brits1

Our two sons were bright up in Australia (3 and 6.5 when they arrived) but they never really developed an Aussie accent.... when they started though to put 'like' at the start of their sentences (which seemed to be going around their school's) I put my foot down.... didn't mind it if they developed Aussie accents but to start talking like an American ....oh no. Lol.

brits1

Watching a couple of old American movies the other day...a lot of the actors sounded nowhere near as American as they do today.....same with the older Aussie soaps....

scot47

Listening to accents on films, I remeber how difficult I found the dialogues in "Bonnie and Clyde" when I first saw it. people these days are exposed to a much wider variety of Spoken English, but growing up it as all RP. "Ordinary folk" were sometimes portrayed but until "Coronation Street" were figures of fun like George Formby or Harry Lauder. I am sure there are Oz parralels.

BadgeIsBack

it's fair to say that American-English has a large influence on English-speaking countries.

Australians on TV from the 70s and 80s sound a lot more RP - and there is a modern day equivalent still distant from suburban-Bogan.
It's the same in the UK - Estuary English is now rampant across London and the SE in all professions and walks of life.

I think it's important kids realise they need to communicate effectively if they are to be taken seriously.

I often point out to my sprogs what's important is that they can be understood in New York, San Francisco, London and Singapore.
The rest is just natural change,