AustLit

'You certainly can't tell an Australian by the way they look, but the minute they open their mouths, the guessing is over. The cultural DNA in this country is in the sound of the way Australians speak. But why do we speak the way we do? And what exactly is the Australian accent?...

'Hosted by John Clarke, this entertaining story about the way we sound is told through an array of illuminating interviews with linguists, historians, social and political commentators, comedians, actors, and plenty of opinionated people with genuinely hilarious anecdotes. Those featured include Rachel Griffiths, Bruce Beresford, Bert Newton, Max Gillies, Denise Scott, Mary-Anne Fahey, Santo Cilauro, Simon Palomares and Akmal Saleh.

'Is our accent really the legendary broad "Strine" of Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin? Why is it so hard for others to do? Are there regional variations? Is it a bastardised version of the Queen's English? Is it under threat from global forces? And if it is, is it worth saving?

'By examining the Australian accent and discovering its story, The Sounds of Aus reveals much about the Australian psyche and our national identity. Indeed, over the last two centuries, many of the conflicts about our identity have been played out through the accent, with our vision of, and our relationship with, the world reflected in the way we speak.

'For much of the 20th century, many Australians looked to Britain as the bastion of authority and culture, and aspired to emulate the British "cultivated" sound. Meanwhile, others proudly embraced sounding local, which facilitated the rise of the "broad" accent. These variations led to very real conflict. Entertainer Barry Crocker tells how Banjo Paterson, Australia's greatest poet, was recruited at his peak to host a radio program in the early days of the BBC-modelled ABC. After a short time however, Paterson was fired - because of his accent!

'By the 60s and 70s, a new social, political and cultural era created a kind of "deregulation of the accent" and other variations began to be heard in the mainstream, including indigenous voices, and the "wogspeak" of new migrants and their descendants.'

Source: ABC Television website, http://www.abc.net.au
Sighted: 05/11/2007