AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH
Considered one of the major variations of the English language, Australian English is the
official language of Australia, having originally deviated from British English in the 18th
century, after the founding of the Colony of New South Wales. It has been recognised as
being distinctive from British English for almost 200 years and emerged as European
settlers from Britain, Ireland and Germany mixed with one another.
Linguistic features of Australian English
Generally speaking, Australian English takes features from both British and American
English, so it is sometimes considered a combination of the two variations. However, it is
important to understand that there are a number of unique features as well, including
exclusive vocabulary.
Learning the specific features can be beneficial to anyone planning on travelling to the
country, or anyone hoping to find work in the country in future. So, with that in mind, here
is our quick guide to Australian English.
How to Speak Australian English
The first and most important thing to remember when practicing your Australian accent is to
be lazy. Pronounce words slowly. Make your vowel sounds extra long. Pretend to be very
tired when you speak and you’ll sound like a native in no time. It’s not very hard, just give it
a try!
Here are three more ways to sound like an Australian when you speak English.
1. Skip letters at the ends of words. Australians skip the letters at the ends of many words.
For example “what?” becomes “wha?” Meeting, going and trying change to meetin,
goin and tryin.
2. Change letters at the ends of words. You must change the letters at the ends of some
words. The words super, after, dinner andorder become supah, aftah, dinnah and ordah.
3. Turn “oo” sounds into “ew” sounds. When words are spelled with “oo,” then you need
to change the sound you make when you pronounce these words. The best examples of this
are pool, school and cool. Australians change these words to pewl, skewl and kewl.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-
wSFXWmaiA
British English Australian English
Skip letters at the start of “Eah!”
words: “Yeah!”
Skip letters at the end of “Wha?” “Goin” “How you
words: “What?” “Going” goin?”
Change letters at the end of “Supa!”
words: “Super!” “Whatever” “Whateva”
“Macdonalds” “Maccaz”
“David” “Davo”
Make all your “I” sounds “oi” “That’s pretty NOICE”
sounds “That’s about ROIGHT”
“That’s pretty nice”
“That’s about right”
Make all your “a” sounds “I” “todai”
sounds “death”
“today” “might”
“die”
“mate”
Make all your “oo” sounds “I went to SKEWL todai”
“ew” sounds
“I went to SCHOOL today”
Be super nasal “faroowt it’s hot todai”
“far out it’s hot today”
9 Australian English Phrases You Need to Survive the
Outback
1. G’day
This word means many things. It can translate to “Hello” or “How are you?” Some people
just say it when they make eye contact with another person on the street.
This is the most common Australian slang word you will hear while visiting.
The problem with this word is the pronunciation. It isn’t “good day” or “geh-day.” You have
to cut the “g” sound short and emphasize the “day.” Make sure that “day” is drawn out. It
sounds similar to “daaey.”If you master this word, it’s guaranteed that you’ll make many
friends!
2. Mate
This is simply a synonym for friend. We usually add this to the word “G’day.”
For example, “G’day mate” means “Hello, friend.” However, you can use “mate” in many
other ways. If someone asks you how your weekend was, the typical reply from (male)
Australians is “Maaaate.” Used in this way, it means, “OMG! I can’t even start to describe
how awesome it was.”
You can also use “mate” when you pass people on the street. If you make eye contact with a
stranger, simply nod your head and say “mate” as a simple, casual greeting. This is a friendly
way to acknowledge them.
3. How ya going?
“How are you?” “Ya” means “you” and “going” simply refers to how you are: good, sad,
angry, excited. “Going” in this context means the act of being alive or existing. So, the person
is actually asking how you’re feeling or how your day is/was.
Let’s try using the above three vocabulary words and phrases in a sentence together. They’re
often used together as a friendly greeting! For example: “G’day mate! How ya’ going?”
4. Crikey!
This word is an interjection. Also called an exclamation. “Crikey,” being an interjection, is
almost always followed by an exclamation mark.
Most Australians grow up hearing this word. The word is used as an exclamation of surprise
or bewilderment. It can also mean “wow!” For example: “Crikey! Did you see the size of that
snake?”
5. Streuth
There’s another Australian word that’s a synonym for “crikey.” If you forgot, a synonym is a
word or phrase that means the same or nearly the same as another word or phrase. For
example, “shut” is a synonym for “close.” In the same way, “streuth” is a synonym for
“crikey,” so we can use either one to express the same thing.
“Streuth” has a particular pronunciation, so you need to pay attention to this. It’s pronounced
like “Strooooth.”
There’s an emphasis on the “ooo” sound and it must be drawn out . For example:“Streuth!
You were nearly attacked by a shark?!”
6. Fair dinkum /ˌfeə ˈdɪŋkəm /
The word “dinkum” began in the Australian goldfields. “Dinkum” originally came from
a Chinese dialect and can be translated to mean “true gold” or “good gold.” There were many
Chinese people searching for gold in Australia in the 1800s. Isn’t it interesting to find out that
some Australia English has Chinese origins?
It’s an important piece of Australian English so you must be able to use it in the correct way.
You say “fair dinkum” when you want to state a fact or truth. For example: “It’s true mate!
Fair dinkum.”
“Fair dinkum! That is a lot of gold.”
7. Heaps good
Young Australians like to replace the word “very” with “heaps.” So, this phrase literally
means “very good.” Australians are used to hearing teachers say, “very good work, Emma”.
Because of this, young Australians became so sick and tired of hearing “very good” that we
simply created our own version of the phrase. Adults and seniors understand this phrase, but
it’s most commonly used by Australians aged 10-20.
Anne: How was your vacation?
Bob: It was heaps good.
8. Fully sick
If you like the beach, then this word is for you! Use the adverb “fully” and add “sick” to it.
The word “fully” means “completely” or “entirely.” Used alone in a sentence we would say
“I fully understand the math equation.” So, we know that this phrase is describing something
as “sick” to the fullest extent.
But why sick? Isn’t it bad to be sick? Well, when we say “fully sick,” it doesn’t mean that a
person is really sick. It means the opposite!
“Fully sick” means “This is great!” or “very good quality.” Most surfers use this phrase when
they talk about the ocean. For example:
Adam: The surf were fully sick today!
Julie: Fully sick!? How big were they?
Adam: They were at least 4 foot. Man, I caught so many fully sick waves!
We can also use this word to describe parties, cars and things that you like.
Adam: Check out my fully sick ride!
Julie: Wow, nice car! Fully sick!
9. True Blue
This is the last phrase and probably the most important one in the Australian vocabulary. This
means “the real thing.” The color blue represents loyalty and truth. So the phrase “true blue”
describes something as genuine, real and honest.
To make it easier to understand how you’ll use your new
Australian English, here are all the words and phrases you
just learned in a sample conversation:
Adam: G’day mate! How ya going? How was your weekend?
John: G’day. Yeah, my weekend was heaps good. I went to the beach and had a barbecue
with my mates. It was a true blue weekend.
Adam: Sounds great! How was the beach?
John: The beach was fully sick! Fair dinkum, I caught 5 waves and then took a break. But
crikey! I was nearly bitten by a shark!
Adam: Streuth mate! Are you okay? I wished I had come with you, but now I’m glad I
didn’t. I’m afraid of sharks.
John: True blue! Next time…see you later!
Adam: Bye!
Song “True Blue” https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=qfmHPF5qoV0
