# Are teenagers in Australia/New Zealand starting to sound American? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618 "2014-03-13T15:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/1 "2014-03-13T15:34:31Z")
I have a friend from Australia who says that kids born after about the early 1990s are taking on “American” features in their speech - like their accent is 70 percent Aussie and 30 percent American or something like that. Can anyone vouch for this or do you think he’s wrong? I notice many people say the singer Lorde from New Zealand sounds kind of American, or like some Kiwi-Yank hybrid accent when she talks. It sort of makes me wonder that if the youngest Australians and New Zealanders are already basically talking halfway like Americans that their kids will probably barely sound Australian/Kiwi at all! :eek: Will the entire Anglosphere eventually sound like people from Beverly Hills? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/2 "2014-03-14T03:29:28Z")
Og forbid, they all end up talking Valspeak. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/3 "2014-03-14T03:51:33Z")
My kids use some American slang, and imitate American accents sometimes. They still sound mostly Australian to me. I pull them up on the slang when I hear it, like if they say ‘pissed’ for ‘pissed off’. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/4 "2014-03-14T03:59:40Z")
I remember hearing little kids in Aust putting on pretend American accents while playing pretending games. I suppose that’s coz how they talk on TV. Mostly kids sound like their parents. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/5 "2014-03-14T04:05:04Z")
Woteva! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/6 "2014-03-14T05:13:42Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I remember hearing little kids in Aust putting on pretend American accents while playing pretending games. I suppose that’s coz how they talk on TV. Mostly kids sound like their parents. I noticed this with my younger cousins when they were little. They sounded Australian the rest of the time, but put on fake American accents when playing pretending games. They seem to have outgrown it. I haven’t noticed my own kids doing it, but we seriously limit their TV time. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/7 "2014-03-14T05:49:14Z")
Like for sure, mate. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/8 "2014-03-14T06:06:51Z")
In general I would say he’s mistaken, or perhaps getting worked up over vocabulary and slang. There is definitely some penetration in slang terms, but the accents are as Australian as ever. I’d be interested to know how old his friend of yours is. There has been a loss of some of the older Aussie terms, but they have been fading for a lot longer than 90’s kids. (Terms like ‘Cobber’, which I haven’t heard un-ironically from anyone younger than about 70) ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/9 "2014-03-14T07:13:59Z")
Not around here mate. well not much any way. You might get an occasional “ass” rather than “arse” and such but only if they are trying to be funny. Mind you I live in a rural area and some of the old Aussie slang terms are still going strong. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/10 "2014-03-14T10:10:20Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > In general I would say he’s mistaken, or perhaps getting worked up over vocabulary and slang. There is definitely some penetration in slang terms, but the accents are as Australian as ever. > > I’d be interested to know how old his friend of yours is. There has been a loss of some of the older Aussie terms, but they have been fading for a lot longer than 90’s kids. (Terms like ‘Cobber’, which I haven’t heard un-ironically from anyone younger than about 70) He was born in 1986, so he’s referring to people who are really just a few years younger than him. I looked up some accent tag videos of Australian teenagers on YouTube and indeed they have a bit of that Valley-type intonation. Most of them still sounded pretty Aussie though. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/11 "2014-03-14T11:01:50Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I remember hearing little kids in Aust putting on pretend American accents while playing pretending games. I suppose that’s coz how they talk on TV. Mostly kids sound like their parents. Yeah, that’s about it. Especially if they’re the kind of teen who hangs around in potentially troublemaking congregations. It’s a pseudo-gang-related affectation. With the Internet making the world a much smaller place, it wouldn’t surprise me if every teen is that much more homogenous. There might be a global accent one day. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/12 "2014-03-14T11:31:30Z")
[HRT/uptalk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_rising_terminal) is very common in Australia. That’s probably why they sound a bit Valley. [Adam Hills talking about Australian accents](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpBYnL5fAXE) (mostly the first minute) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/13 "2014-03-14T11:49:20Z")
Not that I’ve noticed. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/14 "2014-03-14T11:57:33Z")
I’ve noticed that kids copy all the big name actors and since most of them are now Aussies… ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/15 "2014-03-14T12:27:22Z")
My girls certainly use the Valley Girl uptalk and phrases but its in quotation marks amongst their usually flat Kiwi speech. And they had elocution lessons (sob). ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/16 "2014-03-14T13:30:55Z")
Slang has become more Americanised (guys, bucks) rather than accent, in my experience. Australian slang is dying out but I’m doing my best to keep it alive. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/17 "2014-03-14T15:04:15Z")
Curious question: How many Americans referred bars as pubs pre the internet age? I imagine the internet has blurred some geographical lines with regards to vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/18 "2014-03-15T02:59:51Z")
In NZ we have unfortunately imported some of your gangsta culture, mostly confined to Auckland. It attracts young Maori and Pacific Island youth. > [@](#): > > "From the 1990s US-style teenage street gangs – self-styled ‘gangstas’ – began to appear, particularly in Auckland, modelled after the two major Los Angeles street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. They have been described as ‘wannabes’ (not true youth gangs), ‘territorial gangs’, ‘unaffiliated criminal youth gangs’ etc. > > They were linked to eight homicides over a two-year period during the early 2000s. In 2010 there were about 70 such gangs with around 1,000 members in South Auckland alone, although many have nebulous memberships and exist for only short periods. > > Street gangs often use tagging (graffiti) to express their neighbourhood presence. They do not wear patches, but instead have coloured identifiers. As their names often form three-letter acronyms or abbreviations, they are referred to by the police as ABC gangs. Respect Samoan Pride (RSP), Killer Beez (KBZ) and Bud Smoking Thugs (BSTs) are examples of such acronyms. There has been very little research on female youth gangs, though they do exist." [http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/gangs/page-3](http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/gangs/page-3) ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/19 "2014-03-16T03:25:21Z")
My American born kid doesn’t sound American, even. He immigrated fully at 10 and spent every winter here between 7 and 10. At 18 he sounds just like his Aussie born and bred mates except for a word here and there, but that’s usage, not accent (mom and not mum, ass and not arse, for example, but they sound Australian accented when he says them.) ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618/20 "2014-04-05T02:51:49Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > My American born kid doesn’t sound American, even. He immigrated fully at 10 and spent every winter here between 7 and 10. At 18 he sounds just like his Aussie born and bred mates except for a word here and there, but that’s usage, not accent (mom and not mum, ass and not arse, for example, but they sound Australian accented when he says them.) Interesting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-teenagers-in-australia-new-zealand-starting-to-sound-american/683618.md?page=2)