Aussie accent 'ever evolving'

Felicity Cox and Sallyanne Palethorpe from the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney will soon invite Australians to submit recordings of their speech online as part of their study into Australian English.

The researchers have already found that a distinctive form of Australian English exists, a regional English dialect that has been shaped by the nation’s geographical location.  Australian English is characterised by its distinct use of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

According to their website ‘Australian Voices’, there are three types of Australian English including Standard Australian English, varieties of Aboriginal English and various ethnocultural Australian English dialects.

The study will aim to show that Australian English is a maturing dialect, one that has developed over time with its own norms and standards and has embraced all dialectal types.

Cox and Palethorpe have already found that Australian English reflects cultural affiliations of the speaker, whether it is Greek, Indigenous, Lebanese of Vietnamese.  The two have also found that the Australian accent has shifted over the past 40 years, away from a cultivated British standard and is becoming increasingly broad.

Those who submit voice samples through the site will not receive individual analysis but will be contributing to a greater database of Australian English speakers.  The information will help map how Australian English has developed in relation to historical events and ethnic composition and may help predict how the dialect will evolve in the future.