The Australian accent developed from a “drunken slur”, according to to a communications experts from Down Under.
Dean Frenkel, a public speaking and communication lecturer at Melbourne’s Victoria University, said that early settlers’ heavy drinking habits caused the distinctive Aussie accent to form.
Writing in The Age, Frenkel said that although the accent has roots in English, Irish, Aboriginal and German, “The Australian alphabet cocktail was spiked by alcohol.
“Our forefathers regularly got drunk together and through their frequent interactions unknowingly added an alcoholic slur to our national speech patterns.
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“For the past two centuries, from generation to generation, drunken Aussie-speak continues to be taught by sober parents to their children.”
While it certainly wouldn’t be fair to tar all Australians with the same brush, some certainly seem to have tried their best to emulate their forefathers.
We take a look at some of the people representing the best (and worst) of Aussie drinking culture…