5 differences between American and Australian English

Many migrants living in Australia are used to American English mainly because of American cinema. They grew up watching Hollywood blockbusters and songs. In this post, you will learn the 5 common differences between American and Australian.

1. Accent/Pronunciation:

American English is more widely heard and known from films and television, but it is useful to familiarize oneself with other versions of English to understand a variety of accents and local expressions.

2. Spelling:

There are some spelling differences between British, American and Australian English, but no specific differences between American and Australian English are mentioned in the provided sources.

3. Use of prepositions:

One difference between Australian and American English is the use of prepositions. For example, while Australians might say “look forward to relaxing at the weekend”, Americans say “look forward to relaxing on the weekend”.

4. Present Perfect:

The use of the Present Perfect (e.g. “I have eaten dinner already”) is much more common in Australian and British English, while in the United States the past simple is used more often (e.g. “I ate dinner already”).

5. Colloquialisms:

There are some differences in colloquialisms between American and Australian English. For example:

American: Hello

Australian: G’Day

American: friend

Australian: mate

American: Do you think?

Australian: Do you reckon?