Pronunciation · 7 min read
Australian vs British accent: six differences to listen for
Australian vs British accent: both drop the r, so the giveaways are in the vowels. Hear how day, high, water and dance change, and how to keep Modern RP.
By Yusuf Tör ·
Say one word out loud: mate.
In Modern RP, the standard British accent, it rhymes with late and eight. In an Australian accent the vowel opens wider, and to a British ear it can sound close to might. Same word, same spelling, and one vowel tells the listener which accent they are hearing.
That is where the difference between an Australian and a British accent lives: mostly in the vowels. Both accents drop the r. Both say bath with a long “ah”. So the giveaways are smaller, and once you know them you will hear them everywhere.
Here are the six to listen for, and how to say each one the British way.
The short answer
Australian and British accents are close cousins. Both leave out the r after a vowel, and both use a long “ah” in bath and can’t. The differences are in the vowels and one consonant. Australian English starts the vowel in day lower and the vowel in high further back, says the “ah” of car further forward, often taps the t in water like a quick d, and often says dance with the short a of cat. Many Australian speakers also let a statement rise at the end.
Which British accent? Which Australian?
Neither country has a single accent. On the British side, this article describes Modern RP, the accent of a BBC newsreader today and the British pronunciation printed in the Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries. Read what Received Pronunciation is if the name is new to you.
On the Australian side, linguists have long described a range from broad, through general, to cultivated. Broad is the strongest. Cultivated is the closest to RP. Most Australians speak somewhere in the middle, and that general accent is the one compared here. Australia’s own dictionary, the Macquarie Dictionary, records Australian pronunciation.
Why they sound alike
Start with what the two accents share, because it explains why people mix them up.
In both, an r is only pronounced when a vowel comes straight after it. Car, park, mother and water end without one. Linguists call an accent like this non-rhotic. Both bring the r back between words, so far away becomes “fah-raway”. And both say bath, grass, path, half and can’t with a long “ah”, where General American uses the short a of cat.
Those two features do a lot of the work of sounding British, so to an American ear an Australian and a BBC newsreader can sound alike. The six differences below are what tell them apart.
1. The a in day
Start with the word from the top of this article.
The vowel in day, mate, late, name and eight is a glide in both accents. In Modern RP it starts in the middle of the mouth, close to the e of bed, and moves a short way up towards “ee”. In Australian English it starts lower, with the mouth more open, close to the a of cat. That longer journey is what makes mate sound like might to British listeners.
How to say it: start on the e of bed, with your jaw only slightly open, and glide a short way towards “ee”. Keep the movement small.
2. The i in high
The vowel in high, my, time and nice is a glide too. In Modern RP it starts on an open “a” near the front of the mouth. In Australian English it starts further back, nearer the “ah” of father, and in broad Australian speech it can drift towards “oy”.
How to say it: open your jaw well and start with your tongue low, near the front of your mouth, then glide up towards the i of sit.
Then put the first two together. Say today is a nice day, keeping the vowels in today and day small and starting the one in nice at the front. That is the British sound.
3. The ah in car
Both accents say car, start, father and bath with a long “ah” and no r. But it isn’t the same “ah”. In Modern RP it is made at the back of the mouth, deep and open. In Australian English it sits further forward, closer to the middle of the mouth, so it sounds brighter.
How to say it: open your jaw, keep the tip of your tongue down behind your bottom teeth, and let the back of your tongue sit low, as when a doctor asks you to say “ah”.
4. The t in water
Here Australian English sides with American English. Between two vowels, many Australians tap the t: the tip of the tongue flicks the ridge behind the top teeth once, and it sounds close to a quick d. Water, better, city and bottle all take the tap. Linguists call it a flap.
In Modern RP, the t stays a t: crisp, clean and fully released.
One honest note. Plenty of British speakers don’t say a clean t here either. In London and among younger speakers you often hear a glottal stop instead, a tiny catch in the throat. That is very British, but it is not Modern RP. For the full British and American picture, read British vs American accent.
How to say it: touch the tip of your tongue to the ridge behind your top teeth, hold it for a moment, and release it with a small puff of air before the next vowel.
5. The a in dance
In Modern RP, a group of words with an a before n or m and another consonant take the long “ah”: dance, chance, plant, advance, demand and example. Many Australians say these with the short a of cat instead, while still saying bath and can’t with the long “ah”. It varies by region and by speaker, so you will hear both in Australia.
Like the long “ah” words in British English, this is a list, not a rule. Hand, stand and romance keep the short a in Modern RP too. You learn the long ones as a set.
How to say it: use the same deep “ah” as in car, so dance is “DAHNSS” and plant is “PLAHNT”.
6. The rise at the end
The last difference isn’t a sound but a tune. Many Australian speakers let the pitch rise at the end of a statement, so I went to the shops can sound like a question. It isn’t one. Linguists call it the high rising terminal, and researchers who have studied it say it often works as a check that the listener is following.
In Modern RP, an ordinary statement falls in pitch on its last stressed word. If you want to sound British, let your statements come down at the end.
The differences at a glance
| Sound | Example | British (Modern RP) | Australian |
|---|---|---|---|
| a in day | day, mate | starts near the e of bed | starts near the a of cat |
| i in high | high, nice | starts at the front | starts further back |
| ah in car | car, father | deep, at the back | brighter, further forward |
| t between vowels | water, better | crisp t | often tapped, like d |
| a before n | dance, plant | long “ah” | often short, as in cat |
| end of a statement | I went to the shops. | falls | often rises |
| r after a vowel | car, mother | silent | silent |
| a in words like bath | bath, can’t | long “ah” | long “ah” |
The last two rows are the ones they share. They are why the two accents are so often confused.
Which accent is Australian closest to?
New Zealand English is its closest relative.
Of the accents of Britain, Australian English has most in common with those of the south of England. British settlement of Australia began in 1788, much later than in America, and many early settlers came from London and the south-east. By then, dropping the r after a vowel was spreading in the south of England, and that is the usual explanation for why the accent that formed in Australia drops it too. American English took a different path: read where the American accent came from for that story.
So if you have ever been told you sound “a bit Australian” while learning a British accent, take it as good news. You have already dropped the r and found the long “ah”. What is left is a few vowels, the t and the tune, and those are what take you the rest of the way to Modern RP, the standard British accent.
How to keep your accent British
If British English is your goal, start with these three changes. Each one takes you a step closer to Modern RP.
- Keep the vowel in day small. Start on the e of bed, not the a of cat. Try today, great day and eight plates.
- Keep your t’s crisp. Water, better, city, bottle: a real t each time, never a quick d.
- Let statements fall. Bring your pitch down on the last stressed word, so a statement sounds like a statement.
Listening helps too. Put a BBC newsreader next to an Australian newsreader and listen only for day and water. Once you hear the difference without trying, saying it gets much easier.
For a step-by-step plan, read how to do a British accent. Then work on one sound at a time. Sterling is your AI-powered accent coach that teaches you how to speak English with a British accent confidently and clearly. Curious where your accent sits today? Take the free accent test and find out in a minute.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between an Australian and a British accent?
Both drop the r after a vowel, so the difference is mostly in the vowels. In Australian English the vowel in day starts lower, close to the a of cat, and the vowel in high starts further back. Australians often tap the t in water like a quick d, and many say dance and plant with a short a. In Modern RP, the standard British accent, the t stays crisp and dance takes a long "ah".
How do Australians say "bottle of water"?
Often with both t's tapped like a quick d and no r at the end: roughly "BOD-uhl uv WOR-duh". In Modern RP it is "BOT-uhl uv WOR-tuh", with a clean t in each word and the r silent.
What accent is the Australian accent most similar to?
New Zealand English is its closest relative. Of the accents of Britain, it shares most with those of the south of England: no r after a vowel, and a long "ah" in words such as bath, grass and can't.
Is the Australian accent closer to British or American?
Closer to British. Like Modern RP it drops the r after a vowel and says bath with a long "ah". It shares one habit with General American: the t between vowels is often tapped, so water and better can sound as if they have a d in the middle.
How can you tell an Australian accent from a British one?
Listen to the words day and mate. In an Australian accent the vowel opens wide, so mate can sound close to a British might. Then listen for a tapped t in words like water and better, and for statements that rise in pitch at the end.