Leo
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« Reply #45 on: December 18, 2007, 08:09:37 PM » |
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Well I'm a Brit who has spent over a year in a boarding school in Australia. Actually I disagree with those who say Australia is more like the US than the UK. It is somewhere in between physically, but the values, laws and customs of Australian born Anglo-Celtic Australians (who are 78% of the population according to the last census) are much closer to Britain than America. The language is the same (but the accent is different from Received Pronunciation,) the education system is the same, the health care system is the same, the justice system is the same, they celebrate all the same holidays, the religion is the same (most Australians are Church of England), we share the Westminster system of government, and Queen Elizabeth II is the Australian Head of State. And we all have afternoon tea.  I have to say that the broad Australian accent is probably the most unpleasant form of spoken English in the world (it is nasal and quite horrible, and they can't pronounce the letter 'a') but an educated, cultured Australian does not sound very different from a Brit from the Home Counties. I also have to say that, from what I have learnt, it is not fact that Australians did not consider Aboriginals human beings until the sixties, and they were definitely not allowed to shoot Aboriginals from trees, etc. (But it is fact that Aboriginals were not given citizenship until the 1960's.) There was no parallel between what the US government did to the native Americans and the Crown's policies towards the Aboriginals. That settlers often treated the Aboriginals terribly and even murdered them (research Mayall Creek) is beyond question, but this was not the policy of the Crown, or the later Australian Federal Government. There are several documented examples of the US government deliberately setting out to commit genocide on various Indian nations, and it is reported that 95% of the native American population was wiped out by means of these actions, and by means of disease, often deliberately spread. There are no such records of the Australian government doing the same thing. In fact the Crown proclaimed the Australian natives to be British subjects in order that killing them be legally punishable as murder. I think Aussies are a great bunch of people with a highly developed sense of fair play, and great compassion for the underdog, but LOL! if you tell any Aussie he is like an American, you will get a very negative reaction. |
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« Reply #46 on: December 19, 2007, 05:52:47 AM » |
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Well I'm a Brit who has spent over a year in a boarding school in Australia. Actually I disagree with those who say Australia is more like the US than the UK. It is somewhere in between physically, but the values, laws and customs of Australian born Anglo-Celtic Australians (who are 78% of the population according to the last census) are much closer to Britain than America. The language is the same (but the accent is different from Received Pronunciation,) the education system is the same, the health care system is the same, the justice system is the same, they celebrate all the same holidays, the religion is the same (most Australians are Church of England), we share the Westminster system of government, and Queen Elizabeth II is the Australian Head of State. And we all have afternoon tea. I have to say that the broad Australian accent is probably the most unpleasant form of spoken English in the world (it is nasal and quite horrible, and they can't pronounce the letter 'a') but an educated, cultured Australian does not sound very different from a Brit from the Home Counties. I also have to say that, from what I have learnt, it is not fact that Australians did not consider Aboriginals human beings until the sixties, and they were definitely not allowed to shoot Aboriginals from trees, etc. (But it is fact that Aboriginals were not given citizenship until the 1960's.) There was no parallel between what the US government did to the native Americans and the Crown's policies towards the Aboriginals. That settlers often treated the Aboriginals terribly and even murdered them (research Mayall Creek) is beyond question, but this was not the policy of the Crown, or the later Australian Federal Government. There are several documented examples of the US government deliberately setting out to commit genocide on various Indian nations, and it is reported that 95% of the native American population was wiped out by means of these actions, and by means of disease, often deliberately spread. There are no such records of the Australian government doing the same thing. In fact the Crown proclaimed the Australian natives to be British subjects in order that killing them be legally punishable as murder. I think Aussies are a great bunch of people with a highly developed sense of fair play, and great compassion for the underdog, but LOL! if you tell any Aussie he is like an American, you will get a very negative reaction. 1. I have to disagree on the Aussie accent. To me as an American both the borad English accent and the Aussie one, spoken by a woman, are unbeleiveably sexy. I once told an Aussie woman she could read to me from the phone book and turn me on. But I much prefer the Aussie accent as it comes across much more laid back and relaxed while more often than not, the English accent just leaves me wanting to beat any man speaking that way with a blunt object until he shuts up. 2. I was by no means attempting to draw a parralel between the US treatment of Naative Americans and the Aussie treatemnt of Aborigineas (sp?). More of a comparison of the governments officials stance on them compared thre to US governemnt official stance on blacks in the us. The racial tnesions in Australia have been dealt with much more smoothly than those in the US. |
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\\\"Something witty\\\" Some self impotant blowhard
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Jericoacoara
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« Reply #47 on: January 24, 2008, 03:01:22 AM » |
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I have to say that the broad Australian accent is probably the most unpleasant form of spoken English in the world (it is nasal and quite horrible, and they can't pronounce the letter 'a') but an educated, cultured Australian does not sound very different from a Brit from the Home Counties.
I agree. Our accent is a shocker. I don't realise how bad it sounds until I travel overseas and don't hear the australian accent for a while, and then hear it by the hundreds when I am boarding a Qantas plane to fly back. It sounds not cultural at all. |
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The greatest tragedy is for a person to die with the music still within them.
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Leo
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« Reply #48 on: January 24, 2008, 07:15:59 PM » |
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1. I have to disagree on the Aussie accent. To me as an American both the borad English accent and the Aussie one, spoken by a woman, are unbeleiveably sexy. I once told an Aussie woman she could read to me from the phone book and turn me on.
But I much prefer the Aussie accent as it comes across much more laid back and relaxed while more often than not, the English accent just leaves me wanting to beat any man speaking that way with a blunt object until he shuts up.
2. I was by no means attempting to draw a parralel between the US treatment of Naative Americans and the Aussie treatemnt of Aborigineas (sp?). More of a comparison of the governments officials stance on them compared thre to US governemnt official stance on blacks in the us. The racial tnesions in Australia have been dealt with much more smoothly than those in the US.
LOL! It must be a gender thing. When I was in the US, older males viewed me very suspiciously when I opened my mouth, and at least one went so far as to 'correct' my pronunciation. But the American ladies (especially the older ones) seemed to love my accent. ( I have a pretty standard southern English 'received pronunciation' accent, so nothing special to either love or hate.) I have to say that I find many of the UK regional accents (including some London ones) pretty awful but these are more due to socioeconomic conditions than anything else. As with anywhere else, educated and cultured people speak more clearly than the rest. I agree. Our accent is a shocker. I don't realise how bad it sounds until I travel overseas and don't hear the australian accent for a while, and then hear it by the hundreds when I am boarding a Qantas plane to fly back. It sounds not cultural at all. But only the very broad Australian accent. I have met many educated Australians in the UK and in Australia, who spoke very nicely, with hardly any accent. Much nicer than the rough regional and London accents we encounter in Britain. |
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Wiglaf
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« Reply #49 on: January 24, 2008, 10:36:28 PM » |
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lol, it seems like Australia carbon copied what we did to the Native Americans, and our "boarding schools".
It is quite similar. In fact it also shared the high rates of physical and sexual abuse our boarding school system encountered. |
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. . . sometimes it seems that one has to lean into the wind to stand straight.
James Welch Winter in the Blood
Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution,no law, no court can even do much to save it.
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Jericoacoara
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« Reply #50 on: January 26, 2008, 12:12:25 AM » |
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But only the very broad Australian accent. I have met many educated Australians in the UK and in Australia, who spoke very nicely, with hardly any accent. Much nicer than the rough regional and London accents we encounter in Britain.
What state are you studying in Leo? If you go to Adelaide you will find their accent slightly classier than the rest of Australia. Although I hope any South Australians don't read me actually admit it  |
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The greatest tragedy is for a person to die with the music still within them.
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Leo
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« Reply #51 on: January 28, 2008, 03:16:39 PM » |
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But only the very broad Australian accent. I have met many educated Australians in the UK and in Australia, who spoke very nicely, with hardly any accent. Much nicer than the rough regional and London accents we encounter in Britain.
What state are you studying in Leo? If you go to Adelaide you will find their accent slightly classier than the rest of Australia. Although I hope any South Australians don't read me actually admit it I'm in New South Wales. I went to Melbourne but only for a weekend, and I haven't been to Adelaide.  |
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Jericoacoara
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« Reply #52 on: January 30, 2008, 11:00:20 PM » |
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I also have to say that, from what I have learnt, it is not fact that Australians did not consider Aboriginals human beings until the sixties, and they were definitely not allowed to shoot Aboriginals from trees, etc. (But it is fact that Aboriginals were not given citizenship until the 1960's.) There was no parallel between what the US government did to the native Americans and the Crown's policies towards the Aboriginals. That settlers often treated the Aboriginals terribly and even murdered them (research Mayall Creek) is beyond question, but this was not the policy of the Crown, or the later Australian Federal Government.
Leo, keep watching the current news about the "Apology" that will come to the aboriginals by the Australian Government over the stolen generation many years ago. Rudd will be the first prime minister to do this, where his predecessors have shied away from it. It will be probably the biggest aboriginal story for many many years when it happens. I should do a thread about it. |
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The greatest tragedy is for a person to die with the music still within them.
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Leo
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Posts: 105
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« Reply #53 on: January 31, 2008, 08:21:38 AM » |
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I also have to say that, from what I have learnt, it is not fact that Australians did not consider Aboriginals human beings until the sixties, and they were definitely not allowed to shoot Aboriginals from trees, etc. (But it is fact that Aboriginals were not given citizenship until the 1960's.) There was no parallel between what the US government did to the native Americans and the Crown's policies towards the Aboriginals. That settlers often treated the Aboriginals terribly and even murdered them (research Mayall Creek) is beyond question, but this was not the policy of the Crown, or the later Australian Federal Government.
Leo, keep watching the current news about the "Apology" that will come to the aboriginals by the Australian Government over the stolen generation many years ago. Rudd will be the first prime minister to do this, where his predecessors have shied away from it. It will be probably the biggest aboriginal story for many many years when it happens. I should do a thread about it. Thanks for that. I will, coz I think it's a great idea. I know it wasn't done with the intention of genocide or any of that stuff, but it was still a terrible thing for the kids that suffered. And whether it was with good intentions or not, the government should apologise for it. I don't think anyone should be paid compensation though, coz that will only encourage people to make false claims, and it will detract from the sincerity of the whole thing. |
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