History UsefulNotes / AustralianAccent

* There is a distinct urban vernacular evident, particularly among the working class, in places such as Sydney. People will describe awesome or cool things as 'fully sick' or 'hectic', ay? People like to end sentences with 'ay' a lot, [[VerbalTic ay]]? Tends to be spoken more sharply and quickly than Broad, Cultivated, or General Australian accents. [[CanadaEh Remind you of another country, eh?]]\\

* '''General''': Less ''so'' than Broad, but still recognizably Australian. Often uses less Australian idioms and words and more American or British ones. As the name "General" suggests, this is the most common type of Australian accent. The accent of Creator/CateBlanchett or Creator/NicoleKidman. (Also the accent of Maggie in [[LiveActionAdaptation the movie]] of ''Film/{{Transformers}}''.)

The mental image should be UpToEleven by this point, but if they're from the Northern Territory, turn ''that'' Eleven UpToEleven. Often peppered with more Australianisms than the other accents and not usually spoken by the younger people of Australia. Comes in two varieties: the country variation, which is the most famous Australian accent of all, and the city variation, which is fairly similar but has different vernacularisms. If you speak the city variant, you'll probably be ridiculed for being lower-class; if you speak the country variant, you'll be considered a bumpkin/hick.

* For groups of people (such as bands or sports teams) try "The" followed by a shortened version of their name, possibly making it plural as well. Examples: The Oils (Music/MidnightOil), The Mentals (Mental as Anything), The Spoon (Grinspoon), The Finger (Powderfinger), [[UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball The Dons (Essendon), The Woods (Collingwood,)]] though the latter are more usually known as "The 'pies" from their nickname of "The Magpies" due to their black and white strip.

** In some circles we've made the C word a term of endearment itself, or at least relatively benign — hence {{Music/TISM}}'s song "I Might Be A Cunt, But I'm Not A Fucking Cunt." (Although the song title is a Quentin Tarantino quote, Tarantino's cursing style can be quite Australian).

* '''Cultivated''': Creator/GeoffreyRush and Creator/HugoWeaving speak with this accent. Also the "There is no spoon" Kid in [[Film/TheMatrix the first Matrix]] film speaks in a pronounced Sydney accent.

* '''Broad''': Picture (so to speak) the fair dinkum (honest-to-god), prawn-barbieing (''[[BerserkButton we don't call them shrimp!]]''), dingo-complaining, ute-driving, bushwacking Australian accent of Creator/SteveIrwin]] and Creator/PaulHogan, as well as the former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. It's not nearly the most common accent and never was, but the country variation is pretty much the only accent recognised by anyone else. Sometimes called Ocker or Strine (named after a rough pronunciation of "Australian" filtered through the accent). Most commonly observed north of UsefulNotes/{{Sydney}}, and in less populated areas of the country (read: away from the southeast quadrant).\\

* '''Broad''': Picture (so to speak) the fair dinkum (honest-to-god), prawn-barbieing (''[[BerserkButton we don't call them shrimp!]]''), dingo-complaining, ute-driving, bushwacking Australian accent of [[Series/CrocodileHunter Steve Irwin]] and [[Film/CrocodileDundee Paul Hogan]], as well as the former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. It's not nearly the most common accent and never was, but the country variation is pretty much the only accent recognised by anyone else. Sometimes called Ocker or Strine (named after a rough pronunciation of "Australian" filtered through the accent). Most commonly observed north of UsefulNotes/{{Sydney}}, and in less populated areas of the country (read: away from the southeast quadrant).\\

-->'''Douglas Jardine''': (knocks on door, Bill Woodfull of the Australian team opens it) I've come to demand an apology.\\

** In some circles we've made the C word a term of endearment itself, or at least relatively benign — hence {{Music/TISM}}'s song "I May Be A Cunt, But At Least I'm Not A Fucking Cunt."

-->'''Englishman''': (knocks on door, Australian opens it) I've come to demand an apology.\\
'''Australian''': Ah, what for?\\
'''Englishman''': I don't appreciate being called a bastard.\\
'''Australian''': Fair enough. (turns to face the room) Which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard? (offended, the Englishman walks away) Silly bastard.

* '''Cultivated''': Geoffrey Rush and Hugo Weaving speak with this accent. Also the "There is no spoon" Kid in the first Matrix film speaks in a pronounced Sydney accent.
* '''Screen And Television''': The accent of non-Australians attempting the accent and much more oddly the accent often assumed by ''Australians playing Australians''. Combines an exaggerated take of the Broad accent (see above) with a touch of ''Film/MaryPoppins'' cockney on occasion.\\

!Common Quirks of Australian English

** Soccer is often called football among ethnic groups with whom UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball has generally been more popular -- Greeks, Italians, etc. -- it's much more rare among Anglos. {{SBS}}, who, are largely responsible for popularising football/soccer in Australia, ''always'' call it football.

* If it does fail, try -sy. Usually the first done for names that end with an S. Eg, "Gatesy" for the surname Gates. If the "y" is already there (eg, "[[KathAndKim Kathy]]")... remove it!

** [[Franchise/MetalGear Turning every sentence]] [[ParrotExposition into a question?!]]

* '''General''': Less ''so'' than Broad, but still recognizably Australian. Often uses less Australian idioms and words and more American or British ones. As the name "General" suggests, this is the most common type of Australian accent. The accent of Creator/CateBlanchett or Creator/NicoleKidman. (Also the accent of Maggie in [[LiveActionAdaptation the movie]] of ''[[TransformersFilmSeries Transformers]]''.)

* For groups of people (such as bands or sports teams) try "The" followed by a shortened version of their name, possibly making it plural as well. Examples: The Oils (Music/MidnightOil), The Spoon (Grinspoon), The Finger (Powderfinger), [[UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball The Dons (Essendon), The Woods (Collingwood,)]] though the latter are more usually known as "The 'pies" from their nickname of "The Magpies" due to their black and white strip.