Words like "castle", "fast" in Australian English

Just a quick question: How are these words pronounced in Australian English? With an [a:] or an [@]? Thanks.

My friend from South Australia says those words more like [a:](like the first vowel in the word "father"), but when i asked him about it he told me it kind of depends on the part of Australia one is from.

I'm from Melbourne and I pronounce "castle" and "fast" with an [a:]. I agree with Shogo that there might be regional differences in the pronounciation of these words within Australia. For example, in Melbourne people tend to pronounce the "a" vowel in words such as "graph" and "dance" like in "cat", but people in Adelaid (South Australia) tend to pronounce it with an [a:].

I grew up in Sydney and I also pronounce those words "castle" and "fast" as in Melbourne or Adelaide [a:] but I pronounce "France" and "dance" with a [@] and that the way I learnt to do it. Maybe it's because it's behind a nasal "n"? If anyone is a linguist I'd like to ask ([a:]sk) him to confirm or not my theory.

Thanks!

I'm from Sydney too and I pronounce things the way Jordi does though I think that I'm tending towards saying [fra:ns] instead of [fr@ns] these days.

castle [ka:s.l]
fast [fa:st]
dance [d@ns]
ask [a:sk]