# Australian English **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 20, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128 "2015-04-20T16:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/21 "2015-04-23T12:56:13Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Aunt sounds so English, Which is interesting, since the first thing that sprang to my mind on seeing the word was an old interview with John Lennon, where he talked about being “raised by my aunty.” Based on that incredibly thorough survey of English usage :), I would have guessed “aunty” to be commonly spoken in England as well. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/22 "2015-04-23T13:37:55Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Which is interesting, since the first thing that sprang to my mind on seeing the word was an old interview with John Lennon, where he talked about being “raised by my aunty.” Based on that incredibly thorough survey of English usage :), I would have guessed “aunty” to be commonly spoken in England as well. It is. I’d spell it “auntie” though. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/23 "2015-04-23T13:45:44Z")
Using aunty instead of aunt is very common in Northern England at least. Using aunt sounds incredibly formal, (same with calling your mum your mother). ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/24 "2015-04-23T13:50:09Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Which is interesting, since the first thing that sprang to my mind on seeing the word was an old interview with John Lennon, where he talked about being “raised by my aunty.” Based on that incredibly thorough survey of English usage :), I would have guessed “aunty” to be commonly spoken in England as well. It is; I’m English, and my Great-Aunt, who lived with us when I was little, was universally known as Aunty, even by people who were no relation. Personally, I refer to my aunts as ‘aunt’ if I’m not naming them, as in ‘I’m visiting my aunt at the weekend’, but if I’m naming them ‘I’m visiting Aunty [name] at the weekend’; Aunt [name] sounds weird and over formal. ---
**Author:** ![Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phedre_no_Delaunay)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/25 "2015-04-24T01:18:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Well, “awnt” sounds English. Back stateside, it was “ant.” Or if you’re in the south it’s “aint”. “Imma visit my aint Sibyl this weekend” ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/26 "2015-04-24T01:51:26Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The rising inflection (I think technically called “uptalk”) is not universal in Australia, or even close to universal. > > There are no hard and fast rules but broadly, it’s more common amongst (a) women (b) young people (c) those of a lower socio-economic background. > > I act as a practice moot judge every now and then and almost every year I have to counsel some of the students against uptalking. It’s _always_ young women who have the problem. And it _is_ a problem in the context of a moot because uptalking sounds uncertain and lacking in confidence; as if you are making a statement and querying yourself at the same time. > > IME “aunt” and “aunty” are both common. That’s exactly what _The Story of English_ noted about the rising inflection - that it was a vocal feature of younger women. Since those younger women that they portrayed back in 1986 are now middle-aged women, it would be interesting to see if they still had the inflection. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/27 "2015-04-24T01:55:39Z")
Just out of interest, how do you pronounce aunt? I’ve always said “Ant” however there are “Awnt” people out there. They’re wrong, of course. So how do you pronounce it? (Even with the unacceptable “Y” on the end.) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/28 "2015-04-24T02:05:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’ve always said “Ant” however there are “Awnt” people out there. They’re wrong, of course. So how do you pronounce it? (Even with the unacceptable “Y” on the end.) 😉 So your Ant is Anty? All the Arnts in my family are Arnties ---
**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:** [April 24, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/29 "2015-04-24T02:11:55Z")
You should hear it when we cache our auntie’s data. Hilarity ensues. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/30 "2015-04-24T02:24:37Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > You should hear it when we cache our auntie’s data. Hilarity ensues. This is probably funny, but I’ve no idea what it means. 😕 ---
**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:** [April 24, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/31 "2015-04-24T02:36:45Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > This is probably funny, but I’ve no idea what it means. 😕 Australian pronunciations: Cache = kaysh Auntie = ahhnty Data = dahtah ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/32 "2015-04-24T03:13:53Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Australian pronunciations: > Cache = kaysh > Auntie = ahhnty > Data = dahtah Data used to be “da-ta” in Canada decades ago, but we lost that battle to “day-ta” long ago. Next thing you know we’ll be spelling colour without a “u.” Jeesh! ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/33 "2015-04-24T03:38:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Next thing you know we’ll be spelling colour without a “u.” > > Jeesh! And once that happens we will no longer be friends…oh who am I kidding everyone knows Aussies and Canadians are cousins. (does that make Queen Liz our Aunty?) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/34 "2015-04-24T03:49:16Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > And once that happens we will no longer be friends…oh who am I kidding everyone knows Aussies and Canadians are cousins. (does that make Queen Liz our Aunty?) Yeah, considering we’re almost globally opposed we seem to have a lot in common. Strange really for countries at the opposite end of the planet. Cheers! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/35 "2015-04-24T03:50:19Z")
It wasn’t until 1997 that the _Toronto Star_ even spelled it _with_ a u ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/36 "2015-04-24T05:04:25Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > It wasn’t until 1997 that the _Toronto Star_ even spelled it _with_ a u As I recall my Canadian Press and Globe and Mail style guides in the early 1980s, American spellings (color, harbor, etc.) were preferred because they tended to be shorter, and thus could be transmitted by wire quicker. Dig into the archives of the Star, Globe, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, and so on, and you’d be amazed at how many American spellings appeared in Canadian print media. Heck, when “smoking area” laws started being passed in the late 1970s/early 1980s, the Globe was notorious for spelling “cigarette” as “cigaret.” Today, with the Internet, that no longer makes sense. The Star and the Globe and the other Canadian newspapers can use Canadian spellings. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/37 "2015-04-24T10:41:22Z")
Is Australian uptalk/rising inflection derived from valleyspeak or are they separate phenomena? The adoption of rising inflection by Irish youths has often been blamed on either the popularity of American TV shows and movies that have people talking valley or the popularity of Australian soap operas. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/38 "2015-04-24T11:46:40Z")
I find their language entertaining and amusing, but sometimes baffling. The one that always stumps me is the word, “chuff”. I can never tell, just from the context, what the hell they mean. It’s often employed right at the end of the sentence, like a crowning glory. I’m never sure, when they use it if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. I always have to ask! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/39 "2015-04-24T12:57:15Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I find their language entertaining and amusing, but sometimes baffling. The one that always stumps me is the word, “chuff”. I can never tell, just from the context, what the hell they mean. It’s often employed right at the end of the sentence, like a crowning glory. I’m never sure, when they use it if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. I always have to ask! “I’m chuffed” means “I’m pleased”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128/40 "2015-04-24T16:06:56Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > “I’m chuffed” means “I’m pleased”. And is used in the UK as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-english/718128.md?page=3)