Australian English phonology edit
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Australian English phonology edit
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Australian English is a non-rhotic variety of English spoken by most native-born Australians. Phonologically, it is one of the most regionally homogeneous language varieties in the world. As with most dialects of English, it is distinguished primarily by its vowel phonology.
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Australian English vowels are divided into two categories: long, which includes long monophthongs and diphthongs, and short, all of which are monophthongs. A number of vowels differ only by the length.
There are two families of phonemic transcriptions of Australian English: revised ones, which attempt to more accurately represent the phonetic sounds of Australian English; and the Mitchell-Delbridge system, which is minimally distinct from Jones’ original transcription of RP. This page uses a revised transcription based on Durie and Hajek (1994) and Harrington, Cox and Evans (1997) but also shows the Mitchell-Delbridge equivalents as this system is commonly used for example in the Macquarie Dictionary and much literature, even recent.
Australian English long vowels mostly correspond to the tense vowels used in analyses of Received Pronunciation (RP) as well as its centralising diphthongs.
The long monophthongs of Australian English Front Central Back Close iː ʉː Mid eː ɜː~ɵː oː Open æː aː
Australian English diphthongs, described in the text below.
The short vowels of Australian English Front Central Back Close ɪ ʊ Mid e ə ɔ Open æ a
Academic studies have shown that there are limited regional variations in Australian English. The table below, based on Crystal (1995), shows the percentage of speakers from different capital cities who pronounce words with /aː/ as opposed to /æ/.
Use of /aː/ as opposed to /æ/ Word Hobart Melbourne Brisbane Sydney Adelaide Ave. over all five cities graph 0% 30% 56% 70% 86% 48% chance 0% 60% 25% 80% 86% 50% demand 10% 78% 78% 90% 100% 71% dance 10% 35% 11% 30% 86% 34% castle 60% 30% 33% 100% 86% 62% grasp 90% 89% 89% 95% 100% 93% to contrast 100% 100% 100% 100% 71% 94% Ave. over all seven words 39% 60% 56% 81% 88% 65%
Australian English consonants are similar to those of other non-rhotic varieties of English. In comparison to other varieties, it has a flapped variant of /t/ and /d/ in similar environments as in American English. Many speakers have also coalesced /tj/ and /dj/ into /tʃ/ and /dʒ/, with pronunciations such as /tʃʉːn/ being standard. /sj/, /zj/ and /lj/ merged with /s/, /z/ and /l/ word initially; other cases of /sj/ and /zj/ are often pronounced as [ʃ] and [ʒ]. Remaining cases of /lj/ are often pronounced simply as [j] in colloquial speech, though this is stigmatised particularly in the case of the word Australia, so it is often pronounced as four syllables to avoid the /lj/. /nj/, and other common sequences of consonant+/j/, are retained. Some speakers use a glottal stop as an allophone of /t/ in final position, for example trait, habit; or in medial position, such as a /t/ followed by a syllabic /n/ is often replaced by a glottal stop, for example button or fatten. Alveolar pronunciations nevertheless predominate. Linking- and intrusive-R are also features of Australian English.
A table containing the consonant phonemes is given below.
Consonant phonemes of Australian English1 Bilabial Labio-
dentalDental Alveolar Post-
alveolarPalatal Velar Glottal Nasal m n ŋ Plosive p b t d k g Affricate tʃ dʒ Fricative f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h Approximant ɹ j w Lateral l
Australian English pronunciation is most similar to that of New Zealand English: many people from other parts of the world often cannot distinguish them but there are differences. New Zealand English has centralised /ɪ/ and the other short front vowels are higher. New Zealand English more strongly maintains the diphthongal quality of the NEAR and SQUARE vowels, although they can be merged as [iə]. New Zealand English does not have the bad-lad split, but like Victoria has merged /e/ with /æ/ in pre-lateral environments. It is also similar to the South African English dialect.
Australian English pronunciation is also similar to dialects from the South-East of Britain, particularly Cockney and Received Pronunciation. Like these, it is non-rhotic, and has the trap-bath split although, as indicated above, there is some variation in particular words that are usually pronounced with the bath-vowel in England. Historically Australian English also had the same lengthening of /ɔ/ before unvoiced fricatives, but, like the English accents, this has since been reversed. Australian English lacks some innovations in Cockney since the settling of Australia, such as the use of a glottal stop in some places where a /t/ would be found, th-fronting, h-dropping, and l-vocalisation.
| Pure vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| Help key | Australian | Examples |
| /ɪ/ | /ɪ/ | bid, pit |
| /iː/ | /iː/ | bead, peat |
| /ɛ/ | /e/ | bed, pet |
| /æ/ | /æ, æː/ | pat, bad |
| /ɑː/ | /aː/ | balm, father, pa |
| /ɒ/ | /ɔ/ | bod, pot, cot |
| /ɔː/ | /oː/ | bawd, paw, caught |
| /ʊ/ | /ʊ/ | good, foot, put |
| /uː/ | /ʉː/ | booed, food |
| /ʌ/ | /a/ | bud, putt |
| Diphthongs | ||
| /аɪ/ | /ɑe/ | buy, high, ride, write |
| /eɪ/ | /æɪ/ | bay, hey, fate |
| /aʊ/ | /æɔ/ | bough, how, pout |
| /oʊ/ | /əʉ/ | beau, hoe, poke |
| /ɔɪ/ | /oɪ/ | boy, hoy |
| /juː/ | /jʉː/ | beauty, hue, pew, new |
| R-coloured vowels | ||
| /ɪr/ | /ɪɹ/ | mirror |
| /ɪər/ | /ɪə/ | beer, mere |
| /ɛr/ | /eɹ/ | berry, merry |
| /ɛər/ | /eː/ | bear, mare |
| /ær/ | /æɹ/ | barrow, marry |
| /ɑr/ | /aː/ | bar, mar |
| /ɒr/ | /ɔɹ/ | moral, forage |
| /ɔr/ | /oː/ | born, for |
| /ɔər/ | boar, four, more, moor | |
| /ʊər/ | /ʊə/ | tour |
| /ʌr/ | /aɹ/ | hurry, Murray |
| /ɜr/ (ɝ) | /ɜː/ | bird, herd, furry |
| Reduced vowels | ||
| /ɨ/ | /ə/ | roses, business |
| /ə/ | Rosa’s, cuppa | |
| /ər/ (ɚ) | runner | |
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