I miss the Australian accent, in all variations. Even the Julia Gillard edition.
When I talk in a meeting or order a meal at a restaurant in Singapore, I feel like a girl from the deep south who just moved to a California school. There’s no doubt our accent is at times broad, harsh and unrefined, but it’s also relaxed and friendly (my own associations, I’m sure). I’ve found that Singapore houses a lot of accents. Aside from several prominent Asian accents, you’re more likely to hear a British accent than an American, and an American more than Australian.
One of the curious things I’ve noticed is that if I order a “Coke” in a restaurant, I’m rarely understood. I think it’s because the Australian “o” sound is quite rounded, and the mouth changes the shape of the sound as it progresses, almost like a truncated “oa” sound. Here, everyone corrects me with an abrupt “oh” sound. If I was to try to estimate the sound, it would be “kok”. Regardless, I’ve now taken to pointing to each menu item as I order it, and when I think it’s going to take some time, I say “soft drink” as well.
It will be nice to not feel like the southern belle in a room of Russian dictators.
I’ve heard the Aussie o is a dipthong, but I believe it’s a tripthong, 3 vowel sound sliding into one another (maybe even 4). Then there’s the i for e, as in sind for send. It must be hard for an Aussie to learn the pure vowels of a language like Italian.
Hi… found your blog quite interesting to read. Aussie accent is simply out of whack . In a way it’s quite entertaining and relaxing, less “sophisticated” in comparison to British accent. BTW singapore has two accents-they are known as “Singlish” and “English” LOL