Scientists have long known that the modern Australian accent developed from a combination of European settlers' and Aborigines' pronunciations -- but a provocative new theory claims the accent may also have boozy origins.
Dean Frenkel, a speech and communications lecturer at Victoria University, wrote an opinion piece this week in Melbourne daily newspaper The Age arguing that the Australian accent was heavily influenced by the drunken slurs of the country's original settlers.
"Our forefathers regularly got drunk together and through their frequent interactions unknowingly added an alcoholic slur to our national speech patterns," he wrote.
"Missing consonants can include missing 't's (Impordant), 'l;s (Austraya) and 's's (yesh), while many of our vowels are lazily transformed into other vowels," he explains in the piece. "If we all received communication training, Australia would become a cleverer country."
Frenkel's piece swiftly drew criticism from linguistics researchers, as there currently doesn't seem to be evidence to support it.
"There is no evidence that alcohol consumption has any long-term effect on one's own language, let alone transgenerational language transmission," Aidan Wilson, a Ph.D. candidate in linguistics at the University of Melbourne, told The Huffington Post.
Dr. Rob Pensalfini, a senior lecturer in languages and cultures at the University of Queensland, compared the theory to other accent-origin ideas that don't have scientific backing.
"They say New Yorkers have nasal voices because they have to cut through the noise of the traffic," he told the Australian Broadcasting Company. "The original [joke] for Australia was we speak in a slurred and closed-lip way to keep the flies out of their mouths. ... They're all completely baseless [and] I want to see the evidence, I want to see the instrumental valuations."
Though many scientists disagree with Frenkel's theory, some residents of Australia seem to be responding more lightly:
Correction: A previous version of this article referred to Dean Frenkel as a linguist, which he is not.
10 Great Australian Things
Sydney(01 of10)
Open Image ModalA beautiful, modern metropolis, Sydney offers travelers the opportunity to stand beneath the domes of its famous Opera House and watch drunk men fight about rugby. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="10" data-vars-position-in-unit="16">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36534163@N02/8408969419" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="MickiTakesPictures" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36534163@N02/8408969419" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="11" data-vars-position-in-unit="17">MickiTakesPictures</a>)
Ayers Rock(02 of10)
Open Image ModalThe Mount Rushmore of Australia is engraved with the faces of every famous Australian politician you can name. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Koala(03 of10)
Open Image ModalAustralia's most charming ambassador is high as a kite. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="8" data-vars-position-in-unit="14">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34907572@N04/8391137397" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="NCVO" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34907572@N04/8391137397" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="9" data-vars-position-in-unit="15">NCVO</a>)
Foster's(04 of10)
Open Image ModalJust kidding. Foster's is terrible and Australians avoid drinking it too. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="6" data-vars-position-in-unit="12">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73600762@N08/7109166549" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="mzs33" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73600762@N08/7109166549" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="7" data-vars-position-in-unit="13">mzs33</a>)
Knives(05 of10)
Open Image ModalThis is a knife. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="4" data-vars-position-in-unit="10">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74006048@N00/100955827" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="another_finn" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/74006048@N00/100955827" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="5" data-vars-position-in-unit="11">another_finn</a>)
The Great Barrier Reef(06 of10)
Open Image ModalOf all the barrier reefs, this one is absolutely the greatest. Truth in advertising. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman(07 of10)
Open Image ModalHugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. (credit:AP)
Kangaroos(08 of10)
Open Image ModalThe only animal in the world capable of instigating then winning a bar fight. Never backs off. Can't actually walk backwards. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="2" data-vars-position-in-unit="8">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22623019@N04/8351371616" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="snoozeuk" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22623019@N04/8351371616" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="3" data-vars-position-in-unit="9">snoozeuk</a>)
My Friend Luke(09 of10)
Open Image ModalNice guy. Does not look good in glasses.
Aboriginal Art(10 of10)
Open Image ModalIf you stare at it for a long time you can see a sailboat. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="0" data-vars-position-in-unit="6">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/62003934@N05/7524159482" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="variationblogr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="56326150e4b0c66bae5b83ae" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/62003934@N05/7524159482" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="1" data-vars-position-in-unit="7">variationblogr</a>)
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