South Australian English
Encyclopedia
South Australian English is the collective name given to the varieties of English
spoken in the Australian state
of South Australia
. As with the other regional varieties
within Australian English
, these have distinctive vocabularies
. To a lesser degree, there are also some differences in phonology
(pronunciation
).
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
and the Macquarie Dictionary
state that there are three localised, regional varieties of English in South Australia: Adelaide English, Eyre and Yorke Peninsula English and Northern South Australia English. While there are many commonalities, each has its own variations in vocabulary.
in origin, reflecting the origins of many early settler
s. Such was the concentration of German speakers in and around the Barossa Valley
, it has been suggested they spoke their own dialect of German, known as "Barossa German
". The influence of South Australia's German heritage is evidenced by the adoption into the dialect of certain German or German-influenced vocabulary. One such local word with German origins is "butcher", the name given to a 200 ml
(7 fl.oz.
) beer glass, which is believed to be derived from the German becher, meaning a cup or mug.
Another uniquely South Australian word is "stobie pole
", which is the pole used to support power and telephone lines. It was invented in South Australia by James Stobie in 1924.
Cornish
miners
represented another significant wave of early immigrants, and they contributed Cornish language
words, such as wheal (mine), which is preserved in many place names.
South Australian dialects also preserve other British English usages which do not occur elsewhere in Australia: for example, farmers use reap and reaping, as well as "harvest" and "harvesting".
In Australian English, pronunciations vary regionally according to the type of vowel that occurs before the sounds nd, ns, nt, nce, nch, and mple, and the pronunciation of the suffix "-mand". In words like "chance", "plant", "branch", "sample" and "demand", the vast majority of Australians use the short /æ/ vowel from the word "cat". In South Australia however there is a high proportion of people who use the broad /aː/ vowel from the word "cart" in these words. For example, a survey of pronunciation in different cities found that 86% of those surveyed in Adelaide pronounced graph with an /aː/, whereas 100% of those surveyed in Hobart
and 70% of those surveyed in Melbourne
used /æ/.
Because of the prevalence of the South Australian long a, the South Australian accent appears to be closer to Cultivated Australian English than other state dialects.
"L" Vocalisation
The tendency for some /l/ sounds to become vowels (/l/ vocalisation) is more common in South Australia than other states. "Hurled", for example, in South Australia has a vocalised /l/, leading to the pronunciation "herwd", whereas in other states the /l/ is pronounced as a consonant. The "l" is vocalised; for example, "milk" sounds like "miuwk" and "hill" sounds like "hiw". A back allophone
of /ʉː/, [ʊː]
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
spoken in the Australian state
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. As with the other regional varieties
Regional variation in Australian English
Australian English is relatively homogenous when compared to British and American English. The major varieties of Australian English are sociocultural rather than regional, being General Australian, Broad Australian and Cultivated Australian. There is however some regional variation between the...
within Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, these have distinctive vocabularies
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
. To a lesser degree, there are also some differences in phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
(pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
).
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and the Macquarie Dictionary
Macquarie Dictionary
The Macquarie Dictionary is a dictionary of Australian English. It also pays considerable attention to New Zealand English. Originally it was a publishing project of Jacaranda Press, a Brisbane educational publisher, for which an editorial committee was formed, largely from the Linguistics...
state that there are three localised, regional varieties of English in South Australia: Adelaide English, Eyre and Yorke Peninsula English and Northern South Australia English. While there are many commonalities, each has its own variations in vocabulary.
Vocabulary
While some of the words attributed to South Australians are used elsewhere in Australia, many genuine regional words are used throughout the state. Some of these are GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in origin, reflecting the origins of many early settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s. Such was the concentration of German speakers in and around the Barossa Valley
Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley is a major wine-producing region and tourist destination of South Australia, located 60 km northeast of Adelaide. It is the valley formed by the North Para River, and the Barossa Valley Way is the main road through the valley, connecting the main towns on the valley floor of...
, it has been suggested they spoke their own dialect of German, known as "Barossa German
Barossa German
Barossa German refers to a dialect of German, which was once common in South Australia. The prominent South Australian writer, Colin Thiele , whose grandparents were German immigrants, referred to "Barossa Deutsch" as: "that quaintly inbred and hybrid language evolved from a century of linguistic...
". The influence of South Australia's German heritage is evidenced by the adoption into the dialect of certain German or German-influenced vocabulary. One such local word with German origins is "butcher", the name given to a 200 ml
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
(7 fl.oz.
Fluid ounce
A fluid ounce is a unit of volume equal to about 28.4 mL in the imperial system or about 29.6 mL in the US system. The fluid ounce is distinct from the ounce, which measures mass...
) beer glass, which is believed to be derived from the German becher, meaning a cup or mug.
Another uniquely South Australian word is "stobie pole
Stobie pole
A Stobie pole is a power line pole made of two steel joists held apart by a slab of concrete in the middle. It was invented by Adelaide Electricity Supply Company design engineer James Cyril Stobie . Stobie used materials easily at hand due to the shortage of suitably long, strong, straight and...
", which is the pole used to support power and telephone lines. It was invented in South Australia by James Stobie in 1924.
Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
miners
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
represented another significant wave of early immigrants, and they contributed Cornish language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
words, such as wheal (mine), which is preserved in many place names.
South Australian dialects also preserve other British English usages which do not occur elsewhere in Australia: for example, farmers use reap and reaping, as well as "harvest" and "harvesting".
Phonology
Trap–bath SplitIn Australian English, pronunciations vary regionally according to the type of vowel that occurs before the sounds nd, ns, nt, nce, nch, and mple, and the pronunciation of the suffix "-mand". In words like "chance", "plant", "branch", "sample" and "demand", the vast majority of Australians use the short /æ/ vowel from the word "cat". In South Australia however there is a high proportion of people who use the broad /aː/ vowel from the word "cart" in these words. For example, a survey of pronunciation in different cities found that 86% of those surveyed in Adelaide pronounced graph with an /aː/, whereas 100% of those surveyed in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and 70% of those surveyed in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
used /æ/.
Because of the prevalence of the South Australian long a, the South Australian accent appears to be closer to Cultivated Australian English than other state dialects.
"L" Vocalisation
The tendency for some /l/ sounds to become vowels (/l/ vocalisation) is more common in South Australia than other states. "Hurled", for example, in South Australia has a vocalised /l/, leading to the pronunciation "herwd", whereas in other states the /l/ is pronounced as a consonant. The "l" is vocalised; for example, "milk" sounds like "miuwk" and "hill" sounds like "hiw". A back allophone
Allophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
of /ʉː/, [ʊː]
See also
- Australian EnglishAustralian EnglishAustralian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
- Regional variation in Australian EnglishRegional variation in Australian EnglishAustralian English is relatively homogenous when compared to British and American English. The major varieties of Australian English are sociocultural rather than regional, being General Australian, Broad Australian and Cultivated Australian. There is however some regional variation between the...
- Australian words
- Australian English phonologyAustralian English phonologyAustralian English is a non-rhotic variety of English spoken by most native-born Australians. Phonologically, it is one of the most regionally homogeneous language varieties in the world...
- Other regional varieties:
- Western Australian EnglishWestern Australian EnglishWestern Australian English is the collective name given to the variety or varieties of English spoken in the Australian state of Western Australia . As with the other regional varieties within Australian English, the vocabulary spoken in Western Australia also varies slightly by region...
- Western Australian English