[QUOTE=GreedySmurf]
Greg Norman lost his Aussie accent years ago, so unfortunately he is not a basis for comparing S.A. to the Oz accent. 
[/QUOTE]
Greg Norman has a mid-Pacific accent: he sounds neither Australian nor American, but somewhere in the middle.
[QUOTE=GuanoLad]
I’ve been here in AU for 8 years now, and what little accent I had is now almost entirely lost, except for just a few words and turns of phrases here and there. Now, whenever I visit home or talk to my family, the NZ accent is very grating to me, and bothers me a lot. I think that’s just familiarity, but it does disappoint me that the New Zealand accent sounds “wrong” to my ears, causing me to wince.
[/QUOTE]
Oh. I think you still have a NZ accent, but I agree it’s light…
Anyway, I think it’s a lot like how Americans and Canadians are loathe to be called the opposite, but they sound very similar to my Aussie ears.
[QUOTE=Kyla]
For the non-North Americans…why not just ask “Where are you from?”
[/QUOTE]
This goes for any nationality really. I’m not sure why people feel the need to guess where people are from, though I’m sure we’ve all done it. My shining moment was asking an Irish girl what part of Scotland she came from (she still kissed me though, so can’t have been too annoyed :).)
The two accents (Oz and Nz) are really surprisingly similar. Its usually only from immersion in one that people can generally easily tell the difference.
As an ex-Nzer, some Australians can tell my accent immediately, and others not notice it at all for extended periods.
So theres clearly a skill component to it, rather than it being ‘obvious’ to all at the drop of a hat. But if you have that ability, it can be fairly instant.
Otara
[QUOTE=1920s Style “Death Ray”]
This goes for any nationality really. I’m not sure why people feel the need to guess where people are from, though I’m sure we’ve all done it. My shining moment was asking an Irish girl what part of Scotland she came from (she still kissed me though, so can’t have been too annoyed :).)
[/QUOTE]
Funny - I’m Scottish and I keep getting asked (in the northeastern USA) what part of Ireland I’m from.
I can’t believe we’ve gone so long without the old gag:
NZ Sux! - OZZY Zero.
[hijack]Hi PaulParkhead! Which part of Scotland? I’ve ancestry in Glasgow and Aberdeenshire (South of Insch)[/hijack]
[QUOTE=maggenpye]
I can’t believe we’ve gone so long without the old gag:
NZ Sux! - OZZY Zero.
[/QUOTE]
In Australia, we shear sheep…
“Sorry mate. I’m not shearing this sheep with innybody.”
(equally old, but a classic)