I have seen in one of the forum posts "Australian accent" where a girl wanted to learn the australian accent, and get rid of her english accent.
Then a man, i forgot who..said this:
"Keep the British accent, Melanie. The Australian Accent sounds extremely irritating to my ears. Imagine an Australian suicide bomber exclaiming "todie is the die to die" when he means "today is the day to die"."
I actually believe that, that is quite racist. as you take our australian accents quite seriously..but its only another accent in the world of today. and by the way...you are very wrong saying that we prounance "today" as "todie" i think you should come to australia and see for your self that we dont say it that way. if more, i think we say it "todaay" so your very wrong abotu that. and i found your message quite horrible to read as australia is another country with another accent...big deal! i may be making this a big deal but i feel i have every right too as you were quite rude about our accent. i wonder what your accent is like!
Bree, I'm another Aussie and I was mildly irritated when I read that post, because I know that most Australians don't pronounce today as "todie". It probably stems from the fact that Australian english is often compared to Cockney english, and therefore some people seem to think that all Australians talk like Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady. I think the post just displayed ignorance on the topic of Australian english and accent more than anything else.
I LOVE THE AUSSIE ACCENT! It is just so sexy! :D
Aussie accent is truly hard to accustomed for non-native speaker. As I'm Chinese, there's still some obstacle to cross. But Radio Australia is one of my favorite SW stations. Hope longer listening will impove skill.
i heard some australian in my town say todie, well at least to my ears just like we americans think canadians say aboot when they say they don't.
god! can people be tolerant of what they call racism? that man was just cracking a joke about some aussie suicide bomber. you know, people sometimes make negative comments about other countries without thinking first and its just what they really think. let their natural feelings come through and just put up with it! people are becoming more and more pervert about this racism thing.
its so difficult to say sumthing if people are gonna get all over you because of it. cummon, who cares?
This is why Michal's idea of a "universal English accent" will never work. Every English-speaking country already thinks it speaks English the best way. I know I don't want to have to talk like a Brit or Aussie even though the accents don't bother me. And they don't want to have to speak like Americans.
Ryan
Actually I think American, Canadian, British and Aussie are equally easy to understand. The shift of vowel is common in regional accent and the changes of consonant are common in foreign accent. You know the rule, your ears are ready.
As a Cantonese speaker, I can understand Mandarin without learning it. But I cannot speak.
Yeah, I saw that post too and I had my whinge about it. Aussies don't pronounce "today" as "to die", it's just a silly joke.
But the accent is still irritating. After all they were convicts, no wonder their accent is so....untrained.
I'm starting to think that if you are British you either:
A) Hate American accents
B) Hate Australian accents
C) Hate "provincial accents" in your own country (like Brummie or Scouse)
D) Hate "posh" RP accents
E) Hate every accent except the one you speak
I've listened to the Australian accent and it sounds like when they say "today" they use a @I diphthong rather than the eI diphthong that Americans and Britons use to pronounce the word, or the aI diphthong used in the word "die." I've heard some British accents use the @I sound as well, which is where I think the American confusion between British and Australian accents occurs.
Ryan
But it depends on where the person is from. If its an aussie from the city that is educated they usually have a standard well spoken accent but it is those from less well-off backgrounds that are pretty annoying.
Everybody gets irritated by some accent or other, it's just the way of the world. I speak with a rounded Cambridge accent (also called 'talking posh' in England!), coloured occasionally by the accent of my native Essex - I'm sure that really gets on some people's nerves as much as Brummie, Scouser, Aussie etc.
People can't help the way they speak - if you say 'todie', then good on you. Vive la difference (apologies for lack of obliques there).
For starters I love the American accents and I dont know anyone who doesnt. In fact many people I know would love to have an american accent (myself included). I also don't mind the australian accents. I think you are quite right in saying some people hate "provincial accents" Im from Manchester and dont live far at all from Liverpool in fact my best mate was born there she often has to put up with being called "scouse", here in Manchester, Liverpudlians (scousers) are often seen as very rough and theiving people I dont know were this veiw came from but it definatly aint true.
I think the only reason many Britons often hate the RP accent is because they are worried that this accent, is the one that other countries picture the whole of Britain speaking. Every time I talk to Americans or Aussies in chat rooms one of the first things they ask is "do you have that really cool british accent, you know the one the queen has" I MEAN I DONT KNOW ANYONE WHO TALKS LIKE THAT!!!
You are problably right, Ryan.
Chloe-
Thanks! I like my accent too. I don't like it when people try to be something they're not. Although I do love English, Irish, Scottish, Southern American, and Austrailian accents. LOL
_____
I was walking in my dorm the other day and a girl opened the door for me. She was having trouble with the codes on all the doors to the rooms....As I listened to her speak I thought, "Woah, this girl's from England!" Yes she did sound a bit like Eliza. I thought about that b4 I read Rugger's post. Eventually I realised that she was an Aussie.