Description of Australian English. Not all of Australian English is informal, let alone ragged-trousered. Generally, only some elements of the Broad and General accents

ENGLISH LANGUAGE: ESSAY

"A ragged-trousered informality; a laconically expressed desire for independence; an irremovable parochialism; a prolific power to create both euphemisms and expressions that go beyond normal profanity."

- Dr Robert Burchfield, chief editor of the Oxford English dictionary, discussing Australians and their speech.

IS THIS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH?

This quote by Dr. Robert Burchfield is a partly correct description of Australian English, though at times can be misaligned. First of all, the formality of Australian English is not ragged-trousered, despite our tendency to alter the morphology or phonology of words. It is also invalid to say Australian English has an irremovable parochialism and that our great number of euphemisms and expressions go beyond normal profanity. However, we are, in a way, laconically expressing our desire for independence through our language, through our use of rich expressions and wealth of expressive and original idioms. Our language is different from other varieties of English, as one would logically expect, but that does not mean our language is more informal, more profane or more parochial than any other English, be it British or American.

Not all of Australian English is informal, let alone “ragged-trousered”. Generally, only some elements of the Broad and General accents (and the lexicon and syntax, etc.) can be considered informal, though definitely not "ragged-trousered". However, that is not to say the General accent (and its relative subsystems) aren't informal, but simply that the level of informality of the average speaker of English in Australia is on par with the informality of an average British or American English speaker. In fact, many elements that contribute to the "informality" of Australian English can be traced to an American origin, especially discourse particles like "like", "y'know", as well as expressions such as "dude", "wassup" or "whatever". However, the major influence to the informal image of Australian English is simply the Australian social climate. The social environment that Australians grow up in justifies their supposed ‘informalities’. One possibility may be due to the fact that a significant amount of Australians live rather leisurely lives, in the quiet suburban areas or even the bush. This detachment to the more industrialised hustle and bustle of many US and British cities can lead to a very relaxed and unperturbed outlook on culture, including language. Many Australian values and customs also encourage a relaxed lifestyle, such as regular BBQs with family and friends; a visit with mates to the pub for a beer; a trip to the “G” to watch a game of footy. This all leads to a generally more relaxed approach to language, including lexical, phonological, morphological, syntactical and other differences in Australian English, as well as discourse particles, elision, hypocoristics and more. For example, the frequent use of hypocoristics, diminutives and shortenings can be attributed to the repeated use of many words, such as the “G” for the “MCG”, or “arvo” for “afternoon”, as these words can be used very frequently in certain social groups and cliques. This improves the flow and ease of conversation, but has been attributed by many as extremely informal and even “ragged-trousered”, even though they are simply contractions for convenience. Americans, in fact, are sometimes even better at creating shortenings and hypocoristics, especially in spontaneity. Details could get shortened to deets, what’s up to ’sup or handkerchief to hankie. Phonologically, Australians may also sound very informal and “slack” when speaking, but an Australian visiting Britain would find that Londoners can speak very casually as well, even if the Londoners think they are speaking quite normally. This difference in opinion is often why people find Australian English very informal: the slang and colloquialisms and foreign accents sound very deliberate and distinctive. Thus, when viewed from the perspectives of speakers of different varieties of English, such as the British and American speakers, Australian English may seem quite informal by specific comparisons, even though the opposite can be true, when the Australian does the listening. It is quite clear that Australian English has a similar degree of variation in formality and informality as any other English, even any other language; it is simply the perspective of the listener (foreigner) which tends to emphasise informalities.

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Australians are, in a way, laconically expressing their independence through Australian English. Our wealth of expressions and idioms are able to express a multitude of meanings in very few words, and their uniqueness expresses our national identity, confidence and pride. Examples of such bald as a bandicoot and you’ve got Buckley’s, which are so much more effective at describing the extremity of each adjective than using normal adverbs. Our language is simply a way of differentiating Australians from Britons, Americans or any other English-speaking peoples, and perhaps is richer and more laconic as British or American English. Our unique phrases, original idioms, and some very special discourse particles (like, y’know – and even bloody at times) and the like (e.g. High Rise Terminal/Tone) all help in the differentiation of our nation. This expression of national identity has taken shape in language many times, such as the bloom of the Broad accent after Federation and during wartime as a way for Aussie soldiers (and even the general public) to differentiate themselves with their British comrades; the miniature cultural revolution in the late 1960s where the General accent became predominant due to Australians’ growing national confidence. Australians simply choose to freely express our independence and difference through our language, unrestricted and in a smart and laconic way.

Australian English also isn't irremovably parochial, as we have embraced many outside sources of influence and change. A prime example is how readily Australian English has absorbed Americanisms, as well as expressions from many foreign languages. Words such as awesome, period, like and wassup have all come into common and general use, especially among youths, as have déjà vu (French), nada (Spanish), waltz (German), wonton (Cantonese) and many more – even the very Australian word barbeque (from Spanish also). This shows just how readily Australian English absorbs rich expressions from other languages to add character to an already-vibrant language, even if the word or expression already exists in Australian English. The language we speak is also quite inclusive, such as "mate", or even the ever-popular phrase (of great assimilation and elision): “dijavagooweegen?” This willingness to include and accept seems a far cry from parochialism.

Our power of euphemism- and expression-creation also is not (in general) at all profane. Many are very original (if slightly eccentric) idioms and phrases, unique to Australian culture. The degree of such "profanities", as referred to by Burchfield, are only profane if there are people there to take offence in it, and in Australia, many of our expressions (and occasionally some discourse particles , like "bloody") aren’t as taboo or offensive as they are elsewhere in the world, due mainly to our different social climate, as aforementioned. This simply means to others it may be offensive, but to Australians, it isn't as much. For example, the expressions bastard or bugger do not carry as hefty a meaning as its counterparts in British English. Many supposed dysphemistic expressions also are not considered so by most Australians, with examples like “bite your bum”, for they have been in such common use in society that their negative connotations have been mostly removed. Thus Burchfield's use of "expressions that go beyond normal profanity" is a little flawed and needs to be re-evaluated in terms of perspective: an Australian perspective, a British perspective, or a worldwide perspective.

There are informalities in Australian English as in any other English, but it cannot be said that there is a “ragged-trousered” informality. This is shown in the fact that, when perspective and the social climate are taken into account, Australian English is just as informal as other varieties of English. Australians also do not have an irremovably parochial language; as we are quite open to change and influence, from other varieties of English as well as foreign languages. Also, our power at creating euphemisms and expressions is great, but the degree to which they can be considered profane is very debatable, as the perspective of the listener/reader is of utmost importance. However, Dr. Robert Burchfield is quite right in saying that Australian English laconically expresses our desire for independence, for we have a many expressive expressions and idioms and a vast lexicon.

Description of Australian English. Not all of Australian English is informal, let alone ragged-trousered. Generally, only some elements of the Broad and General accents

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