Australian Dialect

By: Emily Muren, Marissa Freese, and Alex Rude

G'Day Mates!

Today we are going to work on our Australian accents. Soon you will be auditioning for a role in an Australian sitcom. Be sure to pay close attention to the instruction we give you. A bad accent could lose you the job (and get you laughed at!).

Here's one person's attempt at speaking like an Aussie:

Pronunciation and Vocabulary
The first thing you should do to pick up an authentic Australian accent is learn how to speak from the back of your tongue and limit the movements of your lips.

The best way to do this is by holding the tip of your tongue as close as you can to the roof of your mouth while pressing the middle of your tongue down. I know it sounds weird, but it will really help you to develop the right sounds and pronunciation.

Speaking of pronunciation, pay close attention to individual letters. The most significant difference between American, British, and Australian English is the vowel pronunciation. Try to elongate your vowels.
*words ending with "ay" sound are pronounced "ie."

Other little tidbits are :

• Try and speak quickly so your words run together.
• End your sentences with an upward intonation.
• Make every comment sound like a question.
• Study Australian slang.
  

Now It's Your Turn

Practice makes perfect, so now is the time to start practicing! Grab a partner and practice speaking to each other in your best Australian accent. Click on this link to listen to the speech of a real Australian resident. You will be given about fifteen minutes to practice (make sure to critique one another, constructive criticism will prove to be incredibly helpful).

After the practice time is up, you and your partner will have an additional 15 minutes to develop an Australian dialogue. Be sure to include some Aussie slang from the link listed above. The dialogue should last about 5 minutes. Each pair will act out their dialogue in front of the class. After everyone has presented, the class will vote on which pair sounded the most convincing (bragging rights, yay!). Good luck and get started.