Subsystems

To get started, we will be discussing the unique features of Australian English. To do this, we will be going through the subsystems in detail.

Phonology

Common features of how Australian English sounds include the weakening of stopped consonants, elision and assimilation.

In Australia, accents vary according to an individual's ideology and gender. Overall, most Australians aim for the general accent.

Broad

• This accent is often associated with Australians such as Steve Irwin and Paul Hogan
• Greater nasality
• Greater accentuation of vowel sounds
• Associated with masculinity and sociability

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General

• An examples of someone who speaks with a general accent is John Howard
• Most common accent in Australia
• Associated with sociability and intelligence

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Cultivated

• Cate Blanchett is an example of someone who speaks with a cultivated accent
• Often associated with British Received Pronunciation (RP)
• Has an element of overt prestige
• Draws upon vowels and phonemes
• Associated with intelligence and competency

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Morphology

A prime feature of Australian English is its use of diminutives. Diminutives are lexemes whereby phonemes have been omitted and a suffix has been added. For example, ambulance -> ambo, tradesmen -> tradies, chadstone -> chaddy.

Diminutives are an informal feature of the English language and this reflects the cultural values of Australian English - which we will go into further detail later on.

Lexicology

Lexicology

Australian English has many features that make it unique when compared to other forms of English. As a first-time visitor to Australia, it is essential you are made aware of some unique Australian lexemes.

Indigenous language

Little of the indigenous language has been incorporated into Australian English. These lexemes include those that are mainly associated with flora, fauna, cultural terms and place names. For example

• Boomerang
• Kookaburra
• Geelong
• Billabong 

Swearing

As a visitor to Australia, you should not be alarmed by the amount of swearing that occurs everyday. Although in some cases swearing will used in extreme and vulgar cases, it is generally used as a part of normal everyday conversations. It reflects Australia's cultural value of being friendly.

                                                     

Unique lexical items

There are numerous Australian lexemes that you should be made aware of. These include

• Aussie - Australia
• Barbie - Barbeque
• Bludger - Lazy person
• Woop woop - The middle of nowhere
• Snag - Sausages

Syntax

A syntactic feature that is prominent in Australian English is the use of ellipsis. Once again, this reflects Australian's cultural values as ellipsis is generally seen to be informal.