Australian Accent 1

I would like to start with another video by Amy Walker because this woman is simply amazing.

Ozzie Accent in one word:

CHEEEW

This one, by Gareth Jameson, goes into a bit more detail.

i-sound

like,right.,live

in Austalian this becomes a little bit of an oi, like in oil  -just a little bit though

also a glottal stop at the end as in Oh-oh...

Australian question inflection

Australians tend to go up towards the end of the sentence

a-sound open

no way

becomes an (a)i[ei]-sound

a-sound closed

hat, man, cam

changes into an e(gg) sound

this young lady doesn't seem as -well how shall I put this- not like she is a voice coach

but can't hurt to hear an Australian talking about her own accent

also note the SLANG tag

Australian is a lazy language

don't pronounce the r at the end of words

it is foreva

or the g's

it is fishin

here is another good one with some tongue twisters

"The rain in spain falls mainly on the plain"
"Ask the master to pass the banana"

See ya !

Australian English 1 // Fun Stuff

G'Day Mate

As I have already spent one amazing year Down Under, the Australian accent is a very familar one.
But I still remember how much trouble I had understanding it in the beginning. Women were ok, but with men, the older the worse, I just couldn't communicate. My first hostmum always had to interprete what her husband was saying....

After one year I had a really strong Australian accent, which was probably due to the fact that I had lived on the countryside. The part of the country where a snake in the kitchen is nothing more than a good dinner-table story. I never realised that I had that accent until my hostdad recorded me and let me listen to my voice. This was a a very estranging experince. As not only my intonation but also my voice pitch was completely different to what I was used to from my "Austrian voice". Nowadays I can still pick up the Ozzie accent pretty easily BUT I want to take this one step further.

My plan is to practise being able to conciously switch to the Australian accent.
So, first I need to identify what is so distinctive about the Australian accent.

Ever heard the phrase "Chuck another shrimp on the barbie?? Check out this old ad ;)

Gotta love stereotypes.... so no worries mate, Paul Hogan will include you into his dinner party.


Another Australian icon is the universally loved Steve Irwin. His catch phrase: Crikeeeyy, big day ahead!

Also a fan of Steve Irwin and a genious when it comes to accents: Julio Iglesias. I promise you, he is hilarious!!

That shall be enough for the Ozzie intro!
Cheers,
Anna