# Do you have trouble differentiating English accents from Australian accents?



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I met many Australians, Kiwis, and British when I was in Japan and for the longest time I could not tell the difference. I found that I had the most difficulty understanding certain British accents but Australians and Kiwis were pretty easy to understand for the most part.

(The above poll is aimed at non-British/Australian/Kiwi people of course.)


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## Wacky Wednesdays (Apr 10, 2011)

I can definitely distinguish English from Australian. Australians drag everything out and are very lazy with pronunciation. Just watch 'home and away' + 'Coronation Street' ;D


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## Luna Sea (Apr 4, 2012)

I don't really get this. I've seen so many American tv shows and films where "British" characters speak with Australian accents. They're so completely different.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

Seriously? They are so different it's ridiculous. Kiwi and Aussie I can understand since they are quite similar but British??????


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## avoidobot3000 (Aug 22, 2010)

Oi nar, they're totally different like. 

I find it funny that some Americans need subtitles to watch British tv shows.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Ospi said:


> Seriously? They are so different it's ridiculous. Kiwi and Aussie I can understand since they are quite similar but British??????


I can hear the difference now but it took me a long time to get there. I wonder why North American accents changed more than Australian accents.....


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## Luna Sea (Apr 4, 2012)

komorikun said:


> I can hear the difference now but it took me a long time to get there. I wonder why North American accents changed more than Australian accents.....


They really didn't. It's just that you're American so foreign accents sound similar. To an English person, American and Australian accents are a lot closer together than you think of them.


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## ohgodits2014 (Mar 18, 2011)

I can somewhat understand British English.

Australian, I can't even be bothered to try.


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## Secretaz (Sep 10, 2011)

I'm Finnish and I understand only American accent. I've tried to watch some British and Australian movies without subtitles and I didn't understand anything what they were talking about..


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## FireIsTheCleanser (Aug 16, 2011)

They are very similar to me, but if I pay attention I can usually tell whether it's British or Australian.


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## Resonance (Feb 11, 2010)

Ospi said:


> Seriously? They are so different it's ridiculous. Kiwi and Aussie I can understand since they are quite similar but British??????


It's ok, they are Americans, forgive them.


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## squidlette (Jan 9, 2012)

Australian accents are very distinctive to me, so I can't say that I've ever mistaken one for anything else. Even the posher Cate Blanchette type Aussie accent sounds very different from an English one. And that brash Paul Hogan style accent is VERY unique. Super broad vowels. I always found it interesting that there aren't really any regional accents in Australia. You'd think with the middle part of the country being so harsh that people didn't really move across it much for a long time, that there'd be pockets of isolation that would foster regional accents/dialects, but there really aren't any.

The Kiwi and South African accents I got mixed up once or twice until I became more familiar with them, though, and that's just weird in hindsight.


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## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

Some English accents sound similar to Australian, but generally I can tell the difference.



Ospi said:


> Seriously? They are so different it's ridiculous. *Kiwi and Aussie I can understand* since they are quite similar but British??????


 Lucy Lawless on BSG and the show SeaPatrol taught me to "since" the difference between the two 

Haven't watched either of those in a while though, so it's kinda rusty for me (aside from the sense/since merger in the Kiwi accent)



Secretaz said:


> I'm Finnish and I understand only American accent. I've tried to watch some British and Australian movies without subtitles and I didn't understand anything what they were talking about..


Don't worry. I'm American and many times even *I* can't understand what British people are saying. And yes, I'm being serious.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Family members and others I've known often get mistaken for Australian when in the US. People in the US don't know much at all about the UK, including accents. I have to modify the terms I use when speaking to them because they get lost.


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## missingno (Sep 29, 2011)

odd_one_out said:


> Family members and others I've known often get mistaken for Australian when in the US. People in the US don't know much at all about the UK, including accents. I have to modify the terms I use when speaking to them because they get lost.


People thought I was British when I went to the US. Never been so insulted in my life Aussie accent is not even close.


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## Tyler Bro (Apr 27, 2012)

Outback steak house!


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## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

Tyler Bro said:


> Outback steak house!


"with aaah SURRRRRLOIN 'n SAY-food combo!"

Even as an American, it hurts my ears to hear that >_<



Witan said:


> Don't worry. * I'm American and many times even *I* can't understand what British people are saying*. And yes, I'm being serious.





odd_one_out said:


> Family members and others I've known often get mistaken for Australian when in the US. People in the US don't know much at all about the UK, including accents. *I have to modify the terms I use when speaking to them because they get lost*.


"England and America....two countries divided by a common language" -- George Bernard Shaw


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## tommo1234 (Apr 20, 2011)

Since I'm English it's piss easy to distinguish between the two.


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## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

tommo1234 said:


> Since I'm English it's piss easy to distinguish between the two.


I've noticed that most of the people who said they didn't have trouble were from Britain or Australia, whereas the ones who did have trouble were from the US/Canada.


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## Luna Sea (Apr 4, 2012)

missingno said:


> People thought I was British when I went to the US. Never been so insulted in my life Aussie accent is not even close to the poms


"Pom" is a disgusting slur and I'd be grateful if you wouldn't use it.


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## MrGilligan (Apr 29, 2012)

I've been to England and my brother-in-law has an Australian accent. They sound really different to me. There are similarities, and they seem closer than English to American or American to Australian, but I can still tell them apart.


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## Ventura (May 5, 2009)

*****Thread warning*****​
*Let's refrain from using ethnic slur's.​*


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## mike285 (Aug 21, 2010)

They all sound different.


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## LittleSister (Jan 22, 2011)

No. Because I'm Australian  

I have issues with Canadian & American. Cannot hear ANY difference.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

LittleSister said:


> No. Because I'm Australian
> 
> I have issues with Canadian & American. Cannot hear ANY difference.


There is almost no difference. I had Canadians ask if I was Canadian when I was in Japan.


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## Milco (Dec 12, 2009)

Ospi said:


> Seriously? They are so different it's ridiculous. Kiwi and Aussie I can understand since they are quite similar but British??????







Love that show :b

I think the New Zealand accent is the hardest to pinpoint, but all the others (Australian, Scottish, Irish, Welsh and all the various English accents) are quite easy to pick out and most of them are no problem to understand.


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## Ape in space (May 31, 2010)

I lived in the UK until I was 10 so I don't have trouble distinguishing.



Wacky Wednesdays said:


> I can definitely distinguish English from Australian. Australians drag everything out and are very lazy with pronunciation. Just watch 'home and away' + 'Coronation Street' ;D


The first time I ever heard an Australian accent was on 'home and away'.


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## SupaDupaFly (Sep 1, 2011)

Yeah I actually can.. I known someone from London for a long time... I find it annoying when Americans can't tell the difference. Im like dude that's not even a English accent that's Australian and they are like huuuh.


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## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

LittleSister said:


> I have issues with Canadian & American. Cannot hear ANY difference.





komorikun said:


> There is almost no difference. I had Canadians ask if I was Canadian when I was in Japan.


Have them say the word "house". An American will say "hah-oose". A Canadian will say "huh-oose".

Very subtle, but once you hear it, you never miss it. Otherwise, American English pretty much is the same as Canadian English in terms of pronunciation.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

The one a lot of people get confused with for some reasons is South African/Zimbabwean and New Zealander, don't ask why, but I have lost count how many times my parents have been asked if they are Kiwis.


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## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

Ospi said:


> The one a lot of people get confused with for some reasons is South African/Zimbabwean and New Zealander, don't ask why, but I have lost count how many times my parents have been asked if they are Kiwis.


When I was in the psych ward one time, a white South African (Afrikaaner) tech there was shocked when I asked him if he was from South Africa. He said I was only the second person since he came to the US to correctly identify his accent, and that most people figured he was from Australia or New Zealand.

So Ospi, are your parents Afrikaaners then?


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Sometimes, yeah.


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## Perkins (Dec 14, 2010)

Ospi said:


> Seriously? They are so different it's ridiculous. Kiwi and Aussie I can understand since they are quite similar but British??????


Same ****ing here.


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## Diacetylmorphine (Mar 9, 2011)




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## MiMiK (Aug 25, 2011)

i am from the states and i can tell the difference from an English accent to an Australian accent... the Australian accent is very sexy! i have a thing for the Australian accent lol


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

They all sound very different to me


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Seriously? Maybe I'm biased, being English myself, but Australian accents are absolutely nothing like any of the English accents.

I'd say that Australian accents have more in common with South African accents, but they're still completely different (again, maybe I'm biased, as I've known a few South African people and am familiar with their accents).


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## missingno (Sep 29, 2011)

TristanS said:


> "Pom" is a disgusting slur and I'd be grateful if you wouldn't use it.


You're joking right? How is a pom a disgusting slur? You do realise that it is pretty common used nickname by australians to english people with no bad meaning.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

^ I've never heard of it being a slur. I miss insults a lot though.


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## Meli24R (Dec 9, 2008)

I'm from the states and I don't have trouble differentiating English from Australian accents. They sound pretty different to me.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

What percentage of Australians are of British or Irish descent? Seemed like a lot of the Aussies and Kiwis that I met had a relative (aunt, uncle, grandparent) in England.


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## scooby (Jun 24, 2009)

I thought calling English people poms was just like calling Americans 'yanks'. Or is that bad too? I'm unsure.


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## squidlette (Jan 9, 2012)

I've never heard it referred to as an "ethnic slur" before. News to me.


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## Alexa10 (Sep 17, 2011)

scooby said:


> I thought calling English people poms was just like calling Americans 'yanks'. Or is that bad too? I'm unsure.


Is it bad if I don't mind being called a yank? I hear that in Britain it's deragatory, but sometimes Americans don't seem to mind. Australians/British/Irish, please correct me if I'm wrong...


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Resonance said:


> It's ok, they are Americans, forgive them.


:lol Cheeky!

We can usually tell them apart. :yes


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## tjames (Jan 31, 2012)

I can easily differentiate Brits from Australians and kiwis. I mix Kiwis and Australians up a lot. I mix up South Africans and Brits.


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## Luna Sea (Apr 4, 2012)

missingno said:


> You're joking right? How is a pom a disgusting slur? You do realise that it is pretty common used nickname by australians to english people with no bad meaning.


I've never heard it used in any way other than by Australians to talk about English people in a derogatory way. Just because it's common for you to use it doesn't mean it's okay. I'd liken it to English people using "paki" to talk about people from Pakistan, which is completely unacceptable to everyone.


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## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

scooby said:


> *I thought calling English people poms was just like calling Americans 'yanks'. Or is that bad too?* I'm unsure.


Depends on the context. Up North, it can come across as just some playful sassing. Other times it comes across as arrogant and condescending.

But if you're in the South, I would imagine calling someone there a "Yank" would *definitely* be insulting, since *they* use that term against us Northerners as a term of disparagement, and to set themselves apart from us.

All in all, I'd rather be called an "American" than a "Yank" but that's just me :roll


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## Marakunda (Jun 7, 2011)

Uhh, if I listen hard it becomes pretty easy I'd say.


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## foe (Oct 10, 2010)

rednosereindeer said:


> I can somewhat understand British English.
> 
> Australian, I can't even be bothered to try.


I'm the opposite. I can't understand thick British accents.


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

Sometimes when I initially here an Aussie accent I might mistake it for British one until they speak a bit more. There is a way Aussies say certain words that immediately jump out to me so once I've heard them a bit then I can distinguish. 

Kiwi's & Aussies are another story completely. I worked with both at the same, place/time & I couldn't tell you which was which if it was anonymous hearing test, I only knew because I knew where each person was from


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## hoddesdon (Jul 28, 2011)

The OP is making the assumption that Americans speak English (the nationalities mentioned in the thread are not so sure)


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

What made you revive this thread? How did you find it?

Anyways, American English does dominate much of the world. In many countries they prefer to have American English teachers. 

I still think Brits/Aussies/Kiwis sound similar.


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## Elad (Dec 6, 2009)

I'm pretty terrible with accents, and people are pretty terrible with mine. I started out with a strong english accent but its slowly morphed into some kiwi-brit hybrid tone that people have trouble understanding until being around me more. recently been asked if its irish, scottish, british or.. american?


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

My step-mother's accent (aka the evil old bag) is all f'ed up from living in America for over 50 years. She moved here from England when she was 20 or so.


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## Elad (Dec 6, 2009)

where did that post your voice thread go, someone should remake that.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

Haha Americans.. :b


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## Alas Babylon (Aug 28, 2012)

The two accents are pretty distinct, if you think someone speaking full-on bogan 'strine sounds British, you're deaf. The results of the poll speak for themselves I think, only 9 people think they sound similar.

I think its just because Americans don't have as much exposure to Australian or British media (or any foreign media really), at least not as much as every other nation does, and hence why they tend to be absolutely horrible at understanding or distinguishing foreign accents.


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## mike91 (Sep 23, 2012)

I can tell the different between aussie kiwi British armarican but I would say aussie and kiwi sound more the same british we dont sound nothing like


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## Charmander (Sep 5, 2012)

I think they're very different. I can't always tell the difference between American and Canadian, Aussie and Kiwi and very occasionally Irish and Scottish.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

I didn't realise Americans had trouble with the two until recently. I don't because I'm English. However there are a couple of Australian accents that sound more English (like some South East and East English accents) than others and if they only say a couple of words, than I could see myself _maybe _doing that. But a sentence or more and it's always been clear to me.

Then again my brother makes youtube videos and recently someone from the US - I kid you not - was surprised to learn he was from England (they thought they were from the US, I don't even know how.)  first time I have ever heard of someone from the US doing that. He doesn't sound like he's from the US by the way either.


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## alenclaud (Mar 31, 2013)

They're both similar if compared to an American accent, but still different from each other.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Alas Babylon said:


> The two accents are pretty distinct, if you think someone speaking full-on bogan 'strine sounds British, you're deaf. The results of the poll speak for themselves I think, only 9 people think they sound similar.
> 
> I think its just because Americans don't have as much exposure to Australian or British media (or any foreign media really), at least not as much as every other nation does, and hence why they tend to be absolutely horrible at understanding or distinguishing foreign accents.


We do have exposure to foreigners. If you live in any big city in the US there are people from all sorts of countries. Generally a third to a half are from another country. But yes, you don't meet British or Australian people very often.


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## Chieve (Oct 9, 2012)

they are very similar i think but i can tell them apart


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## Alas Babylon (Aug 28, 2012)

komorikun said:


> We do have exposure to foreigners. If you live in any big city in the US there are people from all sorts of countries. Generally a third to a half are from another country. But yes, you don't meet British or Australian people very often.


I mean exposure to foreign media and the like. I think its hard to explain. For example, virtually every country in the world is exposed to huge amounts of American media, right? The US itself hasn't got any foreign media presence that is close to that size and near dominance, you would agree? Virtually every other nation in the world, except perhaps North Korea, has got that kind of exposure.

The same thing works in other areas, for example, East Asian countries have a much greater exposure to Japanese or Chinese media, than the US.

Likewise countries like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa also have large exposure to British, and obviously local, media, which an American would not typically have. It also works in the opposite direction, almost, a British person is exposed to more Australian, NZ and South African media than an American. Hence British people can normally clearly distinguish a South African from an Australian, and an Australian can clearly tell apart the accents from, say, Bristol and London . Whereas some Americans can't hear the difference between any Australian, New Zealand, South African and British accents, and some can't even tell which country they're from.

My point was that people in countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are easily exposed more to the accents and media of each other than Americans are.


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## mezzoforte (May 16, 2010)

I used to! But meeting people on the internet from those countries has helped me differentiate the two accents.


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## chaosherz (May 15, 2011)

Alas Babylon said:


> My point was that people in countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are easily exposed more to the accents and media of each other than Americans are.


This is why I excuse Americans when they have thought I am British, when any other English speaker could most probably tell the difference. Still, we are so different from the British, I don't understand how some people can be so stupid lol. I have heard the comparison saying it is like us Aussies trying to tell the difference between an American and Canadian (which is admittedly not easy for me usually), but seriously, the difference between Aussie and English is WAY bigger than American and Canadian.

I obviously have no trouble differentiating English and Aussie accents!  I love all the different accents of the UK and trying to guess where they are from, but it is a challenge sometimes. I find it hilarious when some English people from the North or Scotland speak with such a thick accent they need subtitles on TV here even though they are speaking English!


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