I read that linguistically, Australian English is closer to American than British versions. Having never yet been there but occasionally having a Violet Crumble when available, I can believe it.
It’s a mix of both. For basic things like elevator vs lift, Aussies will generally understand both words and use them interchangeably.
Historically there was a lot of British influence, but these days I feel like it’s definitely getting closer to US English. A lot of media (movies, TV shows, YouTube creators, etc) in Australia is American, and a lot of American slang enters the vernacular that way.
I read that linguistically, Australian English is closer to American than British versions. Having never yet been there but occasionally having a Violet Crumble when available, I can believe it.
It’s a mix of both. For basic things like elevator vs lift, Aussies will generally understand both words and use them interchangeably.
Historically there was a lot of British influence, but these days I feel like it’s definitely getting closer to US English. A lot of media (movies, TV shows, YouTube creators, etc) in Australia is American, and a lot of American slang enters the vernacular that way.
It’s becoming that way, but it’s still definitely closer to British English.