Australian English is relatively homogenous when compared to
British and
American English. The major varieties of Australian English are sociocultural rather than regional, being
General Australian,
Broad Australian and
Cultivated Australian. There is however some
regional variation between the
states, particularly in regards to
South Australia,
Victoria and
Western Australia. These differences come down to different preferences for word usage, as well as some pronunciations.
Pronunciation Differences
Trap-bath SplitIn Australian English, pronunciations vary regionally according to the type of vowel that occurs before the sounds nd, ns, nt, nce, nch, and mple, and the pronunciation of the suffix "-mand". In words like "chance", "plant", "branch", "sample" and "demand", the vast majority of Australians use the short /æ/ vowel from the word "cat". In South Australia however there is a high proportion of people who use the broad /aː/ vowel from the word "cart" in these words. In Victoria, "castle" and "rascal" rhyme with "hassle" rather than non-rhotic "parcel".
Centring diphthongsCentring
diphthongs, which are the vowels that occur in words like
ear,
beard and
air,
sheer. In
Western Australia there is a tendency for centring diphthongs to be pronounced as full diphthongs. Those in the eastern states will tend to pronounce "fear" and...
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