Toward the conclusion of my Australian trip, I had a spirited conversation with an Australian physician in a Sydney hospital. The tenor of our chat changed quickly when the doctor learned that I was a writing consultant. After bemoaning the quality of English writing everywhere wherever he travels in the world, Dr. Burke turned his attention to the American accent. “Americans just can’t get the proper pronunciation of commonplace words,” he said irritably. “They say Bris-bane instead of Bris-bin and Austral-i-a instead of Austral-ya. I mean, they should listen to how it’s said!” From that point onward, I put on my best Aussie affectation. I even said isle for ale and ca for car. I think I impressed him with my "perfect" pronunciation!
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