# how difficult is aussie accent to understand?



## onlyassignments (Aug 22, 2011)

I have been watching quite a few aussie videos to understand how easy it is to understand aussie people? I would like to hear from people from indian subcontinent how difficult do they find to understand aussie accent. I find even the british accent a little difficult to understand at times.


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

onlyassignments said:


> I have been watching quite a few aussie videos to understand how easy it is to understand aussie people? I would like to hear from people from indian subcontinent how difficult do they find to understand aussie accent. I find even the british accent a little difficult to understand at times.


IELTS exam listening part would have given u a fair idea of the accents...is n't it? British and Australian accent are one and the same mostly.

I would suggest you to watch news videos of channel 7 and channel 9 daily, you will get a fair idea of the accent that they use. 

Channel Nine Videos
TV and Australian TV Guide

Also, check the australian Slang specific discussions in this thread.

Good Luck....


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...-living-australia/20217-australian-slang.html


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

Adding one more imp point to it.... Listening to FM Radio channels will definitely help for you to understand the accent.

Mix 101.1 - Melbourne's Best Music Mix

Mix 94.5 | Perth's Home Of Variety

Fox - Home - Melbourne's Number 1 Hit Music Station

Cheers!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaddyOZ said:


> IELTS exam listening part would have given u a fair idea of the accents...is n't it? British and Australian accent are one and the same mostly.
> 
> I would suggest you to watch news videos of channel 7 and channel 9 daily, you will get a fair idea of the accent that they use.
> 
> ...


good idea to watch Aussie TV 

the generic 'British' & 'Aussie' accents are very different imo (as a Brit whose brother has lived in AUS for nearly 20 years I can barely understand a word he says )

bear in mind though, that as there are many UK/English/British accents, there are surely many Aussie accents too...


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## twister292 (Mar 25, 2011)

There isnt a huge variation among aussie accents per se (except ofcourse people from different backgrounds using different intonation at times)...generally, australian accent is flat, though some people speak quite fast.

Australian accent generally tends to exaggerate the "a" sound in between words a bit...so "Australia" is pronounced more like "Ostraa-aylia" almost...

In addition, there's plenty of shortened words in use, usually ending with a "y" or "ie"...a chocolate becomes "choccy", electrician is "sparky" etc etc...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

twister292 said:


> There isnt a huge variation among aussie accents per se (except ofcourse people from different backgrounds using different intonation at times)...generally, australian accent is flat, though some people speak quite fast.
> 
> Australian accent generally tends to exaggerate the "a" sound in between words a bit...so "Australia" is pronounced more like "Ostraa-aylia" almost...
> 
> In addition, there's plenty of shortened words in use, usually ending with a "y" or "ie"...a chocolate becomes "choccy", electrician is "sparky" etc etc...


really? I just expected that such a huge country would have varied accents!

if you think how tiny the UK is and all the very many accents it has, I'm really amazed that there aren't in Aus!!


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## twister292 (Mar 25, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> really? I just expected that such a huge country would have varied accents!
> 
> if you think how tiny the UK is and all the very many accents it has, I'm really amazed that there aren't in Aus!!


The major variations you'll find in australian accents will usually be based on the background of the speaker themselves...people with Chinese origin, for example, may have a different way of pronouncing certain words...

That said, there are differences in accents based on regions too...but nowhere near as pronounces as UK where every suburb has a different accent


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

twister292 said:


> The major variations you'll find in australian accents will usually be based on the background of the speaker themselves...people with Chinese origin, for example, may have a different way of pronouncing certain words...
> 
> That said, there are differences in accents based on regions too...but nowhere near as pronounces as UK where every suburb has a different accent


I don't know about every suburb - but I do remember as a teenager, visting a friend's grandma who lived in (and had never left) a small village only 10 miles away from the big town we lived in

It was almost as if she was speaking a different language!!!

I genuinely can't understand my brother now, either ......................


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## xMarcusx (Nov 8, 2011)

There are geographical difference in Aussie accents just like everywhere else in the world but there is far less pronounced differences than in UK and they may not be as noticeable to someone whose native language is not English. Aussies are far more understandable than the regional UK Accents. (except teenagers, who knows what they are saying sometimes  )

Maddy's given some good links for you to listen to. It's natural to take time to aclimatise to the accent. Even as a native English speaker before we moved I watched some of Aussie Masterchef and found I had to concentrate to keep up with what was being said but now it's not someting I'm conscious of at all. 

I spend much more time remembering to talk slowly myself.


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## onlyassignments (Aug 22, 2011)

Thank you all for your response, I would definitely check out those links maddy.


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## Bamwich (May 23, 2011)

Sorry to break it to you, but Ozzies aren't the ones with the accent. You are.

I encounter this often with those from the UK. They speak English. I speak American. No idea what Oz and NZ talk is called. Dingo and Kiwi?


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## onlyassignments (Aug 22, 2011)

Accent is not a bad thing, its just saying people from diferent places speak in different ways.I speak american too, very close to it,I grew up here but even in america, southern peoples accent is different than new yorkers.I do see your point though aussies are locals when in australia.


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## stormgal (Sep 30, 2009)

Bamwich said:


> Sorry to break it to you, but Ozzies aren't the ones with the accent. You are.
> 
> I encounter this often with those from the UK. They speak English. I speak American. No idea what Oz and NZ talk is called. Dingo and Kiwi?


lol, i thought the same thing (in a non confrontational way lolol). I had a friend in Oz whom I only communicated with online because I couldn't understand her accent. She was born in London, but came to Oz when she was like 7 years old but for some reason (probably because of her british parents) kept somewhat of an exaggerated heavy cockney accent but mixed with Australian. It was actually a very nice accent, however, I could not understand her. And then me - I have been told that I have a heavy new york accent - I'm sure that's is a recipe for an upcoming disaster -


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## Bamwich (May 23, 2011)

stormgal said:


> lol, i thought the same thing (in a non confrontational way lolol). I had a friend in Oz whom I only communicated with online because I couldn't understand her accent. She was born in London, but came to Oz when she was like 7 years old but for some reason (probably because of her british parents) kept somewhat of an exaggerated heavy cockney accent but mixed with Australian. It was actually a very nice accent, however, I could not understand her. And then me - I have been told that I have a heavy new york accent - I'm sure that's is a recipe for an upcoming disaster -


Nothing wrong with a NY accent. I have one myself, although I dropped the heavy Brooklynese in high school. Is it true that Ozzies think the American accent is a slow southern drawl?


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