For example, the word “nice” sounds more like “noice. " With a long “a,” such as in the word “mate,” you’ll hear the long “i” as well, so it sounds a bit more like “might. " Sometimes this is referred to as “chewing” your vowels, perhaps because of the way sound tends to move all around your mouth.
For example, an Aussie pronounces “no” a bit more like “naur. " This only happens when the “o” isn’t followed by a consonant sound. That means you’ll also hear it in words such as “window” (“wehn-daur”).
You do have to be careful here, because if you flatten out all short vowels into “eh,” you’ll end up sounding more like a Kiwi (New Zealander) than an Aussie. Only the vowels in unstressed syllables get the “schwa” treatment.
The important thing to notice here is how long and stretched-out Australian vowels are compared to other English speakers. [6] X Research source You’ll hear this pretty easily if you pull up videos side by side and compare an Aussie speaking to a Brit speaking.
For example, “tune” is pronounced like “tyoon” rather than “toon. " Pronouncing the letter “u” without the “y” sound is known as “yod-dropping. " In Australian English, there is very little yod-dropping.
At the end of a word, such as in the word “right,” the “t” is pronounced as a glottal stop. If you think about how you’d say the phrase “uh-uh,” the sound between the syllables is a glottal stop. Pronouncing “t” as a glottal stop is common in other English dialects as well, but happens more when there’s a double “t” in the middle of a word, as in “matter,” rather than at the end. So this is one way you can distinguish Aussies from many British speakers.
For example, take the phrase “matter of fact. " Said with an Aussie accent, it sounds more like “madda rof fac-. " You typically won’t hear an “r” before consonants in the middle of words either. Instead, the vowel sound is more rounded. So in “word,” you don’t get that “urr” sound, it’s more like “wuhd. " The intrusive “r” can also be heard within a single word if you have 2 syllables that both end in a vowel or vowel sound. For example, “drawing” would be pronounced more like “draw-ring. “[10] X Research source
For example, you might say, “I reckon I’ll go surfin’ this arvo” (I think/guess/figure I’ll go surfing this afternoon).
Watch videos of Aussies talking and pay close attention to how they move their mouths when they speak, as well as how their faces look when they’re not speaking. Mimic Aussie facial expressions and movements as well as the sound of their voice and your accent will sound (and feel) more authentic.
There are other examples: “got to” or “you’ve got to” becomes “gotta,” “ought to” becomes “oughta”—really any phrase with the word “to” is gonna be blended like this. If you want your accent to sound really good, listen to native speakers as often as possible and mimic their speech patterns.
Remember that Aussies are very friendly! If you speak with a broad smile, you’ll automatically sound just a little more Australian—even if you don’t change anything else about the way you talk.
Listen to native speakers to get a good sense of when to do this because nobody does it all the time. There’s a natural rhythm that you’ll pick up by listening.
-ie/y: barbie (barbecue), lappy (laptop), footy (Australian rules football), brekkie (breakfast), selfie (self-portrait), mozzie (mosquito) -o: doggo (dog), arvo (afternoon), servo (service station), rego (registration), aggro (aggressive), weirdo (weird person), avo (avocado) -s: totes (totally), probs (probably), dins (dinner) -ers/as: preggers (pregnant), Maccas (McDonald’s), champers (champagne) -z/za: soz (sorry), appaz (apparently), biz (business), coz (because)
For example, you might say, “We’re headed to the beach, mate. Wanna come?”
For example, you might say, “How’d you get an A on that test without studying, mate? You’re lucky as!”
For example, you might say, “We spent the day at the beach? It was right hot, but. " Sometimes, “but” keeps its usual meaning, it’s just put at the end of the sentence rather than at the beginning. For example, if someone says they want to go to the shops, you might say, “We haven’t got enough time, but. "
“How ya goin’?” (How’s it going/How are you doing) “G’day, mate” (Good day, friend) “Good on ya” (Good on you—a sign of approval, like saying “well done” or “good job”) “No worries” (Typically a response to “thank you,” but often used in other contexts) “She’ll be right” (It’ll be okay) “What you after?” (What are you looking for)[22] X Research source
Reckon (instead of “think,” “believe,” “figure,” or similar words) Yeah (instead of “yes”) Chuck (instead of “throw” or “make”) Blended words like “gotta,” “gonna,” and “shoulda” (instead of the more enunciated “got to,” “going to,” or “should have”)
