Australian English

In this long-standing Dialects of English series, Australian English must appear as one of the recognised major varieties of English (Svartvik, 1996), rather than a geographically remote dialect of British English. It has steadily developed its own language norms and ideology as a fully evolved variety of postcolonial English (Schneider 2007), and is arguably an epicentre within its region (Leitner 2004; Peters, Smith & Bernaisch 2019). Internally it is much less homogenous than as conventionally described. Recent research shows considerable regional variation in phonology and lexis, and sociolinguistic variation -- in terms of age, socioeconomic status, and ethnic diversity. This monograph offers an overview of the distinctive elements of Australian English, spoken and written, including both formal and informal registers. Its genesis from a leveled, low contact variety of Anglo-Celtic English is eclipsed by its increasingly diversified forms through contact with bi-/multilingual communities in the capital cities (Horvath 1985, Travis et al. 2020). Extraterritorial influences (Buschfeld & Kautsch ed. 2020) from global media are also reflected in its everyday discourse. All these elements are part of current Australian English.