Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and de facto national language; while Australia has no official language, English is the first language of the majority of the population, being the only language spoken in the home for about 72.7% of Australians.[5] It is also the main language used in compulsory education, as well as federal, state and territorial legislatures and courts.
Australian English | |
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Region | Australia |
Native speakers | 18.5 million in Australia (2021)[1] 5 million L2 speakers of English in Australia (approx 2021) |
Indo-European
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Early forms | |
Latin (English alphabet) Unified English Braille[2] | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Glottolog | aust1314 |
IETF | en-AU[3][4] |
Part of a series on the |
English language |
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Topics |
Advanced topics |
Phonology |
Dialects |
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Teaching |
Higher category: Language |

Australian English began to diverge from British and Irish English after the First Fleet established the Colony of New South Wales in 1788. Australian English arose from a dialectal 'melting pot' created by the intermingling of early settlers who were from a variety of dialectal regions of Great Britain and Ireland,[6] though its most significant influences were the dialects of Southeast England.[7] By the 1820s, the native-born colonists' speech was recognisably distinct from speakers in Britain and Ireland.[8]
Australian English differs from other varieties in its phonology, pronunciation, lexicon, idiom, grammar and spelling.[9] Australian English is relatively consistent across the continent, although it encompasses numerous regional and sociocultural varieties. 'General Australian' describes the de-facto standard dialect, which is perceived to be free of pronounced regional or sociocultural markers and that is often used in the media.