Similar toearly American English, Australian English passed through a process of extensivedialect levelling andmixing which produced a relatively homogeneous new variety of English which was easily understood by all.[6]
The earliest Australian English was spoken by the first generation of native-born colonists in theColony of New South Wales from the end of the 18th century. These native-born children were exposed to a wide range of dialects from across theBritish Isles. The dialects ofSouth East England, including most notably the traditionalCockney dialect of London, were particularly influential on the development of the new variety and constituted "the major input of the various sounds that went into constructing" Australian English. All the other regions of England were represented among the early colonists. A large proportion of early convicts and colonists were from Ireland (comprising the 25% of the total convict population), and many of them spokeIrish as a sole orfirst language. They were joined by other non-native speakers of English from theScottish Highlands andWales.Peter Miller Cunningham's 1827 bookTwo Years in New South Wales described the distinctive accent and vocabulary that had developed among the native-born colonists.[7]
The first of theAustralian gold rushes in the 1850s began a large wave ofimmigration, during which about two percent of the population of the United Kingdom emigrated to the colonies ofNew South Wales andVictoria.[10] The Gold Rushes brought immigrants and linguistic influences from many parts of the world. An example was the introduction of vocabulary fromAmerican English, including some terms later considered to be typically Australian, such asbushwhacker andsquatter.[11] This American influence was continued with the popularity of American films from the early 20th century and the influx of American military personnel that settled inAustralia andNew Zealand duringWorld War II; seen in the enduring persistence of such universally-accepted terms asokay andguys.[12]
The publication ofEdward Ellis Morris'sAustral English: A Dictionary Of Australasian Words, Phrases And Usages in 1898, which extensively catalogued Australian English vocabulary, started a wave of academic interest and codification during the 20th century which resulted in Australian English becoming established as anendonormative variety with its own internal norms and standards. This culminated in publications such as the 1981 first edition of theMacquarie Dictionary, a major English language dictionary based on Australian usage, and the 1988 first edition ofThe Australian National Dictionary, a historical dictionary documenting the history of Australian English vocabulary and idiom.
The most obvious way in which Australian English is distinctive from other varieties of English is through its unique pronunciation. It shares most similarity withNew Zealand English.[13] Like most dialects of English, it is distinguished primarily by the phonetic quality of its vowels.[14]
Australian English monophthongs[15]Part 1 of Australian English diphthongs[15]Part 2 of Australian English diphthongs[15]
The vowels of Australian English can be divided according to length. The long vowels, which includemonophthongs anddiphthongs, mostly correspond to thetense vowels used in analyses ofReceived Pronunciation (RP) as well as its centring diphthongs. The short vowels, consisting only of monophthongs, correspond to the RP lax vowels.
There exist pairs of long and short vowels with overlapping vowel quality giving Australian Englishphonemic length distinction, which is also present in some regional south-eastern dialects of the UK and eastern seaboard dialects in the US.[16] An example of this feature is the distinction betweenferry/ˈfeɹiː/ andfairy/ˈfeːɹiː/.
As with New Zealand English and General American English, theweak-vowel merger is complete in Australian English: unstressed/ɪ/ is merged into/ə/ (schwa), unless it is followed by a velar consonant. Examples of this feature are the following pairings, which are pronounced identically in Australian English:Rosa's androses, as well asLennon andLenin. Other examples are the following pairs, which rhyme in Australian English:abbott withrabbit, anddig it withbigot.
Most varieties of Australian English exhibit only a partialtrap-bath split. The wordsbath,grass andcan't are always pronounced with the "long"/aː/ offather. Throughout the majority of the country, the "flat"/æ/ ofman is the dominant pronunciation for thea vowel in the following words:dance,advance,plant,example andanswer. The exception is the state ofSouth Australia, where a more advanced trap-bath split is found, and where the dominant pronunciation of all the preceding words incorporates the "long"/aː/ offather.
^The vowel /ʉː/ is diphthongised in all the major Australian accents; in General Australian, the most widespread Australian accent, the vowel is pronounced as [ɪ̈ɯ]. SeeAustralian English phonology for a more detailed analysis.
^The boundary between monophthongs and diphthongs is somewhat fluid:/ɪə/, for example, is commonly realised as[ɪː], particularly in closed syllables, though also found in open syllables such aswe're,here, and so on. In open syllables particularly, the pronunciation varies from the bisyllabic[ɪːa], through the diphthong[ɪə], to the long vowel[ɪː].
^The vowel /iː/ has an onset [ɪi̯], except before laterals. The onset is often lowered to [əi], so that "beat" is [bəit] for some speakers.
There is little variation in the sets ofconsonants used in different English dialects but there are variations in how these consonants are used. Australian English is no exception.
Australian English is uniformlynon-rhotic; that is, the/ɹ/ sound does not appear at the end of a syllable or immediately before a consonant.[8] As with many non-rhotic dialects,linking/ɹ/ can occur when a word that has a final⟨r⟩ in the spelling comes before another word that starts with a vowel. Anintrusive/ɹ/ may similarly be inserted before a vowel in words that do not have⟨r⟩ in the spelling in certain environments, namely after the long vowel/oː/ and after word final/ə/. This can be heard in "law-r-and order", where an intrusive R is voiced between the AW and the A.
As with North American English,intervocalic alveolar flapping is a feature of Australian English: prevocalic/t/ and/d/ surface as thealveolar tap[ɾ] aftersonorants other than/m,ŋ/ as well as at the end of a word or morpheme before any vowel in the same breath group. Examples of this feature are that the following pairs are pronounced similarly or identically:latter andladder, as well asrated andraided.
Yod-dropping generally occurs after/s/,/l/,/z/,/θ/ but not after/t/,/d/ and/n/.[18] Accordingly,suit is pronounced as/sʉːt/,lute as/lʉːt/,Zeus as/zʉːs/ andenthusiasm as/enˈθʉːziːæzəm/. Other cases of/sj/ and/zj/, as well as/tj/ and/dj/, havecoalesced to/ʃ/,/ʒ/,/tʃ/ and/dʒ/ respectively for many speakers./j/ is generally retained in otherconsonant clusters.[citation needed]
Differences in stress, weak forms and standard pronunciation of isolated words occur between Australian English and other forms of English, which while noticeable do not impair intelligibility.
The affixes-ary,-ery,-ory,-bury,-berry and-mony (seen in words such asnecessary, mulberry andmatrimony) can be pronounced either with a full vowel (/ˈnesəseɹiː,ˈmalbeɹiː,ˈmætɹəməʉniː/) or a schwa (/ˈnesəsəɹiː,ˈmalbəɹiː,ˈmætɹəməniː/). Although some words likenecessary are almost universally pronounced with the full vowel, older generations of Australians are relatively likely to pronounce these affixes with a schwa as is typical in British English. Meanwhile, younger generations are relatively likely to use a full vowel.
Words ending in unstressed-ile derived from Latin adjectives ending in-ilis are pronounced with a full vowel, so thatfertile/ˈfɜːtɑɪl/ sounds likefur tile rather than rhyming withturtle/ˈtɜːtəl/.
In addition, miscellaneous pronunciation differences exist when compared with other varieties of English in relation to various isolated words, with some of those pronunciations being unique to Australian English. For example:
As with American English, the vowel inyoghurt/ˈjəʉɡət/ and the prefixhomo-/ˈhəʉməʉ/ (as inhomosexual orhomophobic) are pronounced withGOAT rather thanLOT;
Vitamin,migraine andprivacy are all pronounced with/ɑɪ/ in the stressed syllable (/ˈvɑɪtəmən,ˈmɑɪɡɹæɪn,ˈpɹɑɪvəsiː/) rather than/ˈvɪtəmən,ˈmiːɡɹæɪn,ˈpɹɪvəsiː/;
Dynasty andpatronise, by contrast, are usually subject totrisyllabic laxing (/ˈdɪnəstiː,ˈpætrɔnɑɪz/) like in Britain, alongside US-derived/ˈdɑɪnəstiː,ˈpæɪtrɔnɑɪz/;
The prefixpaedo- (as inpaedophile) is pronounced/ˈpedəʉ/ rather than/ˈpiːdəʉ/;
In loanwords, the vowel spelled with⟨a⟩ is often nativized as thePALM vowel (/aː/), as in American English, rather than theTRAP vowel (/æ/), as in British English. For example,pasta is pronounced/ˈpaːstə/, analogous to American English/ˈpɑstə/, rather than/ˈpæstə/, as in British English.
Urinal is stressed on the first syllable and with theschwa forI:/ˈjʉːɹənəl/;
Harass andharassment are pronounced with the stress on the second, rather than the first syllable;
The wordfoyer is pronounced/ˈfoɪə/, rather than/ˈfoɪæɪ/;
Tomato,vase anddata are pronounced with/aː/ instead of/æɪ/:/təˈmaːtəʉ,vaːz,ˈdaːtə/, with/ˈdæɪtə/ being uncommon but acceptable;
Zebra andleisure are pronounced/ˈzebɹə/ and/ˈleʒə/ rather than/ˈziːbɹə/ and/ˈliːʒə/, both having disyllabic laxing;
Status varies between British-derived/ˈstæɪtəs/ with theFACE vowel and American-derived/ˈstætəs/ with theTRAP vowel;
Conversely,precedence,precedent and derivatives are mainly pronounced with theFLEECE vowel in the stressed syllable, rather thanDRESS:/ˈpɹiːsədəns~pɹiːˈsiːdəns,ˈpɹiːsədənt/;
Basil is pronounced/ˈbæzəl/, rather than/ˈbæɪzəl/;
Conversely,cache is usually pronounced/kæɪʃ/, rather than the more conventional/kæʃ/;
Buoy is pronounced as/boɪ/ (as inboy) rather than/ˈbʉːiː/;
TheE incongress andprogress is not reduced:/ˈkɔnɡɹes,ˈpɹəʉɡɹes/;
Conversely, the unstressedO insilicon,phenomenon andpython stands for a schwa:/ˈsɪlɪkən,fəˈnɔmənən,ˈpɑɪθən/;
InAmazon,Lebanon,marathon andpantheon, however, the unstressedO stands for theLOT vowel, somewhat as with American English:/ˈæməzɔn,ˈlebənɔn,ˈmæɹəθɔn,ˈpænθæɪɔn/;
The colour namemaroon is pronounced with theGOAT vowel:/məˈɹəʉn/.
Relative to many other national dialect groupings, Australian English is relatively homogeneous across the country. Some relatively minor regional differences in pronunciation exist. A limited range ofword choices is strongly regional in nature. Consequently, the geographical background of individuals may be inferred if they use words that are peculiar to particular Australian states or territories and, in some cases, even smaller regions. In addition, some Australians speakcreole languages derived from Australian English, such asAustralian Kriol,Torres Strait Creole andNorfuk.
Academic research has also identified notablesociocultural variation within Australian English, which is mostly evident in phonology.[20]
Although Australian English is relatively homogeneous, there are some regional variations. The dialects of English spoken in the variousstates and territories of Australia differ slightly in vocabulary and phonology.
Most regional differences are in word usage. Swimming clothes are known ascossies,/ˈkɔziːz/togs orswimmers in New South Wales,togs in Queensland, andbathers in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia.[21] What Queensland calls astroller is usually called apram in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, and Tasmania.[22]
Preference for some synonymous words also differ between states.Garbage (i.e., garbage bin, garbage truck) dominates overrubbish in New South Wales and Queensland, whilerubbish is more popular in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia.[22]
Additionally, the wordfooty generally refers to the most popularfootball code in an area; that is,rugby league orrugby union depending on the local area, in most of New South Wales and Queensland. More commonly "rugby" is used to distinguish rugby union from "footy" which refers to the more popular rugby league. Footy commonly is used forAustralian rules football elsewhere however the term refers to the both prominent codes, rugby league and Australian rules football, interchangeably, depending on context of usage outside of regional perrameters. In some pockets of Melbourne & Western Sydney "football" and more rarely "footy" will refer to Association football although unlike more common international terminology, Australian English uses the term soccer and not football or footy. Beer glasses are alsonamed differently in different states. Distinctive grammatical patterns exist such as the use of the interrogativeeh (also spelleday oraye), which is particularly associated with Queensland.Secret Santa ([citation needed]) andKris Kringle are used in all states, with the former being more common in Queensland.
South Australia
The most pronounced variation in phonology is betweenSouth Australia and the other states and territories. Thetrap–bath split is more complete in South Australia, in contrast to the other states. Accordingly, words such asdance,advance,plant,example andanswer are pronounced with/aː/ (as infather) far more frequently in South Australia while the older/æ/ (as inmad) is dominant elsewhere in Australia.[22]L-vocalisation is also more common in South Australia than other states.
Centring diphthongs
In Western Australian and Queensland English, the vowels innear andsquare are typically realised as centring diphthongs ([nɪə,skweə]), whereas in the other states they may also be realised as monophthongs:[nɪː,skweː].[23]
Salary–celery merger
A feature common in Victorian English issalary–celery merger, whereby a Victorian pronunciation ofEllen may sound likeAlan and Victoria's capital cityMelbourne may sound likeMalbourne to speakers from other states. There is also regional variation in/ʉː/ before/l/ (as inschool andpool).
Full-fool allophones
In some parts of Australia, notably Victoria, a fully backed allophone of/ʉː/, transcribed[ʊː], is common before/l/. As a result, the pairs full/fool and pull/pool differ phonetically only in vowel length for those speakers. The usual allophone for/ʉː/ is further forward in Queensland and New South Wales than Victoria.
Final particle but
Afinal particle but, where "but" is the concluding word in a sentence, has also evolved as a distinctive feature in Australian English, particularly in Western Australia and Queensland. In conversational Australian English it is thought to be a turn-yielding particle that marks contrastive content in the utterance it closes. It is a linguistic trait sometimes employed in Australian literature to indicate that the character is quintessentially Australian.[24]
The General Australian accent serves as thestandard variety of English across the country. According to linguists, it emerged during the 19th century.[25] General Australian is the dominant variety across the continent, and is particularly so in urban areas.[26] The increasing dominance of General Australian reflects its prominence on radio and television since the latter half of the 20th century.
Recent generations have seen a comparatively smaller proportion of the population speaking with theBroad sociocultural variant, which differs from General Australian in its phonology. The Broad variant is found across the continent and is relatively more prominent in rural and outer-suburban areas.[27][28]
A largely historicalCultivated sociocultural variant, which adopted features of BritishReceived Pronunciation and which was commonplace in official media during the early 20th century, had become largely extinct by the onset of the 21st century.[29]
Australian Aboriginal English is made up of a range of forms which developed differently in different parts of Australia, and are said to vary along a continuum, from forms close to Standard Australian English to more non-standard forms. There are distinctive features of accent, grammar, words and meanings, as well as language use.
Academics have noted the emergence of numerous ethnocultural dialects of Australian English that are spoken by people from someminority non-English speaking backgrounds.[30] These ethnocultural varieties contain features of General Australian English as adopted by the children of immigrants blended with some non-English language features, such asAfro-Asiatic languages andlanguages of Asia.Samoan English is also influencing Australian English.[31] Otherethnolects include those of Lebanese and Vietnamese Australians.[32]
Ahigh rising terminal in Australian English was noted and studied earlier than in other varieties of English.[citation needed] The feature is sometimes calledAustralian questioning intonation. Research published in 1986, regarding vernacular speech inSydney, suggested that high rising terminal was initially spread by young people in the 1960s. It found that the high rising terminal was used more than twice as often by young people than older people, and is more common among women than men.[33] In theUnited Kingdom, it has occasionally been considered one of the variety's stereotypical features, and its spread there is attributed to the popularity ofAustralian soap operas.[34]
Internationally well-known examples of Australian terminology includeoutback, meaning a remote, sparsely populated area,the bush, meaning either a native forest or a country area in general, andg'day, a greeting.Dinkum, orfair dinkum means "true", "legitimate" or "is that true?", among other things, depending on context and inflection.[35] The derivativedinky-di means "true" or devoted: a "dinky-di Aussie" is a "true Australian".[citation needed]
Australian English, in common withBritish English, uses the wordmate to meanfriend, as well as the wordbloody as a mildexpletive orintensifier.[citation needed] "Mate" is also used in multiple ways including to indicate "mateship" or formally call out the target of a threat or insult, depending on internation and context.
Several words used by Australians were at one time used in the UK but have since fallen out of usage or changed in meaning there. For example,creek in Australia, as in North America, means a stream or small river, whereas in the UK it is typically a watercourse in a marshy area;paddock in Australia means field, whereas in the UK it means a small enclosure for livestock;bush orscrub in Australia, as in North America, means a natural, uncultivated area of vegetation or flora, whereas in England they are commonly used only in proper names (such asShepherd's Bush andWormwood Scrubs).[citation needed]
Some elements ofAboriginal languages have beenadopted by Australian English—mainly as names for places, flora and fauna (for exampledingo) and local culture. Many such are localised, and do not form part of general Australian use, while others, such askangaroo,boomerang,budgerigar,wallaby and so on have become international. Other examples arecooee andhard yakka. The former is used as a high-pitched call, for attracting attention, (pronounced/ˈkʉːiː/) which travels long distances.Cooee is also a notional distance: "if he's withincooee, we'll spot him".Hard yakka means "hard work" and is derived fromyakka, from theJagera/Yagara language once spoken in the Brisbane region.
The wordbung, meaning "dead" was originally aYagara word which was used in thepidgin widely spoken across Australia.[36]
Many towns or suburbs of Australia have also been influenced or named after Aboriginal words. The best-known example is the capital,Canberra, named after a localNgunnawal language word thought to mean "women's breasts" or "meeting place".[37][38]
Litotes, such as "not bad", "not much" and "you're not wrong", are also used.[citation needed]
Diminutives andhypocorisms are common and are often used to indicate familiarity.[39] Some common examples arearvo (afternoon),barbie (barbecue),smoko (cigarette break),Aussie (Australian) andStraya (Australia). This may also be done with people's names to create nicknames (other English speaking countries createsimilar diminutives). For example, "Gazza" from Gary, or "Smitty" from John Smith. The use of the suffix-o originates inIrish:ó,[citation needed] which is both a postclitic and a suffix with much the same meaning as in Australian English.[citation needed]
In informal speech, incomplete comparisons are sometimes used, such as "sweet as" (as in "That car is sweet as."). "Full", "fully" or "heaps" may precede a word to act as an intensifier (as in "The waves at the beach were heaps good."). This was more common in regional Australia and South Australia[when?] but has been in common usage in urban Australia for decades. The suffix "-ly" is sometimes omitted in broader Australian English. For instance, "really good" can become "real good".[citation needed]
Australia's switch to themetric system in the 1970s changed most of the country's vocabulary of measurement fromimperial to metric measures.[40] Since the switch to metric, heights of individuals are listed in centimetres on official documents and distances by road on signs are listed in terms ofkilometres andmetres.[41]
WhereBritish and American English vocabulary differs, sometimes Australian English shares a usage with one of those varieties, as withpetrol (AmE:gasoline) andmobile phone (AmE:cellular phone) which are shared with British English, ortruck (BrE:lorry) andeggplant (BrE:aubergine) which are shared with American English.
In other circumstances, Australian English sometimes favours a usage which is different from both British and American English as with:[42]
Differences exist between Australian English and other varieties of English, where different terms can be used for the same subject or the same term can be ascribed different meanings. Non-exhaustive examples of terminology associated with food, transport and clothing is used below to demonstrate the variations which exist between Australian English and other varieties:
Food –capsicum (BrE:(red/green) pepper; AmE:bell pepper);(potato) chips (refers both to BrEcrisps and AmEFrench fries);chook (sanga) (BrE and AmE:chicken (sandwich));coriander (shared with BrE. AmE:cilantro);entree (refers to AmEappetizer whereas AmEentree is referred to in AusE asmain course);eggplant (shared with AmE. BrE:aubergine);fairy floss (BrE:candy floss; AmE:cotton candy);ice block oricy pole (BrE:ice lolly; AmE:popsicle);jelly (refers to AmEJell-o whereas AmEjelly refers to AusEjam);lollies (BrE:sweets; AmE:candy);marinara (sauce) (refers to a tomato-based sauce in AmE and BrE but a seafood sauce in AusE);mince orminced meat (shared with BrE. AmE:ground meat);prawn (which in BrE refers to large crustaceans only, with small crustaceans referred to asshrimp. AmE universally:shrimp);snow pea (shared with AmE. BrEmangetout);pumpkin (AmE:squash, except for the large orange variety – AusEsquash refers only to a small number of uncommon species; BrE:marrow);tomato sauce (also used in BrE. AmE:ketchup);zucchini (shared with AmE. BrE:courgette)
Transport –aeroplane (shared with BrE. AmE:airplane);bonnet (shared with BrE. AmE:hood);bumper (shared with BrE. AmE:fender);car park (shared with BrE. AmE:parking lot);convertible (shared with AmE. BrE:cabriolet);footpath (BrE:pavement; AmE:sidewalk);horse float (BrE:horsebox; AmE:horse trailer);indicator (shared with BrE. AmE:turn signal);peak hour (BrE and AmE:rush hour);petrol (shared with BrE. AmE:gasoline);railway (shared with BrE. AmE:railroad);sedan (car) (shared with AmE. BrE:saloon (car));semitrailer (shared with AmE. BrE:artic orarticulated lorry);station wagon (shared with AmE. BrE:estate car);truck (shared with AmE. BrE:lorry);ute (BrE and AmE:pickup truck);windscreen (shared with BrE. AmE:windshield)
Clothing –gumboots (BrE:Wellington boots orWellies; AmE:rubber boots orgaloshes);jumper (shared with BrE. AmE:sweater);nappy (shared with BrE. AmE:diaper);overalls (shared with AmE. BrE:dungarees);raincoat (shared with AmE. BrE:mackintosh ormac);runners or sneakers (footwear) (BrE:trainers. AmE:sneakers);sandshoe (BrE:pump orplimsoll. AmE:tennis shoe);singlet (BrE:vest. AmE:tank top orwifebeater);skivvy (BrE:polo neck; AmE:turtleneck);swimmers ortogs orbathers (BrE:swimming costume. AmE:bathing suit orswimsuit);thongs (refers to BrE and AmEflip-flops (footwear). In BrE and AmE refers tog-string (underwear))
Terms with different meanings in Australian English
There also exist words which in Australian English are ascribed different meanings from those ascribed in other varieties of English, for instance:[42]
Asian in Australian (and American) English commonly refers to people of East Asian ancestry, while in British English it commonly refers to people of South Asian ancestry
Biscuit in Australian (and British) English refers to AmEcookie andcracker, while in American English it refers to aleavened bread product
(potato) Chips refers both to British Englishcrisps (which is not commonly used in Australian English) and to American EnglishFrench fries (which is used alongsidehot chips)
Football in Australian English most commonly refers toAustralian rules football,rugby league orrugby union. In British English,football is most commonly used to refer toassociation football, while in North American Englishfootball is used to refer togridiron
Pants in Australian (and American) English most commonly refers to British Englishtrousers, but in British English refers to Australian Englishunderpants
Nursery in Australian English generally refers to aplant nursery, whereas in British English and American English it also often refers to achild care or daycare for pre-school age children[43]
Paddock in Australian English refers to an open field or meadow whereas in American and British English it refers to a small agricultural enclosure
Public school in Australian (and American) English refers to a state school. Australian and American English useprivate school to mean a non-government or independent school, in contrast with British English which usespublic school to refer to the same thing
Thongs in Australian English refer to British and American Englishflip-flop (footwear), whereas in both American and British English it refers to Australian EnglishG-string (underwear) (in Australian English the singular "thong" can refer to one half of a pair of the footwear or to a G-string, so care must be taken as to context)
Vest in Australian (and American) English refers to a padded upper garment or British Englishwaistcoat but in British English refers to Australian Englishsinglet
Idioms taking different forms in Australian English
In addition to the large number of uniquely Australian idioms in common use, there are instances of idioms taking different forms in Australian English than in other varieties, for instance:
A drop in the ocean (shared with BrE usage) as opposed to AmEa drop in the bucket
A way to go (shared with BrE usage) as opposed to AmEa ways to go
Home away from home (shared with AmE usage) as opposed to BrEhome from home
Take (something) with a grain of salt (shared with AmE usage) as opposed to BrEtake with a pinch of salt
Touch wood (shared with BrE usage) as opposed to AmEknock on wood
Wouldn't touch (something) with a ten-foot pole (shared with AmE usage) as opposed to BrEwouldn't touch with a barge pole
British and American English terms not commonly used in Australian English
There are extensive terms used in other varieties of English which are not widely used in Australian English. These terms usually do not result in Australian English speakers failing to comprehend speakers of other varieties of English, as Australian English speakers will often be familiar with such terms through exposure to media or may ascertain the meaning using context.
Non-exhaustive selections of British English and American English terms not commonly used in Australian English together with their definitions or Australian English equivalents are found in the collapsible table below:[44][45]
British English terms not widely used in Australian English[44]
Allotment (gardening): Acommunity garden not connected to a dwelling
Artic orarticulated lorry (vehicle): Australian Englishsemi-trailer
The general rules which apply to Australian English are described atEnglish grammar. Grammatical differences between varieties of English are minor relative to differences in phonology and vocabulary and do not generally affect intelligibility. Examples of grammatical differences between Australian English and other varieties include:
Collective nouns are generally singular in construction, e.g.,the government was unable to decide as opposed tothe government were unable to decide orthe group was leaving as opposed tothe group were leaving.[46] This is in common withAmerican English.
Australian English has an extreme distaste for the modal verbsshall (in non-legal contexts),shan't andought (in place ofwill,won't andshould respectively), which are encountered in British English.[47] However,shall is found in theAustralian Constitution, Acts of Parliament, and other formal or legal documents such as contracts, andought sees use in some academic contexts (such as philosophy).
Usingshould with the same meaning aswould, e.g.I should like to see you, encountered in British English, is almost never encountered in Australian English and is often contracted toI'd.
River follows the name of the river in question, e.g.,Brisbane River, rather than the British convention of coming before the name, e.g.,River Thames. This is also the case inNorth American andNew Zealand English. InSouth Australian English however, the reverse applies when referring to the following three rivers:Murray,Darling andTorrens.[48] TheDerwent in Tasmania also follows this convention.
While prepositions before days may be omitted in American English, i.e.,She resigned Thursday, they are retained in Australian English:She resigned on Thursday. This is shared with British English.
The institutional nounshospital anduniversity do not take thedefinite article:She's in hospital,He's at university.[49] This is in contrast to American English wherethe is required:In the hospital,At the university.
On the weekend is used in favour of the Britishat the weekend which is not encountered in Australian English.[50]
Ranges of dates useto, i.e.,Monday to Friday, rather thanMonday through Friday. This is shared with British English and is in contrast to American English.
When speaking or writing out numbers,and is always inserted before the tens, i.e.,one hundred and sixty-two rather thanone hundred sixty-two. This is in contrast to American English, where the insertion ofand is acceptable but nonetheless either casual or informal.
The prepositionto inwrite to (e.g. "I'll write to you") is always retained, as opposed to American usage where it may be dropped.
Australian English does not share the British usage ofread (v) to mean "study" (v). Therefore, it may be said that "He studies medicine" but not that "Hereads medicine".
When referring to time, Australians will refer to 10:30 ashalf past ten and do not use the Britishhalf ten. Similarly,a quarter to ten is used for 9:45 rather than(a) quarter of ten, which is sometimes found in American English.
Australian English does not share the British English meaning ofsat to includesitting orseated. Therefore, uses such asI've been sat here for an hour are not encountered in Australian English.
Tohave a shower orhave a bath are the most common usages in Australian English, in contrast to American English which usestake a shower andtake a bath.[51]
The past participle ofsaw issawn (e.g.sawn-off shotgun) in Australian English, in contrast to the American Englishsawed.
The verbvisit is transitive in Australian English. Where the object is a person or people, American English also usesvisit with, which is not found in Australian English.
An outdoor event which is cancelled due to inclement weather israined out in Australian English. This is in contrast to British English where it is said to berained off.[52][53]
In informal speech, sentence-finalbut may be used, e.g. "I don't want to go but" in place of "But I don't want to go".[47] This is also found inScottish English.
In informal speech, thediscourse markersyeah no (oryeah nah) andno yeah (ornah yeah) may be used to mean "no" and "yes" respectively.[54] Extended discourse markers of this nature are sometimes used for comedic effect, but the meaning is generally found in the final affirmative/negative.
As in all English-speaking countries, there is no central authority that prescribes official usage with respect to matters ofspelling, grammar, punctuation or style.
Australian spelling is significantly closer toBritish thanAmerican spelling, as it did not adopt the systematicreforms promulgated inNoah Webster's1828 Dictionary. Notwithstanding, the Macquarie Dictionary often lists most American spellings as acceptable secondary variants.
The minor systematic differences which occur between Australian and American spelling are summarised below:[56]
French-derived words which in American English end withor, such ascolor,honor,behavior andlabor, are spelt withour in Australian English:colour,honour,behaviour andlabour. Exceptions are theAustralianLabor Party and some (especiallySouth Australian) placenames which useHarbor, notablyVictorHarbor.
Words which in American English end withize, such asrealize,recognize andapologize are spelt withise in Australian English:realise,recognise andapologise. The BritishOxford spelling, which uses theize endings, remains a minority variant. The Macquarie Dictionary says that the-ise form as opposed to-ize sits at 3:1. The sole exception to this iscapsize, which is used in all varieties.
Words which in American English end withyze, such asanalyze,paralyze andcatalyze are spelt withyse in Australian English:analyse,paralyse andcatalyse.
French-derived words which in American English end wither, such asfiber,center andmeter are spelt withre in Australian English:fibre,centre andmetre (the unit of measurement only, not physical devices; sogasometer,voltmeter).
Words which end in American English end withlog, such ascatalog,dialog andmonolog are usually spelt withlogue in Australian English:catalogue,dialogue andmonologue; however, theMacquarie Dictionary lists thelog spelling as the preferred variant foranalog.
A double-consonantl is retained in Australian English when adding suffixes to words ending inl where the consonant is unstressed, contrary to American English. Therefore, Australian English favourscancelled,counsellor, andtravelling over Americancanceled,counselor andtraveling.
Where American English uses a double-consonantll in the wordsskillful,willful,enroll,distill,enthrall,fulfill andinstallment, Australian English uses a single consonant:skilful,wilful,enrol,distil,enthral,fulfil andinstalment. However, the Macquarie Dictionary has noted a growing tendency to use the double consonant.[57]
The American Englishdefense andoffense are speltdefence andoffence in Australian English.
In contrast with American English, which usespractice andlicense for both nouns and verbs,practice andlicence are nouns whilepractise andlicense are verbs in Australian English.
Words withae andoe are often maintained in words such asoestrogen andpaedophilia, in contrast to the American English practice of usinge alone (as inestrogen andpedophilia). TheMacquarie Dictionary has noted a shift within Australian English towards usinge alone, and now lists some words such asencyclopedia,fetus,eon orhematite with thee spelling as the preferred variant and hence Australian English varies by word when it comes to these sets of words.
Minor systematic difference which occur between Australian and British spelling are as follows:[56]
Words often ending ineable in British English end inable in Australian English. Therefore, Australian English favourslivable overliveable,sizable oversizeable,movable overmoveable, etc., although both variants are acceptable.
Words often ending ineing in British English end ining in Australian English. Therefore, Australian English favoursaging overageing, orrouting overrouteing, etc., although both variants are acceptable.
Words often ending inmme in British English end inm in Australian English. Therefore, Australian English favoursprogram overprogramme (in all contexts) andaerogram overaerogramme, although both variants are acceptable. Similar to Canada, New Zealand and the United States,(kilo)gram is the only spelling.
Other examples of individual words where the preferred spelling is listed by theMacquarie Dictionary as being different from current British spellings includeanalog as opposed toanalogue,guerilla as opposed toguerrilla,verandah as opposed toveranda,burqa as opposed toburka,pastie (noun) as opposed topasty,neuron as opposed toneurone,hicup as opposed tohicough,annex as opposed toannexe,raccoon as opposed toracoon etc.[56] Unspaced forms such asonto,anytime,alright andanymore are also listed as being equally as acceptable as their spaced counterparts.[56]
There is variation between and within varieties of English in the treatment of-t and-ed endings for past tense verbs. The Macquarie Dictionary does not favour either, but it suggests thatleaped,leaned orlearned (with-ed endings) are more common butspelt andburnt (with-t endings) are more common.[56]
Different spellings have existed throughout Australia's history. What are today regarded as American spellings were popular in Australia throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the Victorian Department of Education endorsing them into the 1970s andThe Age newspaper until the 1990s. This influence can be seen in the spelling of theAustralian Labor Party and also in some place names such asVictor Harbor. TheConcise Oxford English Dictionary has been credited with re-establishing the dominance of the British spellings in the 1920s and 1930s.[58] For a short time during the late 20th century,Harry Lindgren's 1969 spelling reform proposal (Spelling Reform 1 orSR1) gained some support in Australia and was adopted by theAustralian Teachers' Federation and ministerDoug Everingham in personal correspondence.[59]
Prominent generalstyle guides for Australian English include theCambridge Guide to Australian English Usage, theAustralian Government Style Manual[60] (formerly theStyle Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers), theAustralian Handbook for Writers and Editors and theComplete Guide to English Usage for Australian Students.
Bothsingle and double quotation marks are in use, with single quotation marks preferred for use in the first instance, with double quotation marks reserved for quotes of speech within speech.Logical (as opposed to typesetter's) punctuation is preferred for punctuation marks at the end of quotations. For instance,Sam said he 'wasn't happy when Jane told David to "go away"'. is used in preference toSam said he "wasn't happy when Jane told David to 'go away.'"
The DD/MM/YYYYdate format is followed and the 12-hour clock is generally used in everyday life (as opposed to service, police, and airline applications).
With the exception of screen sizes,metric units are used in everyday life, having supplantedimperial units upon the country's switch to the metric system in the 1970s, although imperial units persist in casual references to a person's height. Tyre and bolt sizes (for example) are defined in imperial units where appropriate for technical reasons.
Inbetting,decimal odds are used in preference to fractional odds, as used in the United Kingdom, or moneyline odds in the United States.
There aretwo major English language keyboard layouts, the United States layout and the United Kingdom layout. Keyboards and keyboard software for the Australian market universally uses the US keyboard layout, which lacks thepound (£),euro andnegation symbols and uses a different layout for punctuation symbols from the UK keyboard layout.
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^"Australia".IANA language subtag registry. 16 October 2005. Retrieved11 January 2019.
^"Australia".Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved6 March 2025.
^abBurridge, Kate (2020). "Chapter 11: History of Australian English". In Willoughby, Louisa (ed.).Australian English Reimagined: Structure, Features and Developments. Routledge. pp. 178¬–181.ISBN978-0-367-02939-5.
^abMoore, Bruce (2008).Speaking our Language: the Story of Australian English. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 69.ISBN978-0-19-556577-5.
^abBurridge, Kate (2020). "Chapter 11: History of Australian English". In Willoughby, Louisa (ed.).Australian English Reimagined: Structure, Features and Developments. Routledge. pp. 181, 183.ISBN978-0-367-02939-5.
^Cox, Felicity (2020). "Chapter 2: Phonetics and Phonology of Australian English". In Willoughby, Louisa (ed.).Australian English Reimagined: Structure, Features and Developments. Routledge. p. 15.ISBN978-0-367-02939-5.
^Blainey, Geoffrey (1993).The Rush that Never Ended: a History of Australian Mining (4 ed.). Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press.ISBN0-522-84557-6.
^Baker, Sidney J. (1945).The Australian Language (1st ed.). Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
^Bell, Philip; Bell, Roger (1998).Americanization and Australia (1. publ. ed.). Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.ISBN0-86840-784-4.
^Trudgill, Peter and Jean Hannah. (2002).International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English, 4th ed. London: Arnold.ISBN0-340-80834-9, p. 4.
^Harrington, J.; F. Cox & Z. Evans (1997). "An acoustic phonetic study of broad, general, and cultivated Australian English vowels".Australian Journal of Linguistics.17 (2):155–84.doi:10.1080/07268609708599550.
^Bruce Moore (Australian Oxford Dictionary) and Felicity Cox (Macquarie University) [interviewed in]:Sounds of Aus (television documentary) 2007; director: David Swann; Writer: Lawrie Zion, Princess Pictures (broadcaster: ABC Television).
^Frei, Patricia."Discussion on the Meaning of 'Canberra'".Canberra History Web. Patricia Frei. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved11 August 2013.
^ab"The Macquarie Dictionary", Fourth Edition. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, 2005. Note: Entries withChiefly British usage note in the Macquarie Dictionary and reference to corresponding Australian entry.
^abThe Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, 2005. Note: Entries withChiefly US usage note in the Macquarie Dictionary and reference to corresponding Australian entry.
^Pena, Yolanda Fernandez (5 May 2016). "What Motivates Verbal Agreement Variation with Collective Headed Subjects".University of Vigo LVTC.
^"Geographical names guidelines".Planning and property. Attorney-General's Department (Government of South Australia). August 2020. Retrieved8 February 2021.
^Siegel, Jeff (2010).Second Dialect Acquisition. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-51687-7.
^Hewings, Matthew (1999).Advanced Grammar in Use. p. 214.
^Cetnarowska, Bozena (1993).The Syntax, Semantics and Derivation of Bare Normalisations in English. Uniwersytet Śląski. p. 48.ISBN83-226-0535-8.
