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Western Australian English is the
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 The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing po ...
of
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
(WA). Although generally the same as most other
Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Eng ...
, it has some state-specific wordsincluding
slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...
and Aboriginal words and variations in pronunciation.


Vocabulary

Some of the vocabulary used in Western Australia is unique, within both Australia and the wider world. Several terms of British origin have survived which are rarely used in other parts of Australia. One example is ''verge'', meaning the area between a road and a paved footpath, which is known by the term ''nature strip'' in the rest of Australia. Another is ''brook'', for a small stream. Some words have been shortened, for example, the term ''bathers'' is commonly used in place of ''bathing suit'' or ''togs'' as used in other parts of Australia. Some original terms have also been invented in WA, and have since found their way into common usage. An example of this is the term ''home open'', describing a house on the market which is open for public inspection. Altogether, about 750 words are estimated to be used differently in WA than they are in the eastern states. There are also many unique, invented slang words, such as ''ding'', referring either to an Australian immigrant of
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...
descent (this word is often considered derogatory and/or offensive), or a dent in a car panel. Cursive may also often be called ''running writing'' in Western Australian primary schools.. A glass of beer is referred to as a ''middy'' only in WA and New South Wales. Many words from
Indigenous Australian languages The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
have found their way into Western Australian English. Examples include (or ), a
Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
word for spear, as used in modern spear fishing; and (or ), the Noongar name for a small freshwater crayfish of the
South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...
. Crayfish often found in the Perth Hills area may be called ''yabbies''. Another word of likely Aboriginal origin is ''boondy'' (pronounced with ʊ, like the vowel in ''bush''), which means a rock, boulder, or small stone. Among Western Australians, the term ''sand-boondy'' or more commonly ''boondy'' is well-recognised as referring to a small lump of sand (with the granules stuck together), often thrown at one another by children in playgrounds or building sites. Other Aboriginal words that have been included more widely into relatively common regional Western Australian parlance include "wongi" (talk) and "milli-milli" (paper).


Phonology

Most Western Australians speak with either a general Australian accent or a broad Australian accent. Those who grew up in suburban
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
typically speak with a general Australian accent, and those from regional areas ("from the country") speak with a broad accent.


Centring diphthongs

Centring
diphthong A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...
s are the vowels that occur in words like ''ear'', ''beard'' and ''sheer''. In Western Australia, there is a tendency for centring diphthongs to be pronounced as full diphthongs. Those in the eastern states will tend to pronounce "fear" and "beer" without any jaw movement, while Western Australians tend pronounce them more like "fe-ah" and "be-ah", respectively.


L-vocalisation

As also found in South Australian English, the tendency for some sounds to become vowels ( /l/ vocalisation) is more common than other states. "Hurled", for example, in Western Australia has a vocalised , leading to the pronunciation , whereas in other states the is pronounced as a consonant . The is vocalised; for example, "milk" sounds like "miuwk" and "hill" sounds like "hiw" , which can also be similar in dialect with
South African English South African English (SAfrE, SAfrEng, SAE, en-ZA) is the set of English language dialects native to South Africans. History British settlers first arrived in the South African region in 1795, when they established a military holding op ...
but in a different vocabulary compared to
New Zealand English New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
.


Pronunciation of individual words

Some pronunciations also differ from those used in the rest of Australia. For example: *
Loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family ...
: people from WA tend to pronounce
loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family ...
with a "k" sound instead of the "kw" () used elsewhere. * Derby: both the name of the city in northern Western Australia and the cross-town rivalry or
horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
. It is pronounced .


See also

*
Variation in Australian English Australian English is relatively homogeneous when compared with British and American English. The major varieties of Australian English are sociocultural rather than regional. They are divided into 3 main categories: general, broad and cultivate ...
* Australian words *
Australian English phonology Australian English (AuE) is a non-rhotic variety of English spoken by most native-born Australians. Phonologically, it is one of the most regionally homogeneous language varieties in the world. Australian English is notable for vowel length contr ...


References

{{English dialects by continent, state=collapsed Australian English Society in Western Australia