SPEAKING AUSTRALIAN

          Visitors from abroad often think of Australian English has having weird sounding like the world “Australian” is pronounced os-strine-lian. But that’s not it. For starters, many Australians do not even speak English at home. Australia is a country of immigrants. Many speak Lebanese, Italian, Vietnamese, and Turkish to name a few. The United States is not the only “melting pot” in the world. Australian English has its share of influences from these ethic languages and dialects.

          When listening to local conversations, you may get lost in a maze of strange Australian words and sounds. Like the same English word spoken in England may sound entirely different to an American ear, Australian English has also evolved its own sounds over the past two centuries. Some common words have been shortened beyond recognition. Many have their roots in the Aboriginal languages. You may also get lost in the myriad slang used by early convict settlers.

          There is a slight variation in Australian regional accents, mainly as a matter of speed. If you want to try speaking Australian, try to speak slightly nasally and shorten words that are longer than two syllables and add a vowel at the end of it.