Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,3, University of Wurzburg (PHILOSOPHISCHE FAKULTAT I), course: Varieties of English, language: English, abstract: Looking at the English language in Australia with its short history of 200 years, the question arises whether Australian English can already be seen as a variety on its own right. To find a competent answer to this question one has to consider the linguistic development of the language as well as the concrete linguistic features which occur in this variety. The linguistic development is intimately connected with the historical background of a country. Thus in a first part of this term paper a short overview on the history of Australia is given to build the fundament for the following analysis of the linguistic development of the English language in Australia. Then the concrete linguistic features are evaluated and applied in the practical part of this term paper. So, as a last step, the question, whether Australian English has the status of being a variety on its own right, can be answered.