South Australian English is the variety of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

spoken in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. As with the other regional varieties within Australian English, these have distinctive

vocabularies ''Vocabularies'' (stylized as ''VOCAbuLarieS'') is a studio album by American jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin that was recorded with composer Roger Treece and released on April 6, 2010 by EmArcy in the United States. Described on McFerrin's website ...

. To a lesser degree, there are also some differences in

phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

(

pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular ...

). 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 Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

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.

Vocabulary

Wheal Watkins mine - heritage listing plaque 2016

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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

in origin, reflecting the origins of many early

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

s. Such was the concentration of German speakers in and around the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destina ...

, 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. "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. Processed

luncheon meat Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on ...

is known as "fritz" in South Australia, whereas in other states it is referred to as

devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, stras or

polony Bologna sausage, informally baloney ( ), is a sausage derived from the Italian mortadella, a similar-looking, finely ground pork sausage, originally from the city of Bologna (). Typical seasonings for bologna include black pepper, nutmeg, a ...

. 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 A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

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

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 vowel. In South Australia, however, there is a high proportion of people who use the broad vowel in words. For example, a survey of pronunciation in different cities found that 86% of those surveyed in Adelaide pronounced graph with an , whereas 100% of those surveyed in Hobart and 70% of those surveyed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

used . 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 sounds to become vowels ( vocalisation) is more common in South Australia than other states. "Hurled", for example, in South Australia has a semi vocalised , leading to the pronunciation əːʊ̯d whereas in other states the is pronounced as a consonant. The "l" is semi vocalised; for example, "milk" is pronounced as ɪʊ̯kand "hill" is pronounced as ɪʊ̯Dorothy Jauncey, ''Bardi Grubs and Frog Cakes — South Australian Words'', Oxford University Press (2004)

References

External links