Australian English phonology

This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
Speech example
An example of a man with a general Australian accent.
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Speech example
An example of a woman from South Australia with a broad accent (Julia Gillard).
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Speech example
An example of a man from Queensland with a cultivated accent (Geoffrey Rush).
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Australian English (AuE) 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. Australian English is notable for vowel length contrasts which are absent from most English dialects.

The Australian English vowels /ɪ/, /e/, /eː/ and /oː/ are noticeably closer (pronounced with a higher tongue position) than their contemporary Received Pronunciation equivalents. However, a recent short-front vowel chain shift has resulted in younger generations having lower positions than this for the former three vowels.[1]

  1. ^ Grama, James; Travis, Catherine E; González, Simón. "Initiation, progression, and conditioning of the short-front vowel shift in Australia". Academia. Retrieved 13 September 2023.