LANGUAGE
The Australian Accent — Oops the Aussie Accent!
and its limited variations
Unlike British and American English, you can’t tell where someone is from within Australia by their accent alone.
Australia has three accent classifications, with none determined by where you were born.
There are dialogue differences between country and City. As well as a very subtle difference in speed and inflection between each City.
But, when it comes down to it, Australia has three classification registers. You can grow up anywhere here and still speak any of one of them.
I have the ‘cultivated’ register, and most of my friends have ‘general’. My work colleagues, have both cultivated and general.
When I hear the ‘broad’ register, it always surprises me. It reminds me of where I am — always sounding so uniquely Australian.
If Australian accents sound all the same to you. Here are a few examples involving people you might know and able to tell the difference:
Broad
Steve Irwin, Paul Hogan (as Crocodile Dundee), Dame Edna Everage, and Mick Fanning.
