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PECULIARITIES OF AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH

25.10.2023 17:28

[8. Філологічні науки]

Автор: Oksana Cherniak, PhD in Philology, Associate professor, Associate professor at the Department of Foreign Languages and Translation, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University



English is an official language in a lot of countries, but it has been exposed to a wide range of transformations depending on the region of using. Australian English is considered to be one of the most different from the original British version. Nevertheless, nowadays Australian language experiences more and more influence from British and American versions of English.

Talking about regional differences, there are two schools of thought on this. One is anxious to suggest that different regional dialects are emerging in Australia. The others say that Australia is remarkable for its linguistic uniformity. Both schools are partly right. There’s increasing evidence of regional differences, but compared to other English-speaking countries such differences are still not very numerous and not very major. This might seem surprising in terms of the large distances between Australian cities, but Australia was settled mainly along the coast in a rather short period and the mix of origins in the various cities was apparently fairly similar. 

There are some aspects that differ the sound of Australian English from other versions: 1) nasality – it is often argued that compared with other Englishes Australian speech is very nasal; 2) flatness – Australian speech is flat, and at its extreme, characterised by a drawl; there is less range between highest and lowest pitches; 3) elision of syllables – the omission of sounds or syllables when speaking; 4) high rising tone – a high intonation pattern, usually associated with the asking of a question, is used for what is merely a statement or declaration [1].

As the Australian English is just a version of English, the most of its vocabulary is the same. But this similarity is relative. A lot of historical and cultural factors of Australian version of English development has found the reflection in the vocabulary. One of the brightest phenomena of Australian language is the adoption from the aboriginal languages. The most famous examples are boomerang, kangaroo and dingo, that have become the symbols of Australia. 

Australian English has also experienced a great influence from American version. A so called americanization began during the period of gold prospectors and continued with the arrival of American troops during the II World War. American influence is obvious in the emersion of such words as sedan (the British version is saloon), station wagon (estate car), truck (lorry), high school (secondary school). One of the most notable adoptions from American English is kangaroo court (an irregular court, esp one set up by prisoners in a jail or by strikers to judge strikebreakers).

What makes Australian English different from other versions are so called australianisms. A lot of them come from criminal, prison argot, as one should not forget that in XVIII – the beginning of XIX century population of Australia consisted of prisoners, ex-prisoners or their descendants. One of the most famous extant lexemes is swag (personal belongings). Another one is plant. According to the thieves’ cant it meant “stolen things hidden in a secluded corner in order to get them after the racket is over”. In modern Australian English it transformed into a verb to plant and it means “to hide Christmas presents from children”. There are a lot of other unique australianisms formed on the basis of English material: outback, sundowner, digger, grass tree, backstation [2].

In conclusion, Australian English has become a unique national language. Nevertheless, it has not been studied as comprehensively as British or American English. So the phenomenon of Australian language is necessary to be explored more because it can enrich scientists with wider knowledge of English on the whole.

References:

1. Moore Bruce. Speaking Our Language: The Story of Australian English. Oxford University Press. 2008. 260 p.

2. Smitz P. Australian Language and Culture. Lonely Planet. 2007. 256 p.



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