Q&A for How to Speak With an Australian Accent

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  • Question
    It says above that words ending in 't' just drop it at the end, but what about for words like "what's" when it ends in apostrophe 's'?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    The "t" never really goes away, it's just pronounced as a glottal stop. You'd still use that same glottal stop with a word like "what's." The important thing to remember is the sound the word ends in, not necessarily the letter or how it's spelled. Since "what's" no longer ends in a "t" sound, you'd still hear a slight "t," it just wouldn't be as enunciated as it might be in other accents.
  • Question
    How do I say sister with an Australian accent?
    Community Answer
    Say "Sis-tah".
  • Question
    How do I say "brother"?
    Community Answer
    With an Australian accent, you don't pronounce the "r" on the end, so it would be "brotha."
  • Question
    How would I pronounce the i sound as in "think" and "ink"?
    Community Answer
    In Sydney, pronounce 'think' as 'th-i-nk' with a soft i, and not too much emphasis. If you want to do it the bushy way, it's 'th-ai'nk', almost 'thank', just with a more 'i'sh sound to the 'a'.
  • Question
    What do "Bizzo" and "Furphy" mean?
    Community Answer
    1.) Bizzo is 'business', as in 'it's none of your business' or 'mind your own bizzo', but I honestly haven't heard it since the 80s. Even then, 'beeswax' (as in 'mind your own beeswax') was more popular. Both of them are pretty much kid's things to say. 2.) A Furphy is a tall tale. It comes from old steel water carts made by the firm 'Furphy and Furphy' back in the 19th century that were used on farms, but were also taken over to the battlefields in WWI. The troops would gather around them to have a drink of water and swap stories/gossip and information that could end up being second, third, or fourth hand and thus wasn't always reliable. Hence, the phrase telling a Furphy was born.
  • Question
    Can I listen to interviews of 5 Seconds of Summer to help me speak with an Aussie accent?
    Community Answer
    Yes! That can definitely help.
  • Question
    How would I say "it" with an Australian accent?
    Community Answer
    We don't move our tongues as much, so instead of 'it' it's 'iet' (almost eat, but with a little more 'i' sound).
  • Question
    Are the words with "o" sounds pronounced as "eyw" or "ew"?
    Community Answer
    It's neither "eyw" or "ew". Australians tend to lengthen their vowels, so it depends on the word. For example, "ooohth" for oath or "awwrenge" for orange.
  • Question
    How do I pronounce the "o" sound with an Australian accent?
    Community Answer
    You have to add a slight "r" sound at the end. Instead of "I reckon so," it's "I reckon soer."
  • Question
    Why do Australians speak differently than Americans?
    Community Answer
    Because when the British came down and established penal colonies, the British accent was most prominent, but over time the younger children developed a new accent. It is also believed that, due to immigration, the South England and Southeast Asian accents have had a lot of influence over the modern day Australian accent.
  • Question
    How do I pronounce the "o" sound in "mom" or "stop"?
    Community Answer
    In Australia, it's spelled and said "mum." Pronounced "muhm." Stop would sound like "stoup."
  • Question
    How would the word "little" be pronounced?
    Community Answer
    You'd say "lih-uhl," like how you would say "uh oh," with the slight pause in the middle.
  • Question
    How do I tell the difference between Aussie and British accents?
    Community Answer
    Aussie accents tend to be more relaxed, as well as throatier. While it does depend on the area, English people tend to have more emphasis on separate syllables than words as a whole, while Aussies fuse syllables together more. The best way to be able to tell is just by listening to them side by side, on YouTube for example. Becoming familiar with both accents individually will make it easy to immediately tell the difference between the two.
  • Question
    How do I pronounce the letter "i" by itself?
    Phoenix Dakota
    Community Answer
    You would pronounce it "uy" with the u sounding like it would when you say umbrella.
  • Question
    How do I say "no" with an Australian accent?
    Community Answer
    It sounds like "now" in British or American English. Pull your tongue as far back as possible, then add the “w” as in “now.”
  • Question
    How can I say the letter Z with an Aussie accent?
    Community Answer
    Zed, rhymes with Ned.
  • Question
    How do I say have great day with an Australian accent?
    Community Answer
    "Hav a gr-eight dahy."
  • Question
    How do I say the letter h?
    Community Answer
    It would either sound the same or have the sound that the letter makes at the start, like “haitch."
  • Question
    Why do British and Australian accents have a light "R" sound?
    Community Answer
    The over-pronounced "R" of the North American accents comes from their Irish influence. Australian and British accents have been less influenced by the Irish accent; as a result, they have kept a more subtle "R" sound.
  • Question
    How do I say "mouth" with an Aussie accent?
    Community Answer
    It would sound like "mouth," but with a little bit of a "y" sound in between the "o" and the "u." So it would sound like "mow-yowth" with a softer "y."
  • Question
    Is there an Australian language?
    Community Answer
    There's no separate Australian language from English.
  • Question
    How can I say "how do you do" with an Australian accent?
    Community Answer
    You can use the above mentioned tricks in some of the answers like "dou" and skip the "h" in how so it'll slightly sound like "ow." Also raise your voice at the end.
  • Question
    How do I say gorgeous in an Aussie accent?
    Community Answer
    Gor-johs. Like you are a goat chewing food. Chew the words, but make it smooth.
  • Question
    How do I say "danger"?
    Community Answer
    Make the "A" sound more like an "I." Pronounce the "ger" as "jer" with a slight "R" on the end.
  • Question
    How would you say "them" and "old"?
    Ruby Kruger
    Community Answer
    I personally pronounce the th in them as a v, so vem. And the o in old is kind of like the ow in bowl, and I realise that when we say it we move our whole mouths, like our chin drops a little, it's kinda rounded.
  • Question
    How would you say “do you guys wanna meet up tomorrow”?
    Ruby Kruger
    Community Answer
    if you're saying it fast, the you would turn into a ya, and the first a in wanna is kinda pronounced 'oh'. If you mean this comment as in like, what slang to use and such, a lot of us aren't actually full out in using slang every sentence like many people think we do, and if a foreigner were to do that, you'd sorta seem like a try hard.
  • Question
    How do I say mother?
    Ruby Kruger
    Community Answer
    From what I've heard, not many other Australians say mother, since it's kinda formal and old fashioned, more people say 'Mum' (this is what most people in my town say, so I may be wrong) but yeah, when people do say mother, it sounds kinda similar to how people with cockney accents say mother, like mov-uh, but I've also heard other people say mof-uh when they say it quickly or undertheir breaths, since pronouncing the requires a bit more mouth motion and I couldn't be bothered with that. With the first part, start of with saying the mu like in mug, then yeah, just finish it with 'tha' or 'vah'.
  • Question
    How do I say "literally"?
    Ruby Kruger
    Community Answer
    Say it like the British do. The t is more of a ch, so it's 'lich-ruh-lly', but the r is barely pronounced.
  • Question
    How do you pronounce “more”?
    Ruby Kruger
    Community Answer
    Draw out the 'or' a lot, so you say it like 'moor' basically.
  • Question
    How do you say "extraterrestrial"?
    Ruby Kruger
    Community Answer
    Ex-trah-teh-rest-ree-all is how a lot of us say it, so yeah, bit of a mouthful.
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