Are the OZ and NZ accents the same...

...settle an argument.

Was watching Outrageous Fortune a few weeks back and the wife walked in and said 'New Zealand programme'? She than said that it's easy to tell the accents apart and that's how she knew it wasn't Australian. I say they're the EXACT same.

Who is right. And if there's a difference, what is it?

petes

I think they are different. Sad I know but have you ever watched Home and Away or Neighbours and then ever watched one of the New Zealand ones on really late on RTE1. Distinct difference I think. God I have to get out more.

KazDub

In fairness, that's like asking if Irish and English accents are the same. A lot of people can't tell them apart because they're not 'tuned' into the difference, yet to us they couldn't be confused with eachother.

The one thing I always spot about the Kiwi accents is the way they pronounce the letter 'i'. Watching LOTR extras on the DVD, you can hear Peter Jackson refer to the 'compact dusks'. It's more of a 'u' sound than an 'i'.

I'd only get the difference after a while of listening to someone speak and couldn't call myself brilliant at telling them apart, but they ARE different.

VroomVroom

They're fairly different accents! You can usually tell a Kiwi accent from the way they pronounce words that have an "E" in them, they seem to change it to an "I"!

Like, "I'll sind you a tixt missage about some six on Saturday!!!"

MrJoeSoap

Theres definitely a difference alright, Rachel Hunter is a good example of a very distinctive NZ accent.

Miss Fluff

Kiwis have much broader vowel sounds than the Aussies do, very distinct from each other if you ask me i.e.

An Aussie will say

"I theeenk I'd like to go for a dreeenk"

whereas a Kiwi will say

"I thunk I'd like to go for a drunk"

(I think I'd like to go for a drink - think I would actually)

I've made myself chuckle there lol:D

Miss Fluff

VroomVroom wrote:

Like, "I'll sind you a tixt missage about some six on Saturday!!!"

ROFL

Dave!

I think you're a racist, tbh... I bet ya think Chinese and Japanese people look the same too, huh? huh? :mad: scum!

*ahem*

I can't say I'm too familiar with the NZ accent... normally when I hear a "g'day mayte!" accent I assume they're Aussies, when they might be NZ? I dunno!

GoneShootin

KazDub wrote:

In fairness, that's like asking if Irish and English accents are the same. A lot of people can't tell them apart because they're not 'tuned' into the difference, yet to us they couldn't be confused with eachother.

In fairness, whoever says that needs to get their ears syringed, or are just plain ignorant.

BoozyBabe

Completely different!!!!

You can tell they are close to each other geographically, but if you've spent any time in either country or with people from either country, you'll be able to distinguish them a mile off

BoozyBabe

Miss Fluff wrote:

Kiwis have much broader vowel sounds than the Aussies do, very distinct from each other if you ask me i.e.

An Aussie will say

"I theeenk I'd like to go for a dreeenk"

whereas a Kiwi will say

"I thunk I'd like to go for a drunk"

(I think I'd like to go for a drink - think I would actually)

I've made myself chuckle there lol:D

v true!!

My diving instructor was a kiwi.
The call flippers fins, but he kept telling us to get our funs!!!!:D

WhiteWashMan

they are different.

Hydroquinone

GoneShootin wrote:

In fairness, whoever says that needs to get their ears syringed, or are just plain ignorant.

I don't imagine anyone from here would say it, obviously.
But Aussues and Kiwis might say it. If Conor74 can't tell the difference between English language accents on the other side of the planet, why should he not have an antipodean equivalent who can't either?

Some people can't tell a Canadian from an American, now as I think of it. Seems to me that just as Irish people would object to being thought of as English, by a foreigner, Canadians get stroppy if you think they're Americans and NZers are highly unamused if they're thought of as Australians.

I always find that the South Africans sound a bit Kiwi to me, even though I'm sure they don't at all, to them. And I can't think that I've ever heard a Namibian or a Zimbabewean speak, but I bet I'd get them arseways too.

FillSpectre

Very different. Then again so is Dublin accent and Cork one. I don't expect an American to spot the difference.

The Kiwis talk very differntly too with a lot more natural way of speaking rather than the hyper Ozies with ther constant high endings seeking approval. Everything sounds like a question from an Oz person if you ask me so that is the easy tell

Mossy Monk

totally different

MrJoeSoap

FillSpectre wrote:

Very different. Then again so is Dublin accent and Cork one. I don't expect an American to spot the difference.

I'd be very surprised if an American (or anyone for that matter) couldn't recognise a difference between a Cork and Dublin accent.

Mountjoy Mugger

It's not as if they're exactly "next door" to one another, so there will be some change in accent. The distance between Wellington and Sydney is over 2000km.

robinph

GoneShootin wrote:

In fairness, whoever says that needs to get their ears syringed, or are just plain ignorant.

Or have not spent much time listening to different Irish and English accents to then be able to notice the differences, or did you just ingore the point that was being made there?

FillSpectre

MrJoeSoap wrote:

I'd be very surprised if an American (or anyone for that matter) couldn't recognise a difference between a Cork and Dublin accent.

Watch the film Ned Kelly it is halarious. In one family there is about 5 different Irish accents.
When you hear a german accent can you tell what region they are from? I used to work with some and after about a month I suddenly could hear the difference in their accents through their English.

FillSpectre

Mountjoy Mugger wrote:

It's not as if they're exactly "next door" to one another, so there will be some change in accent. The distance between Wellington and Sydney is over 2000km.

Well you would want to be really ignorant to think they are very close to each other and not radically different. The native people being so different is impossible to miss even in main stream media.

How people should know is from the TV they watched

Degrassy Junior High lets us hear the Canadian accent(they say out funny)

Children of Fire Mountain let us know the Kiwi accent (they sound like they are talking through a door)

Neighbours let us know what Kylie Minogue looked like (they are high pitched and end every sentence like a question)

Now all you need to be is 30+ to get these references

If you want to do an australian ascent simple do a london accent with out opening your teeth and hey presto

A NZ is do a posh english accent with your teeth closed and use your lips to round your words
Can't remeber where I read that but it is true

FX Meister

It's not totally different as some people have said but it is similar. Fush and chups instead of fish and chips is a favourite one of mine.

Degsy

An ozzy would say "cuke the maan sam fackin eggs"
A kiwi would say "kuk the min sim fackin iggs!!

5starpool

A kiwi mate of mine is called Will, or as I like to call him, Wool.

Nightwish

Just watch Shortland Street for 5 mins and you'll be able to tell the difference.

tallus

The Kiwi accent is a bit like a watered down Aussie one, not as strong by a long shot, I find them a lot easier to understand, and they do pronounce they E's Like I's Aussies Pronounce their A's Like I's

Dave!

Degsy wrote:

An ozzy would say "cuke the maan sam fackin eggs"
A kiwi would say "kuk the min sim fackin iggs!!

And an Irish person would say.......????

Degsy

Degsy wrote:

An ozzy would say "cuke the maan sam fackin eggs"
A kiwi would say "kuk the min sim fackin iggs!!

Ah, I'm beginning to get it. Will have to tune in to Home and Away and Outrageous Fortune (which is very good actually) again.

petes

Nightwish wrote:

Just watch Shortland Street for 5 mins and you'll be able to tell the difference.

Thats the name of the one I was thinking of.

BigEejit

My brother is married to a kiwi and one time she was looking around my parents house for something and I asked what was it and she told me she was looking for a bikpik ...
I hadnt a clue what a bikpik was and as I had been asking for translations of what she was saying far too much and was a bit embarrased about doing it again I just pretended to be looking for something with her until she found it ... a back pack ...
that i had passed over a couple of times while pretending to look for something
but she herself admits that she has a very strong kiwi accent and lots of people had trouble understanding her

mysterious

MrJoeSoap wrote:

I'd be very surprised if an American (or anyone for that matter) couldn't recognise a difference between a Cork and Dublin accent.

ah but still:D

Snickers Man

They're similar but there are a few obivious differences and it's usually the vowel sounds that give them away. As in Fush and Chups, the Kiwi for fish and chips as already pointed out.

I once saw Germaine Greer (an Ozzie) slag off Kiwis by saying they basically have only two or three vowel sounds in their accent.

Another differentiator is Kiwis say six when they mean sex and sex when they mean six. Which can be very confusing.

As in 'Sexty nine is sixy'

Although in truth it's closer to suxy. Which is also quite true when you think about it........;)

lodgepole

They're very different but like somebody else said some people won't be able to distinguish betwee the two. Much like people who confuse Americans with Canadians, Irish with English, English with Australian etc...

How exactly is not hearing the difference between a Cork and Dublin accent any different from not hearing the difference between a NZ and Aussie one? It seems really obvious when you live in the area, but most people from outside haven't a clue. Most Americans I've met genuinely can't tell the difference between Scottish, English and Irish accents. They just don't hear them enough, whereas to us they are worlds apart. I'm sure it's the same between Australia, NZ and South Africa for example. I can tell the difference but they are very similar to me. It depends on the individual as well, some people are crap at spotting accents. A Canadian friend mistook a Dutch person for a native English speaker! :eek:

Tar.Aldarion

Sometimes it's very hard to tell the difference.

Our man in Havana

Aussies Pronunce the word 6 as "six" whereas the Kiwis say "sex"

GAAman

Damn bond beat me to it!! when i was there (aus/nz) they were rippin the pi*s outta my accent until i realised that and got my own back!

DublinWriter

Deleted User wrote:

Who is right. And if there's a difference, what is it?

Easy NZ peeps narrow their long vowels to tiny slits.

They say 'ten' as 'tin'.

daiixi

yes our accents are different and for the record, Aussies & Kiwi's don't hate each other - unless there's sport involved!

Ronan|Raven

There is a pretty noticeable difference, a a previous poster pointed out the way the kiwis pronounce their vowels. For example fish and chips sounds like "fush and chups! bro eh?"

When in Kiwi land always add EH to the end of every sentence

_blank_

I worked in a call centre in Sydney which dealt with both countries, and the NZ accent is much easier on the ear.

When I first arrived in Australia in August of last year, I couldn't distinguish, but now I can, very easily in fact.

Also, there are different accents in Australia itself.

I've just come all the way down the East Coast, from Cairns back to Sydney, and the change is very distinct between Queensland, Regional New South Wales and Sydney, I would never have noticed this from watching Neighbours twice a day back home (which, incedentally, is set in Melbourne, another accent aswell).

I'm going to New Zealand (Niw Zillind) next week, and I can't wait.

lodgepole

seansouth wrote:

When I first arrived in Australia in August of last year, I couldn't distinguish, but now I can, very easily in fact.

I was the same with US and Canada, but having lived in Canada for a year I can now hear the difference quite easily.

Ronan|Raven

If yer in Wellington at all Seansouth feel free to drop us a message here if ya fancy been kidnapped and dressed in a longford shirt and being made renounce shels and all its evil! :D

singingstranger

A Kiwi has given me this one himself:

Aussies say "feesh and cheeps"
Kiwis say "fahsh and chahps"

dSTAR

Interesting...

Hopefully you will hear D4 girls speaking more like chicks out of Home & Away and Neighbours rather that Paris Hilton or The OC.

Is the Aussie/NZ accent in vogue lately?

galactus

Hydroquinone wrote:

...Canadians get stroppy if you think they're Americans and NZers are highly unamused if they're thought of as Australians.

Even if I know I'm talking to someone from the US, I'll ask if they're Canadian. For antipodeans (is that a word?), I assume they're from NZ.

If Yanks and Aussies aren't impressed by this and start ripping into Canada or NZ then you know who you're dealing with.

dSTAR

galactus wrote:

Even if I know I'm talking to someone from the US, I'll ask if they're Canadian. For antipodeans (is that a word?), I assume they're from NZ.

If Yanks and Aussies aren't impressed by this and start ripping into Canada or NZ then you know who you're dealing with.

This is where there needs to be a little bit of re-education going on here. Antipodean implies on the other side of world. Since when did human history begin in London?

Hydroquinone

I see you're in Melbourne dSTAR. Seeing as antipodean means, as you say, on the other side of the planet, are we not antipodeans to you?
What am I missing?

singingstranger

dSTAR wrote:

Is the Aussie/NZ accent in vogue lately?

I think it's the one of choice right now having just replaced the generic Asian accent as the de rigeur one of the day... I think the Irish one could have its renaissance soon if it hasn't already...

pantar_dubh

Deleted User wrote:

...settle an argument.

Was watching Outrageous Fortune a few weeks back and the wife walked in and said 'New Zealand programme'? She than said that it's easy to tell the accents apart and that's how she knew it wasn't Australian. I say they're the EXACT same.

Who is right. And if there's a difference, what is it?

Do not believe that NZ has a uniform accent. The south island is very Scottish, much more so than the north island, so the country itself has differences.

Jumpy

5starpool wrote:

A kiwi mate of mine is called Will, or as I like to call him, Wool.

Haha!


Some Kiwi Radio for you.

Hullo! weelkim to thuh Tum ahn Phul Breekfist Show, this ees Tum speaking.

"Hullo Tum"

"Hullo Phul"

Jumpy

Hydroquinone wrote:

I see you're in Melbourne dSTAR. Seeing as antipodean means, as you say, on the other side of the planet, are we not antipodeans to you?
What am I missing?

No, you are half right though, you are correct in its meaning, but when the meaning was first used, Australia and New Zealand were the other side of the world. The area was informally called the Antipodes. Therefore Antipodean was used as a english term for an Aussie or a Kiwi, however it is never used in reverse.