Is New Zealand Accent Same as Australian
It is an undeniable fact that the Pacific Islands of Australia and New Zealand are very close neighbors. But, do you know if its capitals Canberra and Wellington have a similar accent? Most people may be unfamiliar with the nuances between the accents of New Zealand and Australia, but there is indeed a difference between them.
The word “New Zealand English” is used to refer to the dialect of English spoken in New Zealand by the indigenous population. The foundation of the accent was British English due to the colonization by Britain in the 19th century. In the same way, Australian English has its roots in the British English of the same period. Other influences on New Zealand English include Gaelic, Maori, and parts of the South Pacific region. On the other hand, the Australian accent was also shaped by Aboriginal influences on top of the British foundation.
Intonation and Prosody
The intonation of sounds is what sets the New Zealand and Australian accent apart. In the New Zealand accent, the stresses are different. For example, when speaking an word like “water”, the Australians will stress the “wa” part whereas the New Zealanders will place the stress on the “ter” part. This shift in pronunciation increases the variation in pitch and listeners can easily differentiate the two accents.
Not only the intonation, but the prosody also defines the accent. Generally, the Australian accent has more relaxed rhythm compared to the New Zealand one, which is slightly choppier and faster.
Distinctive Features
Apart from the intonation, both the accents share a few common features. Both tend to speak a lot faster than English spoken in the US, UK or in Canada. It is also important to note that both Australia and New Zealand have similar vowels and consonants. In fact, the vowels and diphthongs are even more similar to each other than they are to British English.
Similarly, there are some unique features in both the accents which can’t be heard elsewhere. For instance, Australians often shorten words and syllables. They also use a lot of slang/colloquialisms. Similarly, place names are pronounced differently in New Zealand. Lastly, because of the Maori influence, there is a distinctive “glottal stop” sound in the pronunciation of New Zealand English that is absent in the Australian English.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is clear that there are some similarities between the accents of both Australia and New Zealand. However, the difference lies in the intonation and prosody. The distinctive features mentioned above also provide listeners the cues to differentiate between the two accents.
