'G'day mate' may soon be history Down Under
6 Oct 2008, 1647 Hrs

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London, Oct 6 'G'day mate', the slang epitomized by late Steve Irwin and Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan, which means 'hello', may be phased out soon as Australia moves towards establishing a standard national pronunciation, say reports.

In the new book titled 'Speaking Our Language: The Story of Australian English', Australian National University academic Bruce Moore, said that the change would come about as the need for Australians to distinguish themselves from their British descendants.

"Australians are becoming more confident with the standard Australian accent - and that means there's no longer the need for those sorts of extreme sounds," the Telegraph quoted lexicographer Moore as saying.

Even the words like "mate" would no more be pronounced "mite" as some of the unique characteristics of Australian speech disappear and few people imitate the English accent.

The so-called "cultivated" Australian accent would soon be replaced by standard Australian accent", Moore added.

"There's no doubt the broad accent does carry cultural values. I'm not doubting that. That's why it's used in advertisements," said Mr Moore,

"But in the future that extreme form of it won't be so necessary because the standard accent will carry those same values," he added.

Moore said that the broad accents came from the need for cultural distinction in the late 19th century, while the posh accents evolved from the use of what is commonly known as Queen's English in education around the same time. (ANI)