student asking question

In my country, many people are confused with the name "Austria" and "Australia" due to their pronunciation. Does it happen the same in western culture as well?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Not quite! Well, at least in predominately English speaking countries, the 'L' and 'R' are very distinct. So it's hard to mix them up. Maybe if someone misheard, they'd be confused. Also, "Australia" has four syllables, whereas "Austria" has only three! So that also helps. Ex: I want to see the castles in Austria. Ex: My aunt and uncle live in Australia.

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