word pronunciation.
British English on the other hand is more focused on how each word is pronounced.
Below is a comparison of the English and Australian accents:
- In the pronunciation of words, the English accent uses both vowel and consonant phonics while the Australian accent uses vowel bases phonics alone.
- There are extended and longer sounds in the English accent while the first sound is longer than the second in the Australian accent.
- The spellings in the English accent are original while those in the Australian accent are a mix of British and American English.
- The English accent has original grammar while the Australian accent is a mix of British and American English.
- The English accent’s language is non-rhotic while the Australian accent is non-rhotic. The difference is in the language and the accent.
What is the English Accent?
The English accent is the one accent to the British people and has its origin in Europe. It was developed for the people currently living outside the UK and is commonly referred to as British English.
The UK has various accents in the English language which causes no uniformity of the accent. The main accents include;
- Welsh English: This is the accent taught and spoken in the school of Wales.
- Cockney English: Many parts of England speak this accent.
- Standard British English: Commonly used in Southern England and mostly referred to as Received Pronunciation.
- Scottish English: This is the accent spoken and taught in Scotland schools.
- Midlands English: This is the accent spoken in Birmingham.
People that speak the English accent fully pronounce and use full words. The features of the English accent include:
- Any word with an ‘r’ as its last syllable is pronounced softly as ‘uh’. This goes ahead to confirm that the English accent is more non-rhotic.
- Any ‘h’ that comes at the beginning of a word is considered silent.
- Any combination of two vowel sounds in the English language is pronounced as a single vowel.
- Words with a long ‘u’ sound at the beginning tend to have a ‘y’ sound.
What is the Australian Accent?
When British and American accents are combined, they bring about the Australian accent. The English language in Australia was introduced by British people who discovered Australia. They were the first settlers in Australia and most of them hailed from Ireland and London.
There were a few of them that were from Scotland, Wales, and other British colonies. More settlers came into the country because of the gold rush in the 1850s which resulted in the Australian accents.
The Australian accent was greatly influenced by American English, which resulted in new spellings, pronunciations, and North American English usage.
There are very many Australian accents but here are the main ones;
- Broad Australian Accent: Any person outside Australia is most conversant with this accent. Whether you reside in Australia or not, you will quickly understand this accent by how words are pronounced.
- General Australian Accent: This is the most common accent in Australia. The Australian media use it as its standard accent. It is the accent that most Australians use and because a high number of its residents use it, it is called the most common.
- Cultivated Australian Accent: This sounds more like the British English accent. This accent is not as fast-paced as the usual Australian accent. It is more like the accent spoken in British countries.
The main features of the Australian accent include:
- It is a non-rhotic language. What this means is that any word with the letter ‘r’ is pronounced silently.
- The letter ‘t’ is either pronounced softly or ignored entirely.
- Any vowel sound in the first sound of the Australian accent is normally longer than the second one.
- When the letter ‘u’ is preceded by a consonant in the Australian accent, it has a ‘y’ sound.
Difference between English and Australian Accent
- While the English accent is native to the residents of the UK, the Australian accent is native to the people of Australia.
- The British English accent was what came first as compared to the Australian accent. This is because it is from various British and American Dialects.
- The English language has five main accents while the Australian language has only three. This difference shows that the English accent is not only easier to understand but also more common.
- The British English language has the original spelling of words while the Australian language has a mixture of British and American English in the spelling of their words.
- The English accent combines the verbs with the collective nouns and uses them in their plural form while the Australian language combines the verbs and the collective nouns but uses them in their singular form.
We can see that there are many similarities between the English accent and the Australian accent. The English accent compared to the Australian one is easier to understand. The difference is caused by the English accent using its pronunciation with full words while the Australian accent uses its pronunciation in continuous words. Regardless of the few differences in these two accents, catching up and understanding is not too much of a task.