Strengthening Australian English Through Television Series: A comparison of phonetic features in Australian English in two Australian television series launched in 2001 and 2022

Abstract

The role of American English in different forms of media, such as social media, has increased especially during the last twenty years. This causes a threat to other varieties of English, such as Australian English, because American English begins to affect the pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary of other varieties. Many previous studies concentrate on Australian English in terms of Americanization, in which Australian English accommodates towards American English. However, this study examines if the pronunciation of Australian English, such as vowel length and the use of schwa, in Australian television series has changed during the last twenty years and if a possible change could indicate the phenomenon of language strengthening in which the phonetic features unique for Australian English are emphasized in media representation.

As materials, this study utilizes two Australian television series, which are McLeod’s Daughters, launched in 2001, and Savage River, launched in 2022. This study utilizes phonetic methods and focuses on the phonetic features of words, such as vowel length and the use of schwa. This study investigates differences in phonetic features between similar words found in the two series and compares the phonetic features in the two series with those of American English and Standard Australian English. Moreover, this study observes if the collected data supports the phenomenon of language strengthening.

The study shows that the pronunciation of Australian English has changed during the last twenty years in Australian television series. This change can be seen in the increase of schwa and in vowel lengths. The results indicate that the pronunciation in both of the two series is closer to Standard Australian English than American English. Furthermore, the results would seem to slightly support the strengthening of Australian English in television series. This study also ponders on the role of television in language strengthening and notes that more research is necessary to improve understanding of the influence of television and other forms of media in sustaining phonetic features and strengthening a variation of a language, for example, against the strong influence of American English.