Yesterday I was watching Playing Beatie Bow, a film based on Ruth Park’s novel. For those unfamiliar with the plot, it involves a teenage girl named Abigail slipping through time from 1980 to 1873.

In the film, the 1873 family have strong Irish accents (performed quite poorly by the Australian actors). From my own research regarding my family history and that of early settlements, I know there were quite a lot of Irish around that time, as they had been brought out to work as labourers on many farms. neither the novel nor the film mention how long this fictional family had been in Australia.

I was wondering when did the Aussie accent begin to differ from British accents. By 1820 the Australian accent was different enough to the English accent, according to Macquarie University, who also assert that language and accents change in pre-teen and teenage years as they begin to speak differently from their parents.

Other influences on our accent also came from an influx of nationalities during the 1850s gold rush. So in 1873, a typical Irish family would have an Irish accent dependent on when they arrived in Australia, their neighbours, the age of the children and whether they were born in Australia or Ireland.

That’s your learnin’ for the day. You’re welcome.

There’s not much noticeable Irish in the Australian accent. It’s much more a local development of Cockney and other southern English working-class contributions.

Watch old British films from the 1930s and the Cockney characters sound much like Australians from the 1950s-60s.

The Australian accent used to be described by English visitors to the country as “a type of Cockney”.

Divine Angel said:

Yesterday I was watching Playing Beatie Bow, a film based on Ruth Park’s novel. For those unfamiliar with the plot, it involves a teenage girl named Abigail slipping through time from 1980 to 1873.

In the film, the 1873 family have strong Irish accents (performed quite poorly by the Australian actors). From my own research regarding my family history and that of early settlements, I know there were quite a lot of Irish around that time, as they had been brought out to work as labourers on many farms. neither the novel nor the film mention how long this fictional family had been in Australia.

I was wondering when did the Aussie accent begin to differ from British accents. By 1820 the Australian accent was different enough to the English accent, according to Macquarie University, who also assert that language and accents change in pre-teen and teenage years as they begin to speak differently from their parents.

Other influences on our accent also came from an influx of nationalities during the 1850s gold rush. So in 1873, a typical Irish family would have an Irish accent dependent on when they arrived in Australia, their neighbours, the age of the children and whether they were born in Australia or Ireland.

That’s your learnin’ for the day. You’re welcome.

Thanks DA.

Funny things, accents.

It seems like whenever a particular language group moves to a new (for them) location, they start talking differently pretty quickly, then that accent stays much the same over centuries.

Or does it? What is the earliest voice recording with an Aus accent?

Has it changed much since?

How come our kids don’t all speak with a US accent anyway, since they all grow up listening to it all the time?

Aye, that is apparently why Americans think we sound British: they’re confusing our accent with Cockney.

As an aside, I have a Canadian friend whom I used to work with. She also has a wicked sense of humour. A customer once called her “an American slut”, to which she replied, “I’m offended… I’m not American!” (Neither is she a slut, FWIW.)

Bubblecar said:

There’s not much noticeable Irish in the Australian accent. It’s much more a local development of Cockney and other southern English working-class contributions.

Watch old British films from the 1930s and the Cockney characters sound much like Australians from the 1950s-60s.

The Australian accent used to be described by English visitors to the country as “a type of Cockney”.

I lived in SE London to age 5, with Scottish parents.

When we moved down near the S Coast all the local kids thought I had an Australian accent.

So maybe it’s the mixture of cockney and celtic that makes Oz accents.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Divine Angel said:

Yesterday I was watching Playing Beatie Bow, a film based on Ruth Park’s novel. For those unfamiliar with the plot, it involves a teenage girl named Abigail slipping through time from 1980 to 1873.

In the film, the 1873 family have strong Irish accents (performed quite poorly by the Australian actors). From my own research regarding my family history and that of early settlements, I know there were quite a lot of Irish around that time, as they had been brought out to work as labourers on many farms. neither the novel nor the film mention how long this fictional family had been in Australia.

I was wondering when did the Aussie accent begin to differ from British accents. By 1820 the Australian accent was different enough to the English accent, according to Macquarie University, who also assert that language and accents change in pre-teen and teenage years as they begin to speak differently from their parents.

Other influences on our accent also came from an influx of nationalities during the 1850s gold rush. So in 1873, a typical Irish family would have an Irish accent dependent on when they arrived in Australia, their neighbours, the age of the children and whether they were born in Australia or Ireland.

That’s your learnin’ for the day. You’re welcome.

Thanks DA.

Funny things, accents.

It seems like whenever a particular language group moves to a new (for them) location, they start talking differently pretty quickly, then that accent stays much the same over centuries.

Or does it? What is the earliest voice recording with an Aus accent?

Has it changed much since?

How come our kids don’t all speak with a US accent anyway, since they all grow up listening to it all the time?

Regional accents are still strong in the UK and to a lesser extent in the US despite TV and the internet etc.
Australia never developed any regional accents of any note for some reason.

http://clas.mq.edu.au/australian-voices/history-accent-change

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English

Peak Warming Man said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Divine Angel said:

Yesterday I was watching Playing Beatie Bow, a film based on Ruth Park’s novel. For those unfamiliar with the plot, it involves a teenage girl named Abigail slipping through time from 1980 to 1873.

In the film, the 1873 family have strong Irish accents (performed quite poorly by the Australian actors). From my own research regarding my family history and that of early settlements, I know there were quite a lot of Irish around that time, as they had been brought out to work as labourers on many farms. neither the novel nor the film mention how long this fictional family had been in Australia.

I was wondering when did the Aussie accent begin to differ from British accents. By 1820 the Australian accent was different enough to the English accent, according to Macquarie University, who also assert that language and accents change in pre-teen and teenage years as they begin to speak differently from their parents.

Other influences on our accent also came from an influx of nationalities during the 1850s gold rush. So in 1873, a typical Irish family would have an Irish accent dependent on when they arrived in Australia, their neighbours, the age of the children and whether they were born in Australia or Ireland.

That’s your learnin’ for the day. You’re welcome.

Thanks DA.

Funny things, accents.

It seems like whenever a particular language group moves to a new (for them) location, they start talking differently pretty quickly, then that accent stays much the same over centuries.

Or does it? What is the earliest voice recording with an Aus accent?

Has it changed much since?

How come our kids don’t all speak with a US accent anyway, since they all grow up listening to it all the time?

Regional accents are still strong in the UK and to a lesser extent in the US despite TV and the internet etc.
Australia never developed any regional accents of any note for some reason.

There are regional differences in Oz accents but they can be subtle these days.

When I first moved to country Tasmania in the 1980s, having been accustomed to middle-class Adelaide accents, the Tassie rural accents seemed quite strong and archaic, with some English rural residue remaining.

Peak Warming Man said:

Regional accents are still strong in the UK and to a lesser extent in the US despite TV and the internet etc.
Australia never developed any regional accents of any note for some reason.

Indeed, the Aussie accent can differ not due to geographical factors but socio-economic factors. Although, words for the same thing differ between regions eg devon/fritz/luncheon etc.

Bubblecar said:

Peak Warming Man said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Thanks DA.

Funny things, accents.

It seems like whenever a particular language group moves to a new (for them) location, they start talking differently pretty quickly, then that accent stays much the same over centuries.

Or does it? What is the earliest voice recording with an Aus accent?

Has it changed much since?

How come our kids don’t all speak with a US accent anyway, since they all grow up listening to it all the time?

Regional accents are still strong in the UK and to a lesser extent in the US despite TV and the internet etc.
Australia never developed any regional accents of any note for some reason.

There are regional differences in Oz accents but they can be subtle these days.

When I first moved to country Tasmania in the 1980s, having been accustomed to middle-class Adelaide accents, the Tassie rural accents seemed quite strong and archaic, with some English rural residue remaining.

Yes, I’d say there was a fair bit of variation on the East Coast, from S to N.

Not sure where WA fits in.

Divine Angel said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Regional accents are still strong in the UK and to a lesser extent in the US despite TV and the internet etc.
Australia never developed any regional accents of any note for some reason.

Indeed, the Aussie accent can differ not due to geographical factors but socio-economic factors. Although, words for the same thing differ between regions eg devon/fritz/luncheon etc.

And generational differences. High school kids often adopt vocal mannerisms that are quite different from their parents but seemingly uniform amongst younger people over large areas.

When I first moved to Kweenzland from NSW, people always asked which part of England I came from. I haven’t been asked that in a few years… perhaps my speech has been boganised somewhat.

Divine Angel said:

When I first moved to Kweenzland from NSW, people always asked which part of England I came from. I haven’t been asked that in a few years… perhaps my speech has been boganised somewhat.

I’m going to keep quiet about what I’ve been told about the origins of the Australian accent because I’m clearly wrong.

My older sisters were taught “elocution” at school, and I picked up on that while young. With the result that until my mid 30s when I boganised, my accent was always mistaken for English.

I find it amusing that the definitive good Australian accent, that all should aspire to was first James Dibble presenting ABC News 1956 to 1983, and since 1987 Lee Lin Chin on SBS news.

In my suburb sometimes it’s actually hard to understand the form of “English” spoken its guttural in nature

The Rev Dodgson said:

Yes, I’d say there was a fair bit of variation on the East Coast, from S to N.

Not sure where WA fits in.

Less broad and a bit closer to BBC English.

party_pants said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Yes, I’d say there was a fair bit of variation on the East Coast, from S to N.

Not sure where WA fits in.

Less broad and a bit closer to BBC English.

I can’t discern any difference between WA (Perth) and middling Sydney.

There are certainly east/west differences within Sydney e.g. Double Pay v Lakemba

Ian said:

party_pants said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Yes, I’d say there was a fair bit of variation on the East Coast, from S to N.

Not sure where WA fits in.

Less broad and a bit closer to BBC English.

I can’t discern any difference between WA (Perth) and middling Sydney.

There are certainly east/west differences within Sydney e.g. Double Pay v Lakemba

Disclaimer: I may a thoroughly unreliable judge. I imagine my own voice is a sort of “educated Oz English” but when I hear a recording it, it sounds really broad.

Ian said:

Ian said:

party_pants said:

Less broad and a bit closer to BBC English.

I can’t discern any difference between WA (Perth) and middling Sydney.

There are certainly east/west differences within Sydney e.g. Double Pay v Lakemba

Disclaimer: I may a thoroughly unreliable judge. I imagine my own voice is a sort of “educated Oz English” but when I hear a recording it, it sounds really broad.

Your own voice sounds deeper because of bone conduction so I wonder how some of those African American actors with deep voices sounds to themselves

Cymek said:

Ian said:

Ian said:

I can’t discern any difference between WA (Perth) and middling Sydney.

There are certainly east/west differences within Sydney e.g. Double Pay v Lakemba

Disclaimer: I may a thoroughly unreliable judge. I imagine my own voice is a sort of “educated Oz English” but when I hear a recording it, it sounds really broad.

Your own voice sounds deeper because of bone conduction so I wonder how some of those African American actors with deep voices sounds to themselves

I’m not sure that’s correct. I have quite a deep voice and yet I don’t hear it that way.

sibeen said:

Cymek said:

Ian said:

Disclaimer: I may a thoroughly unreliable judge. I imagine my own voice is a sort of “educated Oz English” but when I hear a recording it, it sounds really broad.

Your own voice sounds deeper because of bone conduction so I wonder how some of those African American actors with deep voices sounds to themselves

I’m not sure that’s correct. I have quite a deep voice and yet I don’t hear it that way.

I read it from here but have seen it elsewhere

According to Rachel Feltman at The Washington Post, when we hear other people speak, our ear drums and inner ears vibrate from the sound waves coming in from outside; vibrations that the brain converts into sound. The same is true when we hear ourselves speaking, but added to these external sound waves are other internal vibrations from deep within our bodies – vibrations from our vocal cords and airways that get added to the mix.

To put it in more technical terms, you’re adding bone conduction to air conduction when you speak with your own voice. “Bone-conducted sound is when you activate your vocal cords and vibrations are set off through your skull, eventually reaching your inner ear,” explains Feltman. “The acoustics in your skull lower the frequency of those vibrations along the way, essentially adding some bass tones.”

As a result, the voice we hear inside our heads is lower, richer and more mellifluous because of these extra rumblings, and hearing it come from outside ourselves (on a YouTube video for example) makes it sound tinny and alien. It’s no wonder we don’t like it without the deeper and richer undertones added by our internal hearing system.

Cymek said:

sibeen said:

Cymek said:

Your own voice sounds deeper because of bone conduction so I wonder how some of those African American actors with deep voices sounds to themselves

I’m not sure that’s correct. I have quite a deep voice and yet I don’t hear it that way.

I read it from here but have seen it elsewhere

According to Rachel Feltman at The Washington Post, when we hear other people speak, our ear drums and inner ears vibrate from the sound waves coming in from outside; vibrations that the brain converts into sound. The same is true when we hear ourselves speaking, but added to these external sound waves are other internal vibrations from deep within our bodies – vibrations from our vocal cords and airways that get added to the mix.

To put it in more technical terms, you’re adding bone conduction to air conduction when you speak with your own voice. “Bone-conducted sound is when you activate your vocal cords and vibrations are set off through your skull, eventually reaching your inner ear,” explains Feltman. “The acoustics in your skull lower the frequency of those vibrations along the way, essentially adding some bass tones.”

As a result, the voice we hear inside our heads is lower, richer and more mellifluous because of these extra rumblings, and hearing it come from outside ourselves (on a YouTube video for example) makes it sound tinny and alien. It’s no wonder we don’t like it without the deeper and richer undertones added by our internal hearing system.

Maybe my bones are poor conductors :)

I’ve always been told that I have a particularly deep voice and yet I don’t hear it that way. When I listen to a recording of my voice I certainly note it.

Cymek said:

sibeen said:

Cymek said:

Your own voice sounds deeper because of bone conduction so I wonder how some of those African American actors with deep voices sounds to themselves

I’m not sure that’s correct. I have quite a deep voice and yet I don’t hear it that way.

I read it from here but have seen it elsewhere

According to Rachel Feltman at The Washington Post, when we hear other people speak, our ear drums and inner ears vibrate from the sound waves coming in from outside; vibrations that the brain converts into sound. The same is true when we hear ourselves speaking, but added to these external sound waves are other internal vibrations from deep within our bodies – vibrations from our vocal cords and airways that get added to the mix.

To put it in more technical terms, you’re adding bone conduction to air conduction when you speak with your own voice. “Bone-conducted sound is when you activate your vocal cords and vibrations are set off through your skull, eventually reaching your inner ear,” explains Feltman. “The acoustics in your skull lower the frequency of those vibrations along the way, essentially adding some bass tones.”

As a result, the voice we hear inside our heads is lower, richer and more mellifluous because of these extra rumblings, and hearing it come from outside ourselves (on a YouTube video for example) makes it sound tinny and alien. It’s no wonder we don’t like it without the deeper and richer undertones added by our internal hearing system.

Yeah, I’m aware of this but I don’t think it accounts for my sounding (to myself) like some yob from beyond Burpengary.

Ian said:

Cymek said:

sibeen said:

I’m not sure that’s correct. I have quite a deep voice and yet I don’t hear it that way.

I read it from here but have seen it elsewhere

According to Rachel Feltman at The Washington Post, when we hear other people speak, our ear drums and inner ears vibrate from the sound waves coming in from outside; vibrations that the brain converts into sound. The same is true when we hear ourselves speaking, but added to these external sound waves are other internal vibrations from deep within our bodies – vibrations from our vocal cords and airways that get added to the mix.

To put it in more technical terms, you’re adding bone conduction to air conduction when you speak with your own voice. “Bone-conducted sound is when you activate your vocal cords and vibrations are set off through your skull, eventually reaching your inner ear,” explains Feltman. “The acoustics in your skull lower the frequency of those vibrations along the way, essentially adding some bass tones.”

As a result, the voice we hear inside our heads is lower, richer and more mellifluous because of these extra rumblings, and hearing it come from outside ourselves (on a YouTube video for example) makes it sound tinny and alien. It’s no wonder we don’t like it without the deeper and richer undertones added by our internal hearing system.

Yeah, I’m aware of this but I don’t think it accounts for my sounding (to myself) like some yob from beyond Burpengary.

Have you turned on an effects filter by accident

Cymek said:

Ian said:

Cymek said:

I read it from here but have seen it elsewhere

According to Rachel Feltman at The Washington Post, when we hear other people speak, our ear drums and inner ears vibrate from the sound waves coming in from outside; vibrations that the brain converts into sound. The same is true when we hear ourselves speaking, but added to these external sound waves are other internal vibrations from deep within our bodies – vibrations from our vocal cords and airways that get added to the mix.

To put it in more technical terms, you’re adding bone conduction to air conduction when you speak with your own voice. “Bone-conducted sound is when you activate your vocal cords and vibrations are set off through your skull, eventually reaching your inner ear,” explains Feltman. “The acoustics in your skull lower the frequency of those vibrations along the way, essentially adding some bass tones.”

As a result, the voice we hear inside our heads is lower, richer and more mellifluous because of these extra rumblings, and hearing it come from outside ourselves (on a YouTube video for example) makes it sound tinny and alien. It’s no wonder we don’t like it without the deeper and richer undertones added by our internal hearing system.

Yeah, I’m aware of this but I don’t think it accounts for my sounding (to myself) like some yob from beyond Burpengary.

Have you turned on an effects filter by accident

:)

Ian said:

Cymek said:

sibeen said:

I’m not sure that’s correct. I have quite a deep voice and yet I don’t hear it that way.

I read it from here but have seen it elsewhere

According to Rachel Feltman at The Washington Post, when we hear other people speak, our ear drums and inner ears vibrate from the sound waves coming in from outside; vibrations that the brain converts into sound. The same is true when we hear ourselves speaking, but added to these external sound waves are other internal vibrations from deep within our bodies – vibrations from our vocal cords and airways that get added to the mix.

To put it in more technical terms, you’re adding bone conduction to air conduction when you speak with your own voice. “Bone-conducted sound is when you activate your vocal cords and vibrations are set off through your skull, eventually reaching your inner ear,” explains Feltman. “The acoustics in your skull lower the frequency of those vibrations along the way, essentially adding some bass tones.”

As a result, the voice we hear inside our heads is lower, richer and more mellifluous because of these extra rumblings, and hearing it come from outside ourselves (on a YouTube video for example) makes it sound tinny and alien. It’s no wonder we don’t like it without the deeper and richer undertones added by our internal hearing system.

Yeah, I’m aware of this but I don’t think it accounts for my sounding (to myself) like some yob from beyond Burpengary.

You don’t sound that bad. You sound like a normal educated country town type, IIRC. I certainly don’t remember bogan-yobbo.

Michael V said:

Ian said:

Cymek said:

I read it from here but have seen it elsewhere

According to Rachel Feltman at The Washington Post, when we hear other people speak, our ear drums and inner ears vibrate from the sound waves coming in from outside; vibrations that the brain converts into sound. The same is true when we hear ourselves speaking, but added to these external sound waves are other internal vibrations from deep within our bodies – vibrations from our vocal cords and airways that get added to the mix.

To put it in more technical terms, you’re adding bone conduction to air conduction when you speak with your own voice. “Bone-conducted sound is when you activate your vocal cords and vibrations are set off through your skull, eventually reaching your inner ear,” explains Feltman. “The acoustics in your skull lower the frequency of those vibrations along the way, essentially adding some bass tones.”

As a result, the voice we hear inside our heads is lower, richer and more mellifluous because of these extra rumblings, and hearing it come from outside ourselves (on a YouTube video for example) makes it sound tinny and alien. It’s no wonder we don’t like it without the deeper and richer undertones added by our internal hearing system.

Yeah, I’m aware of this but I don’t think it accounts for my sounding (to myself) like some yob from beyond Burpengary.

You don’t sound that bad. You sound like a normal educated country town type, IIRC. I certainly don’t remember bogan-yobbo.

Good to know :)

Ian said:

party_pants said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Yes, I’d say there was a fair bit of variation on the East Coast, from S to N.

Not sure where WA fits in.

Less broad and a bit closer to BBC English.

I can’t discern any difference between WA (Perth) and middling Sydney.

There are certainly east/west differences within Sydney e.g. Double Pay v Lakemba

Agree. There’s more difference between city and country Australian accents than between any two cities. I’m told that the Adelaide accent is the most different of the cities.

I dunno but all I can say that the broad Australian accent was already in full swing by 1901 based on wax cylinder recordings made then.