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It is sometimes claimed that regional variations in pronunciation and accent exist, but if present at all they are very small compared to those of British and American English - sufficiently so that linguists are divided on the question. Overall, pronunciation is determined less by region than by social and educational influences.
However, there used to be a significant regional variation in Australian English vocabulary between different states. For example, Queenslanders say "port" (short for "portmanteau") while New South Welshmen and Victorians say "school bag", "backpack" or "knapsack". "Football" refers to the most popular code in the state. Victorians start a game of Australian rules football with a "ball up", Western Australians with a "bounce down"; New South Welshmen and Queenslanders start a game of Rugby League with a "kick off".
Another example is the word used for what is a fairly bland, thick, german sausage, usually eaten cold, which is a common filling (sliced with tomato sauce) in a sandwich. In South Australia it is Fritz, in Victoria it is Stras (Strasburg), in New South Wales it is Devon, in Western Australia Polony, in Queensland Windsor and in Tasmania, Belgium.
People from north Queensland often end sentences with the interogative "..., eh?".
The British colony in South Australia was composed of free settlers, and then had a significant German migration, leaving people from there with a somewhat distinctive clipped pronunciation. The manner of speech of South Australian born Alexander Downer, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, is mocked by many Australians for being 'snobby' or 'aloof' although many commentators have pointed out that his speech is simply typical of this regional accent.
The steadily increasing effect of centralised film, TV and even radio production, however, is rapidly blurring these distinctions.
Studies have shown that there are limited regional variations in Australian English. This chart shows the percentage of speakers from different capital cities who pronounce words in a certain way, concentrating on the usage of / æ / vs. /a/. This is probably the most significant regional phonetic variation in Australian English.
| Hobart | Melbourne | Brisbane | Sydney | Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| graph | græf (100%) | græf (70%) | graf (56%) | graf (70%) | graf (86%) |
| chance | tSæns (100%) | tSans (60%) | tSæns (75%) | tSans (80%) | tSans (86%) |
| demand | dəmænd (90%) | dəmand (78%) | dəmand (78%) | dəmand (90%) | dəmand (100%) |
| dance | dæns (90%) | dæns (65%) | dæns (89%) | dæns (60%) | dans (86%) |
| castle | kasl (60%) | kæsl (70%) | kæsl (67%) | kasl (100%) | kasl (86%) |
| grasp | grasp (90%) | grasp (89%) | grasp (89%) | grasp (95%) | grasp (100%) |
| contrast | kəntrast (100%) | kəntrast (100%) | kəntrast (100%) | kəntrast (100%) | kəntrast (71%) |
Source: David Crystal, Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge UP, 1995
See also: Distinguishing accents in English - Australia for accent description, Australian literature.
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