Variety of English
Australian English
History of the variety in Hong Kong
There is no clear record of the first Australians in Hong Kong. However, it is likely that the first generation of Australians arrived in Hong Kong in the mid-1850s, when huge white migrations within the British empire continued along the sea lines of communication between Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia/New Zealand.1
In the 1981 Hong Kong Population Census, 4,232 Australians and New Zealanders were registered as living in Hong Kong. In 1996, 20,209 Australians resided in Hong Kong, 0.30% of the population. In 2001, 6,883 Australian and New Zealanders were living in Hong Kong. In 2011, 15,943 Americans were living in Hong Kong, 0.20% of the population. In 2016, 14,669 Australians were registered in Hong Kong, 0.20% of the population. In 2021, 11,773 Australians were registered as living in Hong Kong, 0.20% of the population.2
According to the Australian Consulate-General, there are about 100,000 Australian citizens in Hong Kong.1
When did it emerge?
Australian English is a Postcolonial English and an established “Inner Circle” variety, which has reached phase 5 of the developmental cycle of postcolonial Englishes.2
Phase 1 began when the “First Fleet” landed at Botany Bay in 1788 to establish a penal colony and brought convicts and settlers from all over the British Isles. Thus, dialect contact was the norm. Some Aboriginals acquired some knowledge of English and served as interpreters.
In phase 2 (1830s-1901), the mixed-dialect English spread gradually among Aboriginals.
In phase 3 (1901-1942), Australia underwent a large-scale language shift toward English, with many Aboriginal languages becoming extinct or strongly endangered. The Aboriginal English, which was partly based on the earlier New South Wales pidgin, now approximated nonstandard English, and developed as a new ethnolect.
In phase 4 (1942-1980s), Australia was viewed as a young, self-dependent nation accepting multicultural and multiethnic immigrants, and Australian English was accepted as one of the major reference varieties on a global scale.3
Place of origin
Australia
Language influences
Australian Aboriginal languages, Scottish English, British English, American English, Irish English, New Zealand English4,5
Language Family
Australian English is a West Germanic language.
Main regional, ethnic, and social varieties
Broad Australian English
General Australian English
Cultivated Australian English (closer to RP norms)
Australian Aboriginal English
Key features
Phonological Features:5,6
- The most distinctive characteristic of the phonological system of Australian English are the vowels - e.g., NURSE [ɜː], KIT [ɪ]; [ə], Dress [e]; [ɛ], Strut [ɒ], Foot [ʊ].
- Flapping, frication and glottalisation of /t/ - e.g., fricated [ts] = went [wɛnts]; Flap/tap [ɾ] = thirteen [θɜ'ɾin]
- Palatalisation of /t,d,s,z/ - e.g., tune [tjun]
- /h/ deletion
- Australia English has a distinctive intonation pattern, which is called High Rising Tone or Australian Questioning Intonation.
Vocabulary:7
- Borrowing from Australian Aboriginal languages
e.g., kangaroo, bettong, waddy
- English formations: e.g., paddock: a small, fenced field (Britain), a piece of land (Australia)
- The convict system:
e.g., anti-transportation, assign, bolter
- British dialect: e.g., nugget, fossick, lolly
- British slang: e.g., bludger, caser, chiack
- Gold: e.g., alluvial lead, claim jumper, cradle
- Military slang: e.g., boy scout’s leave (a brief shore-leave), drain the bilge (to be extremely seasick)
References
1Australia-Hong Kong Relations:https://hongkong.china.embassy.gov.au/hkng/australia-hong-kong-relations.html
2Hong Kong SAR Population Census.https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/
3Schneider, E. W. (2007). Postcolonial English: Varieties around the world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4Peters, P. (1998). Australian English. In P. Bell, & R. Bell (Eds.), Americanization and Australia (pp. 32-44). Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
5Taylor, B. (2001). Australian English in interaction with other Englishes. In D. Blair, & P. Collins (Eds.), English in Australia (pp. 317-340). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.
6Wells, J. C. (2012). Accents of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7Kortmann, Bernd & Scheider, Edgar W. (2004). A Handbook of Varieties of English: a multimedia reference tool
8Moore, B. (1999). The vocabulary of Australian English. Australian National Dictionary Centre, Australian National University.