The newly created English dialect was derived from the exposure to a wide range of different dialects from all over England, highlighting that the main part of England is the south east, particularly from London (Macquarie University, 2019). The new dialect developed by the children was strong enough to deflect the influence from when the new settlers arrived. Apart from that, (Australia’s Indigenous Languages Have One Source, 2018) says that the language family had spread and diversified also from a small area in northern Australia which then suggested the idea that people movements are one of the key factors in spreading languages.

Looking back a little more than 200 years ago, Australians spoke more than 200 languages, which is believed to now be their lost indigenous languages. These lost languages are currently still being studied to identify their relations to an Australians’ mother tongue, known as ‘Proto-Australian’. According to Associate Prof Mark Harvey (n.d., cited in Australia’s Indigenous Languages Have One Source, 2018) estimated that 120 indigenous languages still exist, however only about 20 are actively spoken today.

We have created this Padlet for our EIC 453: Global English, pair work assessment!

We are hoping that you would love this Padlet as much as we love making it ! (phewww)

• Syaffiah

• Dania

  
  

Know Our Speakers

• Amari Davis

• Mariam

Methodology

Audio Text

• Audio file

• Transcription

History of Inner Circle Englishes

• History of North American English

• History of Australian English

Analysis of The Variations :

1) Phonemic Variation

• North American English

• Australian English

2) Prosodic Variation

• North American English

• Australian English

3) Lexical Variation

• North American English

• Australian English

Conclusion

Reflection

• Nur Syaffiah Adriena Binti Saberi

• Nur Dania Umairah Binti Joha

References

Entertainment

Example: came out /kəmɑʊt/

The standard English pronunciation of ‘came out’ is /keɪm aʊt/. However, the Australian pronounced the words as /kəmɑʊt/ because they often reduce the vowel’s pronunciation in fast and casual speech.

This reflects how connected speech works in Australian English. According to Connected Speech (2020), connected speech refers to how words are pronounced in a natural, conversational way instead of speaking words in isolation. Australian tends to reduce vowels a lot due to the historical factor of how their English was developed. To elaborate, the Australian English was influenced by a mix of mostly British Isles dialects in the 17th centuries (Chene, 2021).

Reduced of vowels happen when unstressed vowels are being reduced to a central, mid vowel, which in Australian English is specially a schwa (Nordquist, 2019). Schwa is the only reduced vowel in Australian English, although in other dialects there may be other additional reduced vowels. For instance, in Southern British English, they use a higher, less central vowel for reduction.

Another outer example is how Australian pronounces “Australia”. The sound would be /əˈstreɪljə/ or even /stræljə/ instead of the standard pronunciation /ɒsˈtreɪ.li.ə/ which clearly shows how multiple vowels are reduced or omitted entirely.

2. Vowel Pronunciation

Example: walk, call /wɔːk/ /kɔːl/

The standard US English pronunciation of walk is /wɑːk/ meanwhile call is pronounced as /kɑːl/. The way Australian pronounces the words walk and call are similar to the standard British pronunciation.

The pronunciation is described as the long open-mid back rounded vowel /ɔː/. To illustrate, when pronounced the lips would be rounded and the tongue slightly higher. This also happens due to Australian English historical factor in which resulted to their phonological features share many characteristics with British English.

Other than that, Australian English being non-rhotic is also one of the factors that lead to the pronunciation (What are the key features of an Australian Accent, 2024). This is where the /r/ is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel, hence in the transcription the word through is transcribed as /trʊ/.

3. Rhoticity

Example: after /æftə/

As explained before, the Australian English is non-rhotic in nature hence ignoring the standard pronunciation of after which is /ˈɑːf.tər/.

In detail, non-rhotic means that the /r/ sound is omitted when it comes at the end of the word or before a consonant within a word or phrase. Another example in the text would be /paːk/ as the pronunciation for park, where the “ah” pronunciation is lengthen and the most important part is with no “r”.

It is important to note that Australian English being non-rhotic does not cause vowel reduction vice versa. Both of them are caused by a separate process, however they often appear together since both have a tendency toward effort reduction in casual speech.

4. Intervocalic Flapping

Example: little /lirl/

According to Evans (2002), the definition for intervocalic flapping is:

Intervocalic: Between two vowels

Flapping: Replacing /t/ or /d/ with a quick tap sound /r/ (called an alveolar tap) which also might sound like a quick soft d

In the IPA chart, the alveolar tap is represented as [r]. This is why the word little is pronounced as /lirl/ in Australian English, where /t/ becomes a flap [r], sounding similar to the American pronunciation of /d/ in the word ladder.

The American English also uses intervocalic flapping. However, the major contrast is the Australian English tendency to vowel reduction and being non-rhotic, making the intervocalic flapping sounds even more quick, fluid and compact, that sometimes the [r] may not be heard.

Age: 25

Demographic: Connecticut, Putnam, US.

In comparison to Australian English, North American English did not happen to have a vowel reduction for the word "came out". For Australian English the pronunciation of the word "came out " is /kəmɑʊt/. Meanwhile, North American pronounced the words as /keɪmaʊt/. Therefore, we can see that how Australian English tends to be more fluid and reduced, while North American English keeps fuller vowels and a clearer diphthong structure.

2. Vowel Pronunciation

Example: walk, call /wɑːk/,/kɑːl/

These words are pronounced differently in Australian English, where they are typically /wɔːk/ and /kɔːl/. The main reason for this difference lies in vowel quality, particularly the use of /ɑː/ vs /ɔː/.

In North American English, speakers often use the open back unrounded vowel /ɑː/ for words like call and walk, where the tongue is low and far back in the mouth, and the lips are unrounded.

In Australian English, however, these same words are pronounced with the open-mid back rounded vowel /ɔː/, where the tongue is higher and the lips are rounded. This gives the words a slightly more rounded and higher sound compared to the flatter American version.

3. Rhoticity

Example: /æftər/

North American English is rhotic because most of its dialects pronounce the /r/ sound in all positions, including after vowels and at the end of words. According to one of our speakers (Amari Davis) who speaks with a North American accent, she always pronounces the /r/ sound in her sentence.

Fun Fact: Some parts of North America are non-rhotic, like certain New York, Boston, and Southern U.S. accents, where people might say "/kɑː/" instead of "/kɑr/." These accents reflect older British influences or unique regional evolution.((US - Dialects and Accents - English (General Studies) - NDLA, 2025)

In the late 18th century, members of the Southern English upper class began omitting the /r/ sound after vowels to distinguish themselves socially. Over time, this pronunciation trend spread to the middle class as well.

However, this change was not adopted in Scotland and Ireland, where the largely working-class population maintained rhotic speech, which still persists today. In the U.S., the New York and New England regions are notable for also having non-rhotic accents. This is believed to be due to their historically close cultural ties to Britain (British and American English Pronunciation Differences, n.d.).

• "half past eight" is Actually used by a British/Australian speakers.

• To other English speaker this term might be unfamiliar to them . In North America people use the term "eight thirty"

  
  

2. "Shall we meet..."

• The modal verb "shall" is more common in British and Australian English than in American English, where "should" or "do you want to.." are more typical.

• In British English, "shall" is often reserved for formal contexts, such as legal or academic settings, while "should" is more commonly used in everyday conversation, particularly in American English, because it sounds softer and less authoritative. Both words still have specific uses depending on the context, and the shift in their usage reflects how language adapts to different communication styles.

• Australian English uses these kinds of words and slangs because of the heavy influence from the British English (Wright, 2021). Although Australian English has developed its own accent, slang and vocabulary, it still retains many features from its British roots. This slangs also reflects the laid-back and friendly Australian attitude.

• The standard British pronunciation of “No worries, mate!” is “Don’t worry about it,” or “It’s okay.” Meanwhile the standard American pronunciation of “half past eight” is “eight-thirty”.

2. “Give me a quick call tomorrow before noon.”

• In Australian English, a more colloquial way to ask someone to phone you is “give me a bell” (Essential Aussie Slang for International Students, 2023). For instance, “I’ll be busy this arvo. Give me a bell before that.”

• This phrase developed from British idiomatic speech and early telephone culture, since early telephones had literal bells that rang when someone called.

• Fun fact: Australian often adapts literal expressions in their speech. Another example would be, “Give me a shout,” means let me know.

Example: “…half past eight, so I decided…”

• Australian English speakers tend to slightly raise the intonation of the word before comma, or can also be called as clause breaks. This happens to signal continuation.

2. Stress

Example: Content words like “park”, “bus”, “coffee” and “noon”

• Australian English speakers would usually put stress on content words like listed above. However stress on function words are often reduced.

Age: 18

Demographic: Hobart, Australia

Thank you for taking the time to read our take on this humble yet complex (& hopefully worth a full 30% marks) E-portfolio. May God bless us all, peace and love!

From the seventeenth century onwards, English-speaking settlers migrating to the North American mainland and the Caribbean interacted extensively with Native American languages, leading to significant influence on American English vocabulary (Bailey, 2004). As the English language spread across the continent, it adapted to the region's diverse topography, incorporating new terms to describe unfamiliar flora and fauna.

Moreover, contact with Indigenous languages, as well as non-Indo-European and other European languages, enriched North American English and that is what characterizes North American English today. (Colonization and Koinéization: On the Emergence of North American English — Anglais, 2025)

Mind-blowing fact !

According to Hoffman & James Wreford Watson, (2018), "North America’s first inhabitants are believed to have been ancient Asiatic peoples who migrated from Siberia to North America during the last glacial advance, known as the Wisconsin Glacial Stage..."

so technically, yes, they walked from Asia to North America!

"Let's eat grandma!"

• ❗This suggests the speaker wants to eat their grandmother (a dark, humorous misinterpretation).

• The lack of a comma before “grandma” changes the meaning from calling for grandma to making her the meal.

"Let's eat, grandma!"

• ✅ Now, with the comma, it's clear the speaker is talking to grandma, inviting her to eat.

  
  

Example: “It was a bit chilly this morning (pause) when I left the house, (pause) but the sun came out around half past eight, (pause) so I decided to walk through the park instead of taking the bus.”

• After "this morning", (pause) is used to signal the end of a time expression.

• After "left the house",(pause) is used to shift to a new event.

• After "half past eight", (pause)is used to emphasize the weather change and connect cause-effect.

2. Intonation

Intonation refers to the pitch movement in speech, acting as the melodic component that conveys emotion. It involves the voice rising, falling, or staying level throughout spoken communication (Learn American English Intonation, 2025).

Example : Shall we meet at the park after lunch around one o’clock?

• In the sentence, "Shall we meet at the park after lunch around one o’clock?", the speaker uses emphatic intonation on the word “park” to highlight the location of the meeting. This rising pitch draws attention to where they plan to meet.

• Additionally, there is likely another slight rise on “one o’clock” to emphasize when the meeting will take place. Since this is a yes/no question, the overall intonation would rise at the end of the sentence, which is typical in North American English.

Example: I know a little café on the corner that does great coffee and cakes.

• The speaker emphasizes the word “great” by saying it louder, longer, and clearer.

• The speaker uses rising intonation on the word 'great' to express enthusiasm or approval.