Regional consonant characteristics

In Australia there is a clear regional difference in postvocalic /l/ vocalization to [ɤ] , which is quite frequent in South Australia and considerably less frequent elsewhere in Australia, as in words such as fill, fell, feel, fail, fool, full, fuel and so on. The result is a half-open nearly-back unrounded offglide following the vowel. D’Onghia (1995) found an overall frequency of 40.8 per cent vocalization, both in the capital, Adelaide, and in Millicent, a rural town. It is slightly more frequent in more casual speech and in the speech of those who are younger, higher-status, and male.

Horvath and Horvath (2001b) give further details on the regional pattern: New Zealand has much more vocalization, nearly half overall; in Australia, vocalization is least frequent in Brisbane and Melbourne, intermediate in Hobart and Sydney, and greatest in South Australia (both Adelaide and Mount Gambier, a large town in the southeast of the state). Vocalization is increasing; it is more frequent among younger speakers. The preconsonantal environment shows under ten per cent vocalization in Brisbane and Melbourne and roughly similar proportions of around 20 per cent elsewhere, but the major regional difference resides in vocalization of final /l/ which ranges from under ten per cent in Brisbane to over 40 per cent in South Australia (Horvath and Horvath 2001b: 40–42).

Vocalization of syllabic /l/ as in pickle again differs within Australia; least (three per cent) in Brisbane, nine to 15 per cent in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney, and 26 and 28 per cent in Adelaide and Mount Gambier in South Australia. In New Zealand, syllabic /l/ vocalizes much more frequently (about 60 per cent); furthermore, the conditioning environment also differs: a preceding velar consonant favors vocalization most in Australia, but a preceding labial favors it most in New Zealand (Horvath and Horvath 2001b: 42–45).

The pronunciation of -thing in something/nothing/everything/anything with [ɪŋ​k] is socially and regionally variable in Australia, as in southeastern England. The London-like [ɪŋ​k] is more frequent in informal speech and the speech of those of lower social status across Australia, but is particularly frequent in some mining towns in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney in New South Wales, as documented by Shnukal (1982: 204) for Cessnock, where the overall frequency of [ɪŋ​k] is nearly 60 per cent, and much lower elsewhere, as for example in Melbourne where we found 33 per cent for males and 15 per cent for females (Bradley and Bradley 1979: 81).

There are various forms, such as the [f] and [v] realizations of /θ/ and /ð/, which are found throughout Australia but are somewhat more often used in Sydney (overall frequency of 4.4 per cent) than in Melbourne and elsewhere. Horvath shows that this is more frequent among those of Italian background, males and those of lower socioeconomic status; but it is by no means restricted to these groups (Horvath 1985: 98–102). In addition to the usual pattern of sociostylistic variation in which the [f] and [v] are the informal and low-status forms, there are numerous individuals in all parts of Australia, not all male or of low status, who use a very high proportion of [f] and [v]. Certain very frequent words such as with also favor the [f] or [v] alternative.