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    10 Pieces Of Advice For Sounding Like An Australian

    An insider's guide to Exuding Aussie-ness. Disclaimer. You will not find the words crikey, shrimp, sheila or beer in this article.

    Many people struggle to tell the difference between an Aussie, a Pommy and a Kiwi... in regard to accents. If you're from Australia, Great Britain or New Zealand you may find this baffling. Although, have you ever mistaken a Canadian for an American? Or worse, a Slovenian for a Slovakian?? It's humiliating. Here are some insider tips to help non-Australians sound like legitimate Aussies. That's Aussie. Pronounced Ozzy.

    1. Be confident... without actually displaying any confidence at all.

    2. Make every sentence sound like a question.

    3. Tall Poppy Syndrome.

    4. Say no to the letter 'R'... but only after 'A' and 'O'.

    5. The Aussie Twang.

    View this video on YouTube

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    Margot Robbie, one of the recent Australian starlets to make it in Hollywood, is a great example of speaking with the modern Aussie twang.

    Many Australian actors who leave our shores; make it big, lose their twang and then morph into some kind of accent-less being.

    Because Margot is fresh from Down Under, her voice still has that undeniable Aussie twang. The mumbling. The giggling. The slightly nasal, insecure, apologetic-but-loveable, humble twang.

    Listen, mimic and repeat.

    6. Apologise profusely. Then apologise for apologising.

    7. Shorten names, occupations, places and things.

    8. _______ as.

    9. Pay someone out.

    View this video on YouTube

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    This has nothing to do with money.

    To 'pay someone out' involves teasing or making fun of someone. It's basically a rite of passage in the Australian culture.

    Obviously this isn't cool when it turns into bullying or sword fights.

    Just understand that the more we light-heartedly tease you, the more we heavy-heartedly love you.


    The above clip is of comedian Simon Taylor, paying out the Australian accent.

    10. Laughing is our favourite medicine.

    View this video on YouTube

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    This is probably the most important piece of advice. Learn to laugh at all times. Australian's truly love to laugh. Put us in any difficult situation and soon enough you'll find us seeing the funny side of our despair. Australian humour is sarcastic, dry and generally self-mocking. In fact, our humour is so specific and fascinating, that our country's official website has an entire page devoted to explaining it.

    So try to watch as many Australian stand-ups, talk shows and funny films as you can. You'll quickly begin to understand the style of our humour and the nature of our jokes... and before you know it, we'll be paying out the style of your hair and the nature of your personality. Because we love you.

    There are so many articles and videos online about the Australian accent. The best thing you can do (besides getting on a plane and moving here) is watch an episode of the Aussie soap-opera Neighbours and mimic everything they say.

    View this video on YouTube

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    If you don't have an Aussie accent by the end of it, you'll only have lost 22 minutes of your life. I'm not promising that it will be worth it.