Australian voices really aren't what they used to be. Linguists and ABC presenters weigh in on the changes to Aussie voices and the death of the ABC accent.
Across Australia, linguists are revolutionising the understanding of how Aussies’ voices differ from one another, fuelling new insights into what was once thought to be a monolithic accent.
In a 2023 research paper, Debbie Loakes and other linguists at the University of Melbourne found the Victorian habit of pronouncing “el” and “al” the same way (eg “celery” becomes “salary”) was dying out among young people in the state’s north, but persisting in the south.
Dr Loakes says linguists used to think younger Australians were trending away from the broad and cultivated accents toward a more general voice, but that recent work suggests the changes are more complicated.
ABC listeners may be familiar with the archetypal cadence and tone of Australia’s national broadcaster, which certainly falls into the cultivated accent camp.
However, listening to archival recordings makes it clear that the “ABC accent” is far milder today than it was just a few decades ago, and many presenters actively reject it.
Despite recognising that people perceive varieties of Australian English differently, linguists have shied away from classifying them as separate accents.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Across Australia, linguists are revolutionising the understanding of how Aussies’ voices differ from one another, fuelling new insights into what was once thought to be a monolithic accent.
In a 2023 research paper, Debbie Loakes and other linguists at the University of Melbourne found the Victorian habit of pronouncing “el” and “al” the same way (eg “celery” becomes “salary”) was dying out among young people in the state’s north, but persisting in the south.
Dr Loakes says linguists used to think younger Australians were trending away from the broad and cultivated accents toward a more general voice, but that recent work suggests the changes are more complicated.
ABC listeners may be familiar with the archetypal cadence and tone of Australia’s national broadcaster, which certainly falls into the cultivated accent camp.
However, listening to archival recordings makes it clear that the “ABC accent” is far milder today than it was just a few decades ago, and many presenters actively reject it.
Despite recognising that people perceive varieties of Australian English differently, linguists have shied away from classifying them as separate accents.
The original article contains 806 words, the summary contains 180 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!