Editing English language (section)

=== Australia and New Zealand ===
{{Main|Australian English|New Zealand English}}
{{listen|filename=AustraliaPart2.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a male with a [[Australian English|general Australian accent]].}}
{{listen|filename=Geoffrey Rush bbc radio4 front row 01 05 2013.flac|title=Speech example|description=An example of a [[Queensland]] male with a cultivated Australian accent ([[Geoffrey Rush]]).}}
{{listen|filename=Mark Hanna Voice Audio.ogg|title=Speech example|description=An example of a male with a [[New Zealand English|New Zealand accent]].}}
Since 1788, English has been spoken in [[Oceania]], and [[Australian English]] has developed as a first language of the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Australian continent, its standard accent being [[General Australian]]. The [[New Zealand English|English of neighbouring New Zealand]] has to a lesser degree become an influential standard variety of the language.{{sfn|Eagleson|1982}} Australian and New Zealand English are each other's closest relatives with few differentiating characteristics, followed by [[South African English]] and the English of southeastern England, all of which have similarly non-rhotic accents, aside from some accents in the [[South Island]] of New Zealand. Australian and New Zealand English stand out for their innovative vowels: many short vowels are fronted or raised, whereas many long vowels have diphthongised. Australian English also has a contrast between long and short vowels, not found in most other varieties. Australian English grammar aligns closely to British and American English; like American English, collective plural subjects take on a singular verb (as in ''the government is'' rather than ''are'').{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|pages=16–21}}{{sfn|Burridge|2010}} New Zealand English uses front vowels that are often even higher than in Australian English.{{sfn|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|pages=24–26}}{{sfn|Maclagan|2010}}{{sfn|Gordon|Campbell|Hay et al.|2004}}