My wife and I have debated the origins of the Australian accent for a few years now. I say it is English spoken while squinting, but she says it’s English spoken while smiling. Maybe its their amusement at being able to speak a dialect in which firefighters are “firies,” electricians “sparkies,” carpenters “chippies,” and hardbitten members of outlaw motorcycle gangs are known, even on the national news, as “bikies.” Hosers become “bogans.” And “getting shirty” or “spitting the dummy” attenuates the intensity of getting angry, while dachshunds have to endure the indignities of being adored as “sausage dogs” …