Australian pronunciation: some American ways of pronouncing things?

[mistermoose]

It's interesting that words like chance, example, and dance are all pronounced the American way by some Australians, but words like tomato retain their SA/British sound.

Have you found this way of speaking to be the norm or the exception in Australian life?

[Eva]

There is nothing normal about the Australian language, I used to think we were moving to a country that spoke the same language... not true! And different states have differences in their pronunciation as well as words they use. In Queensland (in my experience) there are some odd ones... the school kids have racks for their school bags excepting they aren't bags they are 'ports'. Apparently for "portmanteau" the old fashioned word for luggage which is originally French anyway! Go figure. And of course swimming costumes we used to call costumes or cossies back in RSA and in Qld they call them togs. Maybe swimmers if you are lucky. My pet hate is pronouncing 'h' haitch. And the absolute worst has got to be the colour maroon pronounced 'marone'! Cannot see how they get that. Auction is said okshin. Of course vitamin is said VIE-tamin like the Americans. Some words I think they pronounce correctly, for example necklace is said neck lace not neckless like we did in South Africa (where I come from)

[Lynnie]

Some words are strange like "lychee" - we pronounce it "litchie" and "debut" is pronounced as "dayboo"

[AndreaL]

I actually haven't noticed to be honest, but have found there to be subtle differences in accents dependent on state.....................my major irk is the way that grown and known are pronounced................growen and knowen, and of course the dreaded marown for maroon.

Port is only really used in Queensland and New South Wales, but there are plenty of French words in common usage in English...................not surprising given the practice of marrying off European Princesses to British Kings................lol.

I also get annoyed with the hard H.

Togs or bathers or swimmers................thongs for flip flops.

Some of the Australian words have there base in English slang or regional dialect, as with chook which Scottish people say for chicken too.

The word barrack, as in "I'll barrack for the marowns" is from Irish English

[Eva]

LOL AndreaL, it's not so much that the origins of portmanteau are French so much as port is the word used for bags. The Portuguese may object.

Doona is another one, instead of duvet. We are used to using the French duvet but doona was new to me and one of the 'conversions' I battle with.

I doubt I will ever call it a doona other than if I am explaining what I want or mean to an Aussie just to keep it simple.

[AndreaL]

It was enough for me to go from calling it a quilt in the UK to a duvet in RSA ( another blooming French word....lol), I just can't call it a doona. Apparently Doona derived from a brandname by Kimptons, much like I still call a vacuum cleaner a "Hoover" I suppose.

[HarryVR]

The old doona! Love it!!

[OubaasDik]

Hmmm

All cotton/linen goods like sheets or towels, in SA would be linens - here they are Manchester. There was a shop in Perth that advertised it had the finest Italian Manchester ..... WTF?

A favorite of mine is when someone asks you to draw something - it usually sounds like "dror".

But then us from the 3rd world also have our idiosyncracies.

[mistermoose]

I've been listening to a couple of talk radio stations in Sydney/Melbourne via their iPhone apps and the Americanized example/chance thing caught me by surprise. I thought it was just one or two people that spoke like that. But yes the haitch thing is irritating ... some do it in the UK too. Oh, and 'pro....ject' for project.

[Jordy]

We all have a pet peeves. Mine is when someone adds a "k" to the end of "ing" or an "r" before "ing"

eg nothink for nothing

drawring for drawing

[AndreaL]

H was always been an indicator of class in the UK. Remember My Fair Lady, where Eliza Doolittle says " 'enry 'iggins" instead of Henry Higgins? More predominant in London among Cockneys, other parts of England, but not Scotland, Ireland or Wales.

There are still many English people who will say 'ospital, or 'orse, so elocutionist's would enunciate the H.............Haitch, to remind the h droppers, however, it is never pronounced other than aitch in the alphabet, unless you are Hyacinth Bucket (Bouquet) and trying to rise above your class..............lol.

You always knew that anyone saying haitch was trying to "talk posher" and it was a screaming red light that they were doing so.

I am always pulled up for saying et instead of ate, and was surprised to find that et is indeed the correct pronunciation, however, it is one of those English words that has altered through time and is now mostly pronounced 'eight'. The same with says, rhyming with lays.................it used to be sez.....................I promise.

We've annihilated any American intonation in the word garage and commonly call it a garridge.....................why not, we don't call a village is pronounced villige and not villahge.

[Jordy]

Okay now you got me started:

The correct way to say kilometer is "key-low-meter" and kilogram is "key-low-gram". It is not "Key-lom-mita" and not "key-log-grum"

[AndreaL]

Ooh Jordy.....................don't send me to the speech therapist but the correct English pronunciation is Kill-o-meter not kil-om-eter and kill-o-gramme................................

There are two common pronunciations for the word:

• /ˈkɪlɵmiːtər/ KIL-o-mee-tər and
• /kɨˈlɒmɨtər/ ki-LOM-i-tər

The former pronunciation follows the general pattern in English whereby metric units are pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, and the pronunciation of the actual base unit does not change irrespective of the prefix. It is generally preferred by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

When Australia introduced the metric system in 1975, the first pronunciation was declared official by the government's Metric Conversion Board. However, the Australian Prime Minister at the time, Gough Whitlam, insisted that the second pronunciation was the correct one because of the Greek origins of the two parts of the word.

So Whitlam is to blame here...............seeing as how we are having a whinge about language.................I could never, ever change the way I said Yoghurt as in yogut to the South African yohwgurt, like the Americans.........................which brings me to my biggest irritant ( I'm on a roll, why stop) the Americanised spelling of words slipping into everyday usage, color, flavor, aluminium, centrifugal, nuclear, basil, tomato, leisure. jewellery........................grumble, brumble, moan, moan.

[Canetoad]

My pet peeves are calling a dent a dint as in I dinted my car today. The other one is the common use of the word Rapt as in " I am rapt with my new tv." Except they spell it wrapped or they will write rap the material over the edge. Drives me crazy.

Try going to a spares shop and asking for parts by South African names, that took me a while to adapt to .

Another pet peeve is most Australians inability to understand a continent with different countries as in Africa if you show them a map they think the outline of the various countries are states. Had a discussion at work yesterday where I tried to explain the difference beween Zimbabwe and South Africa, middle aged guy thought we were just different states in the country of Africa.

[AndreaL]

Wow Canetoad, I also thought it was a slang word too or perhaps a shortening of the word enrapture, as in " her silken hair enraptured him", but it turns out it is a real word.......................never too old to learn something.

rapt (răpt)

v.

Past participle of rap².

adj.

1. Deeply moved or delighted; enraptured: listened to the speaker with rapt admiration.

2. Deeply absorbed; engrossed: was rapt in thought all evening.

deeply engrossed or absorbed: a rapt listener.

2. transported with emotion; enraptured.

3. indicative of or expressing rapture: a rapt smile.

Origin: From raptor, from rapere

1. rapt(Adjective)

   Snatched, taken away; abducted.

2. rapt(Adjective)

   Lifted up into the air; transported into heaven.

3. rapt(Adjective)

   Very interested, involved in something, absorbed, transfixed; fascinated or engrossed.

   The children watched in rapt attention as the magician produced object after object from his hat.

4. rapt(Adjective)

   Enthusiatic; ecstatic, elated, happy.

   He was rapt with his exam results.

[Bronwyn&Co]

Or me phoning Suzuki:'Hi how much is it to fit a tow hook?'

Her:'You mean tow bar'.

Me: 'Um well just a tow hook. Whatever'.

Her: 'I don't know what you mean'

Me: 'ok just put me through to the spares department'

Her:'Don't you mean the parts department?'

Me: 'just put me through'

Edited February 16, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[AndreaL]

LOL Bronwyn

I lived in RSA for more than 20 years and always called it a tow bar, I would also call it a parts department too........................funny how you don't even think of these things

[HansaPlease]

Sorry, being a party pooper, but......I think it's a bit unfair to criticise those from other countries for how they pronounce things or for things you might know that they don't. Think about it, you only know what you're taught. There are plenty of South Africanisms that others find strange.

Aussies were taught history/geography that related more to their geographical area.

How many South Africans could name the States in Aus, or could point out Fiji, Bali or Thailand on a map before you left SA?

I think the mistake a lot of people make is that we think that other people care about the country that we came from.

Don't get me wrong, poking fun is fine, but getting annoyed, really?

Edited February 16, 2014 by HansaPlease

[Bronwyn&Co]

LOL Bronwyn

I lived in RSA for more than 20 years and always called it a tow bar, I would also call it a parts department too........................funny how you don't even think of these things

Maybe I just talk funny. Another bit of fun I had was trying to buy a night frill in the linen department

[OubaasDik]

color,

flavor,

aluminium,

centrifugal,

nuclear,

basil,

tomato,

leisure.

jewellery.

I'll grant you the first two and maybe the last one since I'm way too indifferent to look it up, but US spelling for aluminium (as you spelt it) is aluminum

All the rest look perfectly fine to me, whether in US or the Queen's English

Sorry, being a party pooper, but......I think it's a bit unfair to criticise those from other countries for how they pronounce things or for things you might know that they don't. Think about it, you only know what you're taught. There are plenty of South Africanisms that others find strange.

Aussies were taught history/geography that related more to their geographical area.

How many South Africans could name the States in Aus, or could point out Fiji, Bali or Thailand on a map before you left SA?

I think the mistake a lot of people make is that we think that other people care about the country that we came from.

Don't get me wrong, poking fun is fine, but getting annoyed, really?

I didn't know much geography - the first weekend in Perth I was going to hire a car and visit my mate in Sydney ...... I wasn't irritated as such - just point out differences that I never expected.

[Erik]

The ones that get me are:

and the channel that you "soar" it on - for heaven's sake there is no "r" in saw! For that matter, there IS a "r" in "here".

The pro...ject just annoys me, but to be honest, I'm not sure if they or us are pronouncing it wrong...

[Bronwyn&Co]

The ones that get me are:

and the channel that you "soar" it on - for heaven's sake there is no "r" in saw! For that matter, there IS a "r" in "here".

The pro...ject just annoys me, but to be honest, I'm not sure if they or us are pronouncing it wrong...

When in doubt, I ask myself what the Queen would say...

[AndreaL]

I'll grant you the first two and maybe the last one since I'm way too indifferent to look it up, but US spelling for aluminium (as you spelt it) is aluminum

All the rest look perfectly fine to me, whether in US or the Queen's English

I didn't know much geography - the first weekend in Perth I was going to hire a car and visit my mate in Sydney ...... I wasn't irritated as such - just point out differences that I never expected.

I meant the pronunciation as in bay-sil, to-may-to and so on........................

Two variants of the metal's name are in current use, aluminium and aluminum (besides the obsolete alumium). The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990 but, three years later, recognized aluminum as an acceptable variant. Hence their periodic table includes both

Sorry, I included spelling differences and pronunciation differences.

[AndreaL]

Sorry, being a party pooper, but......I think it's a bit unfair to criticise those from other countries for how they pronounce things or for things you might know that they don't. Think about it, you only know what you're taught. There are plenty of South Africanisms that others find strange.

Aussies were taught history/geography that related more to their geographical area.

How many South Africans could name the States in Aus, or could point out Fiji, Bali or Thailand on a map before you left SA?

I think the mistake a lot of people make is that we think that other people care about the country that we came from.

Don't get me wrong, poking fun is fine, but getting annoyed, really?

Partypooper Maybe annoyed is too strong, but I think we were all having a bit of fun.................a little whinge or moan.

I suppose if you want to look at it another way, we should be grateful that the world is now a much smaller place and that we are lucky enough to be able to travel and experience the nuances of other cultures..............

I will admit that I have been called a spelling Nazi on occasion ........................and I am perhaps more sensitive as I am a student and only recently received a paper I had slaved over back, with lots of red writing on it and a lecture on the use of the word affect vs effect................lol

Whenever my kids say haitch or knowen or growen ..................I have a momentary image and sensation of nails down a blackboard................First world problems....................eh?

Hansa, you would have a lot of fun with my accent, it's a mishmash of Yorkshire, Scottish, South African, Australian, so I'm as willing to take stick as dish it out

[HansaPlease]

Reading back, I was probably a bit harsh, most of you were just poking fun, getting grumpy in my old age