TikTok expat on the words Australians pronounce differently to Americans
American expat reveals the two words she refused to say when she lived in Australia for a year
- American expat Briton revealed she can’t pronounce “partner” or “mile.”
- Brit has been living in Australia for a year but still stumbles over the common words
An American has revealed the two common words she couldn’t say in Australia without being mocked – despite living Down Under for a year.
Brit, who lived in Sydney, admitted that despite practicing pronouncing the words “partner” and “kilometre,” she could never quite get the pronunciation right.
The American expat explained that because of her American accent, she sounded like a Texas cowboy saying “howdy, partner.”
She also could never remember which country emphasized which part of the “kilometre” and just says “Ks” instead.
The former Sydney-based Briton (pictured) admitted that despite practicing pronouncing the words ‘partner’ and ‘kilometre’ she could never quite get the pronunciation right
The American has revealed the two common Australian words she can’t say without turning red and cringing despite living Down Under for a year
Now that Brit has moved back to the United States, she decided to make a video about her struggles Down Under.
“Here are two common Australian words I refused to say when I lived there just because of my accent,” Brit said in the now-viral video.
“The first word was ‘partner’ because Aussies don’t normally say ‘r’ when they say it either.
“They use that word all the time because they don’t say ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’ that often – they always call people their partners,” the American explained. “But I never said that, because I sound like—”
Brit put on an exaggerated Texan accent and added, “Hello, partner.”
She immediately cringed at her pronunciation, preferring the seamless Aussie vocals.
The American revealed that the second word she had difficulty pronouncing was ‘kilometre’.
She didn’t know whether to emphasize “kilo” or “meter” when she said it.
“I can never remember which country says which version of that,” said Brit. “I just refuse to say it – instead I say “Ks.”
Many applauded Brit’s Australian accent and couldn’t believe how natural she sounded
Many applauded Brit’s Australian accent and couldn’t believe how natural she sounded.
“Your “partner” in the Australian accent was so good!” said a woman.
A second added: “You say ‘partner’ was the most accurate Australian accent I’ve ever heard from an American.”
‘I think you should say ‘partner’ with an Aussie accent the way people suddenly fall into a French accent to say ‘croissant’. You worded it perfectly,” joked a third.
Some others clashed over the correct way to say “kilometres.”
“I think I say ‘kilometers per hour’ for speed, but ‘killer meters’ for distance,” said one man.
“Usually we say all three versions of miles,” wrote a second.
“Aussies don’t say the full word for anything,” said one woman. “I’ve never heard anyone say miles. It’s “K’s”. Fast version always.’