Do Australians follow British English?

Australian English follows British spelling very closely but many common words are spelt differently in American English. Despite being spelt differently, the meaning of the word is the same.

Is British English hard to understand?

However, if you’re just comparing standard TV-announcer dialects, the other answers are right; British English is not harder to understand unless you’re used to American English. About 50\% of my students say the exact opposite and that British English is easier to understand.

Do Australians speak like British?

Australians do not sound British to British people. They sound just as different to us as Americans do. We have hundreds of different accents around the British Isles and they are all very different.

Is Australian accent hard to understand?

A very broad Australian accent can be exceptionally hard to understand (a common joke is that we slur all our words together because it’s too hot to put spaces in), but if you spend time in Australia you’ll likely pick it up.

Why is Australian English so difficult to understand?

Australian English is different from British and American English in that it has a bias towards invention, deception, profanity, humour and a classless society. At times, this can make it almost impossible to understand and quite offensive to speakers accustomed to formality.

What is the difference between Australian English and American English?

Much like with British English, Australian English has irregular past tense and past participles of verbs like ‘spell’ and ‘smell’, so they become ‘spelt’ and ‘smelt’, respectively. However, like with American English, Australians are more likely to say numbers like 1,100 as “eleven hundred”, rather than “one thousand, one hundred”.

Is there more than one Australian accent?

Just as there is more than one American accent and there is more than one British accent, there is more than one Australian accent.

What is the official language of Australia?

Considered one of the major variations of the English language, Australian English is the official language of Australia, having originally deviated from British English in the 18th century, after the founding of the Colony of New South Wales.