There are four localised, regional varieties of English in South Australia: Adelaide English, Eyre and Yorke Peninsula English, South East South Australia English and Northern South Australia English. While there are many commonalities, each has its own variations in vocabulary.
Plaque in honour of James Stobie, inventor of the "Stobie pole."
Plaque at Wheal Watkins Mine, Glen Osmond, South Australia; "Wheal", from the Cornish hwel, is used in SA to refer to mines.
While some of the words attributed to South Australians are used elsewhere in Australia, many genuine regional words are used throughout the state. Some of these are German in origin, reflecting the origins of many early settlers. Such was the concentration of German speakers in and around the Barossa Valley, it has been suggested they spoke their own dialect of German, known as "Barossa German". The influence of South Australia's German heritage is evidenced by the adoption into the dialect of certain German or German-influenced vocabulary.
One such local word with German origins is "butcher", the name given to a 200 ml (7 imp fl oz) beer glass, which is believed to be derived from the German Becher, meaning a cup or mug.[1] "Butcher" is more commonly attributed to publicans around Adelaide who kept these smaller glasses for abattoir workers coming in straight from work for a drink before heading home.[2]
Processed luncheon meat is known as "fritz" in South Australia, whereas in other states it is referred to as devon, stras or polony.
Another uniquely South Australian word is "Stobie pole", which is the pole used to support power and telephone lines. It was invented in South Australia by James Stobie in 1924.
Cornishminers represented another significant wave of early immigrants, and they contributed Cornish language words, such as wheal (from Cornish hwel, "mine"), which is preserved in many place names.
South Australian dialects also preserve other British English usages which do not occur elsewhere in Australia: for example, farmers use reap and reaping, as well as "harvest" and "harvesting".
In Australian English, pronunciations vary regionally according to the type of vowel that occurs before the sounds nd, ns, nt, nce, nch, and mple, and the pronunciation of the suffix "-mand". In words like "chance", "plant", "branch", "sample" and "demand", the vast majority of Australians use the flat /æ/TRAP vowel.
In South Australia, however, there is a high proportion of people who use the broad /aː/PALM vowel in BATH words. For example, a survey of pronunciation in different cities found that 86% of those surveyed in Adelaide pronounced graph with an /aː/, whereas 100% of those surveyed in Hobart and 70% of those surveyed in Melbourne used /æ/.
Because of the prevalence of the South Australian broad A, the South Australian accent appears to be closer to Cultivated Australian English than other state dialects.
L-vocalisation
The tendency for some /l/ sounds to become vowels (/l/ vocalisation) is more common in South Australia than other states. "Hurled", for example, in South Australia has a semi vocalised /l/, leading to the pronunciation [həːʊ̯d], whereas in other states the /l/ is pronounced as a consonant. The "l" is semi vocalised; for example, "milk" is pronounced as [mɪʊ̯k] and "hill" is pronounced as [hɪʊ̯].[3]
^ABC Radio National, Lingua Franca, 28 February 2004, "South Australian Words"
^Stubbs, Dr Brett J. (8 June 2012). "Take a butcher's hook at the butcher glass". Australian Brews News. Cuneiform Pty Ltd. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
^Dorothy Jauncey, Bardi Grubs and Frog Cakes — South Australian Words, Oxford University Press (2004) ISBN0-19-551770-9
External links
"Dorothy Jauncey, 2004, "South Australia—'Kind of Different'?"
May 05, 2023
south, australian, english, variety, english, spoken, australian, state, south, australia, with, other, regional, varieties, within, australian, english, these, have, distinctive, vocabularies, lesser, degree, there, also, some, differences, phonology, pronunc. South Australian English is the variety of English spoken in the Australian state of South Australia As with the other regional varieties within Australian English these have distinctive vocabularies To a lesser degree there are also some differences in phonology pronunciation There is also significant influence from minority groups within the state such as the ethnic German community a sizeable amount of which speak Barossa German There are four localised regional varieties of English in South Australia Adelaide English Eyre and Yorke Peninsula English South East South Australia English and Northern South Australia English While there are many commonalities each has its own variations in vocabulary Contents 1 Vocabulary 2 Phonology 2 1 TRAP BATH split 2 2 L vocalisation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksVocabulary Edit Plaque in honour of James Stobie inventor of the Stobie pole Plaque at Wheal Watkins Mine Glen Osmond South Australia Wheal from the Cornish hwel is used in SA to refer to mines While some of the words attributed to South Australians are used elsewhere in Australia many genuine regional words are used throughout the state Some of these are German in origin reflecting the origins of many early settlers Such was the concentration of German speakers in and around the Barossa Valley it has been suggested they spoke their own dialect of German known as Barossa German The influence of South Australia s German heritage is evidenced by the adoption into the dialect of certain German or German influenced vocabulary One such local word with German origins is butcher the name given to a 200 ml 7 imp fl oz beer glass which is believed to be derived from the German Becher meaning a cup or mug 1 Butcher is more commonly attributed to publicans around Adelaide who kept these smaller glasses for abattoir workers coming in straight from work for a drink before heading home 2 Processed luncheon meat is known as fritz in South Australia whereas in other states it is referred to as devon stras or polony Another uniquely South Australian word is Stobie pole which is the pole used to support power and telephone lines It was invented in South Australia by James Stobie in 1924 Cornish miners represented another significant wave of early immigrants and they contributed Cornish language words such as wheal from Cornish hwel mine which is preserved in many place names South Australian dialects also preserve other British English usages which do not occur elsewhere in Australia for example farmers use reap and reaping as well as harvest and harvesting Phonology EditThis section contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters TRAP BATH split Edit Main article Trap bath split In Australian English pronunciations vary regionally according to the type of vowel that occurs before the sounds nd ns nt nce nch and mple and the pronunciation of the suffix mand In words like chance plant branch sample and demand the vast majority of Australians use the flat ae TRAP vowel In South Australia however there is a high proportion of people who use the broad aː PALM vowel in BATH words For example a survey of pronunciation in different cities found that 86 of those surveyed in Adelaide pronounced graph with an aː whereas 100 of those surveyed in Hobart and 70 of those surveyed in Melbourne used ae Because of the prevalence of the South Australian broad A the South Australian accent appears to be closer to Cultivated Australian English than other state dialects L vocalisation Edit The tendency for some l sounds to become vowels l vocalisation is more common in South Australia than other states Hurled for example in South Australia has a semi vocalised l leading to the pronunciation heːʊ d whereas in other states the l is pronounced as a consonant The l is semi vocalised for example milk is pronounced as mɪʊ k and hill is pronounced as hɪʊ 3 See also EditAustralian English Australian English phonology Australian English vocabulary Variation in Australian English Other regional varieties Western Australian EnglishReferences Edit ABC Radio National Lingua Franca 28 February 2004 South Australian Words Stubbs Dr Brett J 8 June 2012 Take a butcher s hook at the butcher glass Australian Brews News Cuneiform Pty Ltd Retrieved 13 January 2015 Dorothy Jauncey Bardi Grubs and Frog Cakes South Australian Words Oxford University Press 2004 ISBN 0 19 551770 9External links Edit Dorothy Jauncey 2004 South Australia Kind of Different Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title South Australian English amp oldid 1135591622, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
