Aussie ‘ ‘ Accent ’ ’

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 50, 21 May 1927, Page 21 (Supplement)

Aussie ‘ ‘ Accent ’ ’

Climate and Speech

AN INTERESTING STUDY

Regarding a recent article, on pronunciation. the Australian air has undoubtedly affected the vocal chords of British people who come, to Austt'alia. and has very strongly affected, the vocal chords of children born and reared in Australia , writes Mr. A. R. Ward , in the Sydney Evening News.' 1 The item of Australian speech that most strongly affects newcomers until they get used to it is the Australian way of pronouncing "ow.” The European “ow,” by majority pronunciation, consists of the sound of “a,” as in the word “pa,” followed quickly by the sound of “u,” as in the w’ord “bull.” The European “ow” is, in fact, “au,” and that it has that sound has never been questioned. The Australian diphthong has a somewhat similar sound, but the elements of which it is composed have not. Pronounce the syllables “awl,” “oil,” “owl,” in quick succession and your ear may be able to pick out the sudden vowel changes with a slight overlap, which makes the Australian diphthong. In Australian speech “ow” consists of the sound of “aw” ki “awl,” followed quickly by the sound “o” in “oil”; that is, the light sound of “o,” and the diphthong produced by the combination of the two vowels has a strangely different sound from each vowel taken separately. Now observe, with very young children, hereditary tendencies act, and they may pronounce both “ow” and “I” in the European fashion. Yet in a few years’ time, when the dry Australian air has affected their vocal chords, they lose the power. The European “I” is a diphthong, by majority-pronunciation; tiie Australian “I” is a single vowel sound as sharply distinct as any other single vowel.