Australians' accent: British or American

I honestly don't think they sound too much like either one, but I'd have to say more British than American. Although I can't quite describe how the accent varies, but it's got its own sound.

Definitely British. Australian is a unique accent, but it is vaguely similar to several English accents including the London (cockney) accent, and the West Country accent of the people of England's south west, including Cornwall. Obviously though there are strong variations within Australian. Refined Australian has similarities to upper class British, and so on.

I suppose that an American might think that an Australian accent sounds British, but it's certainly different from either British or American. If pressed, I'd have to say that it's more like British though than American but distinctively different from either.

Well I'm Australian and I've been told that my accent can sometimes sound British. There is a similarity in the accent of New Zealanders and South Africans as well will slight differences. I think it has to do with the British influence in each country. But definitely not American sounding.

It depends what part of Australia one comes from as to whether it aligns more closely with the British or American accents. Mine could easily be mistaken for a slightly English accent, whereas my wife's Queensland accent is strikingly similar, in some cases, to an American accent. The expressions are very similar in each case as well, probably now more so than a few decades ago, when we had a very clearly defined identity. These days, we are just "merging" with each situation as it presents itself. In principle, it is neither American nor British. The British accent is spoken with the front of the mouth, the American accent is with the back of the mouth while the Australian accent is spoken from the middle of the mouth. It is difficult for either Americans or the English to simulate an Aussie accent without a lot of practice & time, but is much easier for an Australian to pass off either an English or American accent. We have just as many good actors who were born & bred here that have, according to their critics, passed convincingly in their roles as either British or Americans. Hopefully this helps clear up some of the confusion surrounding the sounding of our accents. Now if you want something even more interesting, try to figure out the New Zealand accent!