How close are British English and Australian English?

Now, tell me if the middle-age guy in this video speaks with an accent closer to American or British accent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A7fHJqZ9OM&feature=related

<<Australia is culturally much more linked to the US than it is Britain. Just look at Australian cities, instead of the disorganised, rather organic structure of British cities, Australian cities are modeled on the US grid system, they go for big wide, open roads as oppoesed to smaller British ones. Instead of keeping the skyline low like in British cities, Australia has gone for the big skyscraper style, like the US, they have made a concious effort to make their cities look powerful and grand, while British cities always have a rather down-to-earth look.

Also, just look at the houses they live in. British suburban homes are typically semi-detached, red brick constructions. On the other hand, Australia has folowed a rather American style of building open-plan, detached homes and using concrete blocks or wood as the construction material. This construction difference alone goes a long way to giving Australia a more American-sied feel. >>

That's called "having lots of space". It's the way people naturally build when they have plenty of land to build on, and no reason to crowd things together. I doubt it's any conscious or unconscious attempt by Australians to copy Americans. We both just have a low population density with lots of acreage to spare. The British are constrained by their small size and crowding, so they have to employ a different building strategy. That's all. Plus their cities often predate modern transportation and its need for wider roads and more regularly-angled intersections.

Japan is also full of narrow lanes and intersections at angles so acute they have to put up mirrors to see around them. Is it because the Japanese are imitating the British? No, it's because, like the British, space it at a premium and a lot of their city construction dates back to the medieval period and before.

We always think that Aussie speech are influenced by the Americans with such words/phrases as:

flashlight (formerly torch)
couch potato
truck
excuse me (pardon me)
dude
OK
email

But be also aware that Americans are influenced too by the Aussie speech with phases that already became part of AmE.

no worries (OK)
trust me
outback
down under

In addition I noticed that the pitch of Californians and to a lesser degree other western states has somewhat became different form central and eastern states which is more similar to that of the Aussies.

Americans admire the Aussies so much that they find their accent beautiful. The admiration is not just on the part of the Aussies but also the other way around.

On the other hand, Aussies have their own counterparts for some American slang.

redneck = bogan
slacker = sicky


Or even their states

California and Western Australia (Golden State)
Florida and Queensland (Sunshine State)
Hawaii and Tasmania are both islands
New Jersey and Victoria (Garden State)
New York (Empire State) and New South Wales (Premier State)


Their cities too

New York = Sydney
Miami Beach = Gold Coast
Chicago = Melbourne
Los Angeles = Perth
Las Vegas = Alice Springs

Honolulu = Cairns
Tampa = Darwin
Washington = Canberra

;)

<<
Honolulu = Cairns
Tampa = Darwin
>>

What a coincidence, I've been to those 4 places, and no, really, gimme a break ...
all I can say is that you WISH they were remotely similar

<< Washington = Canberra >>
Haven't been to Canberra, but I suspect that neither, maybe wrong.

I'm from the US. I think it's easy to make a distinction between the two. Can't explain it in words though, you can just tell I guess.