The Australian accent is instantly recognisable – unique in its tone, euphemisms and “twang” – but according one university lecturer there is a simple explanation for why we talk the way we do.
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One of them is Aussie author Kathy Lette who wrote to The Telegraph, saying, “As anyone who has lived in Australia knows the reason we mumble is because if you open your mouth too wide, a fly or mosquito will buzz right I and bite you”.
But he then goes on to say, “Our forefathers regularly got drunk together and through their frequent interactions unknowingly added an alcoholic slur to our national speech patterns”.
Frankel said the slurring of speech, a typical symptom of over-indulgence in alcohol, had been passed down from generation to generation, eventually leading to the population possessing “drunken Aussie-speak”.
Asked why Australia has a distinctive accent and slang – called “strine” by the locals – Australian author Kathy Lette attributed it to the ever-ferocious species of Oz. About 8 percent believe the Aussie speak fast to avoid swallowing flies.
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‘Missing consonants can include missing “t ” s (impordant), “l ” s (Austraya) and “s ” s (yesh), while many of our vowels are lazily transformed into other vowels, especially “a ” s to “e ” s (stending) and “i ” s (New South Wyles), and “i ” s to “oi ” s (noight),’ he said. “Why? Because Australia is burdened with a values problem that nonsensically plays down the importance of speech skills, regarding them as superficial. Even when new settlers arrived, this new dialect of the children would have been strong enough to deflect the influence of new children”.
