It's the vowels. We have a quite different vowel system in Australian English compared to most American English dialects, complete with differing distinctions in words (the arch-typical cot/caught distinction, for example). Wikipedia on our vowels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_phonology), and Wikipedia on California English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_English_regional_phonology#California_English), which most American television shows work with.
Although, to be fair, we do appalling American Accents as well, as I was informed of by an American friend of mine after she'd stopped laughing at my 3-second impersonation. Vowels, my friend. We barely hear them, and they make all the difference!
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Date: 2009-03-03 01:10 am (UTC)Although, to be fair, we do appalling American Accents as well, as I was informed of by an American friend of mine after she'd stopped laughing at my 3-second impersonation. Vowels, my friend. We barely hear them, and they make all the difference!