English language in England
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English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
spoken and written in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
encompasses a diverse range of accents and dialects. The language forms part of the broader
British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
, along with other varieties in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Terms used to refer to the English language spoken and written in England include: English English and Anglo-English. The related term ''British English'' has many ambiguities and tensions in the word ''British'', so it can be used and interpreted in multiple ways, but it is usually reserved to describe the features common to Anglo-English,
Welsh English Welsh English ( cy, Saesneg Gymreig) comprises the dialects of English spoken by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh. In addition to the distinctive words and gr ...
and
Scottish English Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard ...
(England,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
are the three traditional countries on the island of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
; the main dialect of the fourth
country of the United Kingdom A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while th ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, is
Ulster English Ulster English ( sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr Inglish, ga, Béarla Ultach, also called Northern Hiberno-English or Northern Irish English) is the variety of English spoken in most of the Irish province of Ulster and throughout Nort ...
, which is generally considered a dialect of
Hiberno-English Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...
).


General features

There are many different accents and dialects throughout England and people are often very proud of their local accent or dialect. However, accents and dialects also highlight
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
differences, rivalries or other associated prejudices—as illustrated by
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's comment: As well as pride in one's accent, there is also stigma placed on many traditional working class dialects. In his work on the dialect of Bolton, Graham Shorrocks wrote: The three largest recognisable dialect groups in England are Southern English dialects, Midlands English dialects and Northern English dialects. The most prominent isogloss is the
foot–strut split Most dialects of modern English have two close back vowels: the near-close near-back rounded vowel found in words like ''foot'', and the close back rounded vowel (realized as central in many dialects) found in words like ''goose''. The vowe ...
, which runs roughly from mid-
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
(on the Welsh border) to south of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and then to
the Wash The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it is fed by the riv ...
. South of the isogloss (the Midlands and Southern dialects), the Middle English phoneme split into (as in ''cut'', ''strut'') and (''put'', ''foot''); this change did not occur north of the isogloss. Most native English speakers can tell the general region in England that a speaker comes from, and experts or locals may be able to narrow this down to within a few miles. Historically, such differences could be a major impediment to understanding between people from different areas. There are also many cases where a large city has a very different accent from the rural area around it (e.g. Bristol and Avon, Hull and the East Riding, Liverpool and Lancashire). But modern communications and mass media have reduced these differences in some parts of the country. Speakers may also change their pronunciation and vocabulary, particularly towards
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
and
Standard English In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
when in public. British and Irish varieties of English, including Anglo-English, are discussed in
John C. Wells John Christopher Wells (born 11 March 1939) is a British phonetician and Esperantist. Wells is a professor emeritus at University College London, where until his retirement in 2006 he held the departmental chair in phonetics. Career Wells ea ...
(1982). Some of the features of Anglo-English are that: * Most versions of this dialect have
non-rhotic Rhoticity in English is the pronunciation of the historical rhotic consonant by English speakers. The presence or absence of rhoticity is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. In rhotic variet ...
pronunciation, meaning that /r/ is not pronounced in syllable coda position. Non-rhoticity is also found elsewhere in the English-speaking world, including in
Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Engli ...
,
New Zealand English New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, South African English,
New York City English New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect of American English spoken by many people in New York City and much of its surrounding metropolitan area. It is described by sociolinguist William Labov as the most ...
, and a few, particular dialects of
Southern American English Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect or collection of dialects of American English spoken throughout the Southern United States, though concentrated increasingly in more rural areas, and spoken primarily by Wh ...
, as well as most non-native varieties spoken throughout the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
.Rhotic accents exist in the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
, parts of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, the far north of England and in the town of
Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the built-up ...
, both of which have a large Scottish influence on their speech. Additionally, people who are children of at least one American, Canadian, Irish or Scottish and thus rhotic-accented parent but grew up, or were educated, in England speak non-rhotic. * As noted above, Northern versions of the dialect lack the
foot–strut split Most dialects of modern English have two close back vowels: the near-close near-back rounded vowel found in words like ''foot'', and the close back rounded vowel (realized as central in many dialects) found in words like ''goose''. The vowe ...
, so that there is no distinction between and , making ''put'' and ''putt'' homophones as . * In the Southern varieties, words like ''bath'', ''cast'', ''dance'', ''fast'', ''after'', ''castle'', ''grass'' etc. are pronounced with the long vowel found in ''calm'' (that is, or a similar vowel) while in the Midlands and Northern varieties they are pronounced with the same vowel as ''trap'' or ''cat'', usually . For more details see
Trap–bath split The – split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in Southern English in England (including Received Pronunciation), Australian English, New Zealand English, Indian English, South African English and to a lesser extent in some Welsh Engli ...
. There are some areas of the West Country that use in both the TRAP and BATH sets. The Bristol area, although in the south of England, uses the short in BATH. * Many varieties undergo ''h''-dropping, making ''harm'' and ''arm'' homophones. This is a feature of working-class accents across most of England, but was traditionally stigmatised (a fact the comedy musical ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
'' was quick to exploit) but less so now. This was geographically widespread, but the linguist A.C.Gimson stated that it did not extend to the far north, nor to East Anglia, Essex, Wiltshire or Somerset. In the past, working-class people were often unsure where an ''h'' ought to be pronounced, and, when attempting to speak "properly", would often preface any word that began with a vowel with an ''h'' (e.g. "henormous" instead of ''enormous'', "hicicles" instead of ''icicles''); this was referred to as the "
hypercorrect In sociolinguistics, hypercorrection is non-standard use of language that results from the over-application of a perceived rule of language-usage prescription. A speaker or writer who produces a hypercorrection generally believes through a mis ...
h" in the
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loc ...
, and is also referenced in literature (e.g. the policeman in '' Danny the Champion of the World). * A glottal stop for intervocalic is now common amongst younger speakers across the country; it was originally confined to some areas of the south-east and East Anglia. * The distinction between and in ''wine'' and ''whine'' is lost, "wh" being pronounced consistently as . * Most varieties have the
horse–hoarse merger In English, many vowel shifts affect only vowels followed by in rhotic dialects, or vowels that were historically followed by that has been elided in non-rhotic dialects. Most of them involve the merging of vowel distinctions and so fewer vow ...
. However, some northern accents retain the distinction, pronouncing pairs of words like ''for''/''four'', ''horse''/''hoarse'' and ''morning''/''mourning'' differently. * The consonant clusters , , and in ''suit'', ''Zeus'', and ''lute'' are preserved by some. * Many Southern varieties have the bad–lad split, so that ''bad'' and ''lad'' do not rhyme. * In most of the eastern half of England, plurals and past participle endings which are pronounced and (with the vowel of ''kit'') in RP may be pronounced with a
schwa In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...
. This can be found as far north as
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
and as far south as
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. This is unusual in being an east-west division in pronunciation when English dialects generally divide between north and south. Another east-west division involves the rhotic ; it can be heard in the speech of country folk (particularly the elder), more or less west of the course of the Roman era road known as
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...
(the modern A5), which at one time divided King Alfred's Wessex and English Mercia from the Danish kingdoms in the east. The rhotic is rarely found in the east. * Sporadically, miscellaneous items of generally obsolete vocabulary survive: ''come'' in the past tense rather than ''came''; the use of ''thou'' and/or ''ye'' for ''you''.


Change over time

There has been academic interest in dialects since the late 19th century. The main works are ''On Early English Pronunciation'' by
A.J. Ellis Andrew James Ellis (born April 9, 1981), is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently a Special Assistant to the General Manager in the front office of the San Diego Padres. Ellis played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...
, ''English Dialect Grammar'' by
Joseph Wright Joseph Wright may refer to: *Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), English painter *Joseph Wright (American painter) (1756–1793), American portraitist *Joseph Wright (fl. 1837/1845), whose company, Messrs. Joseph Wright and Sons, became the Metro ...
, and the ''
English Dialect Dictionary English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
'' also by Joseph Wright. The
Dialect Test The Dialect Test was created by A.J. Ellis in February 1879, and was used in the fieldwork for his work ''On Early English Pronunciation''. It stands as one of the earliest methods of identifying vowel sounds and features of speech. The aim was to ...
was developed by Joseph Wright so he could hear the differences of the vowel sounds of a dialect by listening to different people reading the same short passage of text. In the 1950s and 1960s the
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loc ...
was undertaken to preserve a record of the traditional spectrum of rural dialects that merged into each other. The traditional picture was that there would be a few changes in lexicon and pronunciation every couple of miles, but that there would be no sharp borders between completely different ways of speaking. Within a county, the accents of the different towns and villages would drift gradually so that residents of bordering areas sounded more similar to those in neighbouring counties. Because of greater social mobility and the teaching of "Standard English" in secondary schools, this model is no longer very accurate. There are some English counties in which there is little change in accent/
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
, and people are more likely to categorise their accent by a region or county than by their town or village. As
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
became less prominent, many rural dialects were lost. Some
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
dialects have also declined; for example, traditional
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
dialect is now quite rare in the city, and call centres have seen Bradford as a useful location for the very fact there is a lack of dialect in potential employees. Some call centres state that they were attracted to Bradford because it has a regional accent which is relatively easy to understand. But working in the opposite direction concentrations of migration may cause a town or area to develop its own accent. The two most famous examples are
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the built-up ...
. Liverpool's dialect is influenced heavily by Irish and Welsh, and it sounds completely different from surrounding areas of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
. Corby's dialect is influenced heavily by Scots, and it sounds completely different from the rest of
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
. The Voices 2006 survey found that the various ethnic minorities that have settled in large populations in parts of Britain develop their own specific dialects. For example,
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
may have an Oriental influence on their accent so sometimes urban dialects are now just as easily identifiable as rural dialects, even if they are not from
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
. In the traditional view, urban speech was just seen as a watered-down version of that of the surrounding rural area. Historically, rural areas had much more stable demographics than urban areas, but there is now only a small difference. It has probably never been true since the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
caused an enormous influx to cities from rural areas.


Overview of regional accents

According to dialectologist
Peter Trudgill Peter Trudgill, FBA (; born 7 November 1943) is an English sociolinguist, academic and author. Trudgill was born in Norwich, England and grew up in the area of Thorpe St Andrew. He attended the City of Norwich School from 1955. Trudgill studi ...
, the major regional English accents of modern England can be divided on the basis on the following basic features; the word columns each represent the pronunciation of one italicised word in the sentence "''Very few cars made'' it ''up'' the ''long hill''". Two additional distinguishing features—the absence or presence of a trap-bath split and the realisation of the vowel—are also represented under the "path" and "stone" columns (so that the sentence could be rendered "''Very few cars made'' it ''up'' the ''path'' of the ''long stone hill''").


Southern England

In general, Southern English accents are distinguished from Northern English accents primarily by not using the short a in words such as "bath". In the south-east, the
broad A Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly nav ...
is normally used before a , or : words such as "cast" and "bath" are pronounced rather than . This sometimes occurs before : it is used in "command" and "demand" but not in "brand" or "grand". In the south-west, an sound is used in these words but also in words that take in RP; there is no
trap–bath split The – split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in Southern English in England (including Received Pronunciation), Australian English, New Zealand English, Indian English, South African English and to a lesser extent in some Welsh Engli ...
but both are pronounced with an extended fronted vowel. Bristol is an exception to the bath-broadening rule: it uses in the trap and bath sets, just as is the case in the North and the Midlands. Accents originally from the upper class speech of the
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
triangle are particularly notable as the basis for
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
. Southern English accents have three main historical influences: *London accent,
Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...
in particular *Received Pronunciation *Southern rural accents (such as
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and
East Anglian East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
) Relatively recently, the first two have increasingly influenced southern accents outside London via
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
mobility and the expansion of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. From some time during the 19th century, middle and upper middle classes began to adopt affectations, including the RP accent, associated with the upper class. In the late 20th and 21st century other social changes, such as middle class RP-speakers forming an increasing component of rural communities, have accentuated the spread of RP. The South East coast accents traditionally have several features in common with the West country; for example, rhoticity and the a: sound in words such as ''bath'', ''cast'', etc. However, the younger generation in the area is more likely to be non-rhotic and use the London/East Anglian A: sound in ''bath''. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, about one million Londoners were relocated to
new New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
and expanded towns throughout the south east, bringing with them their distinctive London accent. During the 19th century distinct dialects of English were recorded in Sussex,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
and
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. These dialects are now extinct or nearly extinct due to improved communications and population movements.


South West England

The West Country dialects and accents are the English
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
s and accents used by much of the indigenous population of
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...
, the area popularly known as the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
. This region encompasses
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
,
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
and
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
, while
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
,
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
and
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
are usually also included, although the northern and eastern boundaries of the area are hard to define and sometimes even wider areas are encompassed. The West Country accent is said to reflect the pronunciation of the
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
far better than other modern English Dialects. In the nearby counties of
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
and the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, it was possible to encounter comparable accents and, indeed, distinct local dialects until perhaps the 1960s. There is now limited use of such dialects amongst older people in local areas. Although natives of such locations, especially in western parts, can still have West Country influences in their speech, the increased mobility and
urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...
of the population have meant that local Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight dialects (as opposed to ''accents'') are today essentially extinct. Academically the regional variations are considered to be dialectal forms. The ''
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before loc ...
'' captured manners of speech across the West Country that were just as different from Standard English as anything from the far North. Close proximity has completely different languages such as Cornish, which is a
Celtic language The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
related to
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
, and more closely to
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...
. The
Cornish dialect The Cornish dialect (also known as Cornish English, Cornu-English, kw, Sowsnek Kernowek) is a dialect of English spoken in Cornwall by Cornish people. Dialectal English spoken in Cornwall is to some extent influenced by Cornish grammar, and o ...
of English spoken in
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
by
Cornish people The Cornish people or Cornish ( kw, Kernowyon, ang, Cornƿīelisċ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons ...
is to some extent influenced by Cornish grammar, and often includes words derived from the language.


Norfolk

The Norfolk dialect is spoken in the traditional county of Norfolk and areas of north Suffolk. Famous speakers include Keith Skipper. The group FOND (Friends of Norfolk Dialect) was formed to record the county's dialect and to provide advice for TV companies using the dialect in productions. East Anglian dialect is also spoken in areas of Cambridgeshire. It is characterised by the use of for in FLEECE words.


Midlands

* As in the North, Midlands accents generally do not use a
broad A Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly nav ...
, so that ''cast'' is pronounced rather than the pronunciation of most southern accents. The northern limit of the in many words crosses England from mid-
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
to The Wash, passing just south of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. * Additionally, just like the North, most accents in the Midlands lack the foot–strut split, with words containing like ''strut'' or ''but'' being pronounced with , without any distinction between ''putt'' and ''put''. * The West Midlands English, West Midlands accent is often described as having a pronounced nasal quality, the East Midlands English, East Midlands accent much less so. * ''Old'' and ''cold'' may be pronounced as "owd" and "cowd" (rhyming with "loud" in the West Midlands and "ode" in the East Midlands), and in the northern Midlands ''home'' can become "wom". * Whether Derbyshire should be classed as the West or East Midlands in terms of dialect is debatable. Stanley Ellis (linguist), Stanley Ellis, a dialect expert, said in 1985 that it was more like the West Midlands, but it is often grouped with the East and is part of the Regions of England, region East Midlands. * Cheshire, although part of the North-West region, is usually grouped the Midlands for the purpose of accent and dialect.


West Midlands

* The best known accents in the West Midlands area are the
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
accents (see "Brummie") and the Black Country English, Black Country accent (''Yam Yam''). * There is no Ng-coalescence. Cases of the spelling -ing are pronounced as rather than . Wells noted that there were no exceptions to this rule in Stoke-on-Trent, whereas there were for other areas with the pronunciation, such as Liverpool. * Dialect verbs are used, for example ''am'' for ''are'', ''ay'' for ''is not'' (related to ''ain't''), ''bay'' for ''are not'', ''bin'' for ''am'' or, emphatically, for ''are''. Hence the following joke dialogue about bay windows: "What sort of windas am them?" "They'm bay windas." "Well if they bay windas wot bin them?". There is also humour to be derived from the shop-owner's sign of Mr. "E. A. Wright" (that is, "He ay [isn't] right," a phrase implying someone is ''saft'' [soft] in the ''jed'' [head]). ''Saft'' also may mean silly as in, "Stop bein' so saft". * The Birmingham and Coventry accents are distinct, even though the cities are only 19 miles/30 km apart. Coventry being closer to an East Midlands accent. * Around Stoke-on-Trent, the short ''i'' can sometimes sound rather like ''ee'', as very obvious when hearing a local say ''it'', however this is not always the case as most other words such as "miss" or "tip" are still pronounced as normal. The Potteries dialect, Potteries accent is perhaps the most distinctly 'northern' of the West Midlands accents, given that the urban area around Stoke-on-Trent is close to the Cheshire border. *
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
and parts of Worcestershire and
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
have a rhotic accent somewhat like the West Country, and in some parts mixing with the Welsh accent, particularly when closer to the English/Wales, Welsh border.


East Midlands

* East Midlands English, East Midlands accents are generally Rhotic and non-rhotic accents, non-rhotic, instead drawing out their vowels, resulting in the Midlands Drawl, which can to non-natives be mistaken for dry sarcasm. * The PRICE vowel has a very far back starting-point, and can be realised as . * English consonant-cluster reductions#Yod-dropping, Yod-dropping, as in East Anglia, can be found in some areas, for example ''new'' as , sounding like "noo". * In Lincolnshire, sounds like the ''u'' vowel of words like ''strut'' being realised as may be even shorter than in the North. * In Leicester, words with short vowels such as ''up'' and ''last'' have a northern pronunciation, whereas words with vowels such as ''down'' and ''road'' sound rather more like a south-eastern accent. The vowel sound at the end of words like ''border'' (and the name of the city) is also a distinctive feature. * Lincolnshire also has a marked north–south split in terms of accent. The north (around Grimsby and Scunthorpe) shares many features with Yorkshire, such as the open ''a'' sound in "car" and "park" or the replacement of ''take'' and ''make'' with ''tek'' and ''mek''. The south of Lincolnshire is close to Received Pronunciation, although it still has a short Northern a in words such as ''bath''. Accents in the north of the county are often classified as a form of Yorkshire dialect, Yorkshire, influenced by Kingston upon Hull, Hull, Doncaster and Sheffield. * Mixing of the words ''was'' and ''were'' when the other is used in Standard English. * In
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, crossed by the North-South isogloss, residents of the north of the county have an accent similar to that of Leicestershire and those in the south an accent similar to rural
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
. * The town of
Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the built-up ...
in northern
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
has an accent with some originally Scottish features, apparently due to immigration of Scottish steelworkers. It is common in Corby for the GOAT set of words to be pronounced with . This pronunciation is used across Scotland and most of Northern England, but Corby is alone in the Midlands in using it.


Northern England

There are several accent features which are common to most of the accents of northern England. * Northern English tends not to have (''strut'', ''but'', etc.) as a separate vowel. Most words that have this vowel in RP are pronounced with in Northern accents, so that ''put'' and ''putt'' are homophonous as . But some words with in RP can have in the more conservative Northern accents, so that a pair like ''luck'' and ''look'' may be distinguished as and . * The accents of Northern England generally do not use a . so ''cast'' is pronounced rather than the pronunciation of most southern accents. This pronunciation is found in the words that were affected by the
trap–bath split The – split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in Southern English in England (including Received Pronunciation), Australian English, New Zealand English, Indian English, South African English and to a lesser extent in some Welsh Engli ...
. * For many speakers, the remaining instances of RP instead becomes : for example, in the words ''palm, cart, start, tomato''. * The vowel in ''dress, test, pet'', etc. is slightly more open, transcribed by Wells as rather than . * The "short ''a''" vowel of ''cat, trap'' is normally pronounced rather than the found in traditional Received Pronunciation and in many forms of American English. * In most areas, the letter ''y'' on the end of words as in ''happy'' or ''city'' is pronounced , like the ''i'' in ''bit'', and not . This was considered RP until the 1990s. The longer is found in the far north and in the Merseyside area. * The phonemes (as in ''face'') and (as in ''goat'') are often pronounced as monophthongs (such as and ). However, the quality of these vowels varies considerably across the region, and this is considered a greater indicator of a speaker's social class than the less stigmatised aspects listed above. Some dialect words used across the North are listed in extended editions of the Oxford Dictionary with a marker "North England": for example, the words ''ginnell'' and ''snicket'' for specific types of alleyway, the word ''fettle'' for to organise, or the use of ''while'' to mean ''until''. The best-known Northern words are ''nowt'', ''owt'' and ''summat'', which are included in most dictionaries. For more localised features, see the following sections. The "Northern subject rule, present historical" is named after the speech of the region, but it is often used in many working class dialects in the south of England too. Instead of saying "I ''said'' to him", users of the rule would say, "I ''says'' to him". Instead of saying, "I ''went'' up there", they would say, "I ''goes'' up there." In the far north of England, the local speech is indistinguishable from Scots. Wells said that northernmost Northumberland "though politically English is linguistically Scottish".


Liverpool (Scouse)

The Liverpool accent, known as Scouse colloquially, is quite different from the accent of surrounding Lancashire. This is because Liverpool has had many immigrants in recent centuries, particularly of Irish people. Irish influences on Scouse speech include the pronunciation of unstressed 'my' as 'me', and the pronunciation of 'th' sounds like 't' or 'd' (although they remain distinct as dental ). Other features include the pronunciation of non-initial as , and the pronunciation of 'r' as a tap .


Yorkshire

''Wuthering Heights'' is one of the few classic works of English literature to contain a substantial amount of dialect. Set in Haworth, the servant Joseph speaks in the traditional dialect of the area, which many modern readers struggle to understand. This dialect was still spoken around Haworth until the late 1970s, but there is now only a minority of it still in everyday use. The old dialect is mainly encountered in Skipton, Otley, Settle, North Yorkshire, Settle, or similar places where older farmers from deep in the dales live. Examples of differences from RP in Yorkshire pronunciation include, but are not limited to: *H-dropping *, , and are often replaced with a glottal stop, *the in ''hearing'' and ''eating'' is often changed to , though can be heard in Sheffield


Teesside

The accents for Teesside, usually known as Smoggy, are sometimes grouped with Yorkshire and sometimes grouped with the North-East of England, for they share characteristics with both. As this urban area grew in the early 20th century, there are fewer dialect words that date back to older forms of English; Teesside speak is the sort of modern dialect that Peter Trudgill identified in his "The Dialects of England". There is a Lower Tees Dialect group. A recent study found that most people from Middlesbrough do not consider their accent to be "Yorkshire", but that they are less hostile to being grouped with Yorkshire than to being grouped with the Geordie accent. Intriguingly, speakers from Middlesbrough are occasionally mistaken for speakers from
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
as they share many of the same characteristics. It is thought the occasional similarities between the Middlesbrough and Liverpool accent may be due to the high number of Irish migration to both areas during the late 1900s in fact the 1871 census showed Middlesbrough had the second highest proportion of people from Ireland after Liverpool. Some examples of traits that are shared with [most parts of] Yorkshire include: * ''H''-dropping. * An sound in words such as ''start, car, park'', etc. * In common with the east coast of Yorkshire, words such as ''bird, first, nurse'', etc. have an sound. It can be written as, ''baird, fairst, nairse'. [This vowel sound also occurs in Liverpool and Birkenhead]. Examples of traits shared with the North-East include: * Absence of definite article reduction. * Glottal stops for , and can all occur. The vowel in "goat" is an sound, as is found in both Durham and rural North Yorkshire. In common with this area of the country, Middlesbrough is a non-rhotic accent. The vowel in "face" is pronounced as , as is commonplace in the North-East of England.


Lancashire


Cumbria

* People from the Furness peninsula in south Cumbria tend to have a more Lancashire-orientated accent, whilst the dialect of Barrow-in-Furness itself is a result of migration from the likes of Strathclyde and Tyneside. Barrow grew on the shipbuilding industry during the 19th and 20th centuries, and many families moved from these already well established shipbuilding towns to seek employment in Barrow.


North East England

*Dialects in this region are often known as Geordie (for speakers from the Newcastle upon Tyne area) or Mackem (for speakers from the Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland area). The dialects across the region are broadly similar however some differences do exist. For example, with words ending -re/-er, such as culture and father, the end syllable is pronounced by a Newcastle native as a short 'a', such as in 'fat' and 'back', therefore producing "cultcha" and "fatha" for "culture" and "father" respectively. The Sunderland area would pronounce the syllable much more closely to that of other accents. Similarly, Geordies pronounce "make" in line with standard English: to rhyme with take. However, a Mackem would pronounce "make" to rhyme with "mack" or "tack" (hence the origin of the term Mackem). For other differences, see the respective articles. For an explanation of the traditional dialects of the mining areas of County Durham and Northumberland see Pitmatic. * A feature of the North East accent, shared with Scots and Irish English, is the pronunciation of the consonant cluster ''-lm'' in coda position. As an example, "film" is pronounced as "fillum". Another of these features which are shared with Scots is the use of the word 'Aye', pronounced like 'I', its meaning is yes.


Examples of accents used by public figures

*
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
(RP): Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II's accent changed slightly over the years but she still spoke a conservative form of RP until the end of her life. Margaret Thatcher, Tony Benn and Noël Coward are examples of old-fashioned RP speakers, whereas David Cameron, Boris Johnson, John Cleese and David Dimbleby are examples of contemporary RP. *
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
(a southern rural accent): poet Pam Ayres is from Stanford in the Vale, which belonged to Berkshire until the boundary changes of 1974. *Derby: actor Jack O'Connell (actor), Jack O'Connell. *
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
(Estuary English, Estuary): very strongly noticeable in YouTuber LukeIsNotSexy. Emma Blackery used to speak in a more regionally Essex dialect, but as of early 2018 has mostly transitioned into Modern RP, with subtle Americanization. *
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
(a southern rural accent): the late John Arlott, sports presenter and gardener Charlie Dimmock. *Hertfordshire: comedian and writer Robert Newman (comedian), Robert Newman *
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
: TV personality Fred Dibnah, comedian Peter Kay, McFly singer and guitarist Danny Jones and BBC Radio 1 DJ Vernon Kay as well as Bernard Wrigley have degrees of broad Bolton accents. The actress, Michelle Holmes, has a Rochdale accent, which is similar to the western fringe of Yorkshire and she has featured mostly in Yorkshire dramas. Julie Hesmondhalgh, Vicky Entwistle and Julia Haworth, actresses in the soap opera Coronation Street, have East Lancashire accents which have a slightly different intonation and rhythm and also feature variable rhoticity in English, rhoticity. *Leicester: The band Kasabian have Leicester accents. *
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
: old recordings by Petula Clark, Julie Andrews, the Rolling Stones, and The Who (although many of these contain affected patterns). For clear examples, see actor Stanley Holloway (Eliza Doolittle's father in ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
''), or football (soccer), footballer David Beckham. **
Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...
: the actors Bob Hoskins, Michael Caine. Ray Winstone have quite an old-fashioned Cockney accent, and his replacement of an initial with a has been stigmatised. More examples can be heard in the movies ''Snatch (movie), Snatch'' and ''Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels''. The Sex Pistols had Cockney accents, with Steve Jones (musician), Steve Jones having the strongest. **Mockney: used by Guy Ritchie and many musicians, it is a variant of the London regional accent characterised by a non-standard mixture of linguistic and
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
characteristics. **West London: the journalist Janet Street Porter. **Estuary English, Estuary: athlete Sally Gunnell, the model Jordan (model), Jordan (Katie Price). *Manchester: Oasis (band), Oasis members Liam Gallagher, Liam and Noel Gallagher, Herman's Hermits, actor Dominic Monaghan, broadcaster/podcaster Karl Pilkington, physicist Brian Cox (physicist), musician Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones (The Monkees). *Merseyside (Scouse) **
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
: Liverpool footballers Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are often cited as having particularly strong scouse accents. Recordings by The Beatles (George Harrison's accent was the strongest of the four), Gerry & The Pacemakers, Echo and the Bunnymen. Also the singer Cilla Black and the actors Craig Charles and Ricky Tomlinson. The British soap Brookside (television programme), Brookside was set in Liverpool so the majority of the cast, including Philip Olivier and Jennifer Ellison, had scouse accents. **St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens: Comedian Johnny Vegas. The comedy band The Lancashire Hotpots (band), the Lancashire Hotpots sing in a traditional rhotic St Helens accent. **The Wirral: Comedian and TV presenter Paul O'Grady alias Lily Savage is from Birkenhead, pop singer Pete Burns of Dead or Alive (band), Dead or Alive is from the model village Port Sunlight. *Nottingham: boxer Carl Froch. *Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford: actor Christopher Eccleston, bands Happy Mondays and New Order (band), New Order. *Stoke-on-Trent or The Potteries: pop star Robbie Williams, TV presenter Anthea Turner, ex pop star and TV presenter Jonathan Wilkes. *Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland (Mackem): the accent of the rock group The Futureheads is easily detected on recordings and live performances and ex-footballer Chris Waddle. *Tyneside (Geordie): former Cabinet members Alan Milburn MP and Nick Brown MP, the actors Robson Green and Tim Healy (actor), Tim Healy, the footballer Alan Shearer, actor and singer Jimmy Nail, rock singer Brian Johnson, singer Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, television personalities Ant and Dec, Donna Air and Jayne Middlemiss. *
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
: The Vicar of Dibley was set in Oxfordshire, and many of the characters had West Country accents. **
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
: Professor Colin Pillinger of the Beagle 2 project, comedy writer, actor, radio DJ and director Stephen Merchant. Presenter and Comedian Justin Lee Collins. **
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
: Laurie Lee, ruralist *West Midlands (county), West Midlands: Phil Drabble, presenter of ''One Man and His Dog''. **
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
(Brummie): the rock musician Ozzy Osbourne (although he sometimes Americanises his speech), Jasper Carrott and Rob Halford. See Brummie for more examples. **Coventry: the actor Clive Owen, in the films ''Sin City (film), Sin City'' and ''King Arthur (2004 film), King Arthur''. Singer-songwriter Terry Hall (singer), Terry Hall, lead vocalist with The Specials. *Yorkshire: **Barnsley: in the 1969 film ''Kes (film), Kes'', the lead characters, David (Dai) Bradley, David Bradley and Freddie Fletcher, both have very broad Barnsley accents, which are less likely to be heard nowadays. Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly (actress), Katherine Kelly, Sam Nixon from Pop Idol 2003, Top of the Pops Saturday and Reloaded and Level Up also has a Barnsley accent. Also, chat show host Michael Parkinson and ex-union leader Arthur Scargill have slightly reduced Barnsley accents. **
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
: singers Gareth Gates, Zayn Malik of One Direction and Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud. In ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'', Bob has a Bradford accent whilst Rita and Sue sound more like Lancashire. **Hemsworth: cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has an accent similar to those found in many old coal-mining towns **Holme Valley: Actors Peter Sallis and Bill Owen (actor), Bill Owen of ''Last of the Summer Wine'' and Sallis in ''Wallace and Gromit'' (although Sallis and Owen themselves were both Londoners) **Kingston upon Hull, Hull: Actors Tom Courtenay and Reece Shearsmith, and singer-songwriter Paul Heaton. **Leeds: Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls and Beverley Callard who plays Liz McDonald in Coronation Street, singer Corinne Bailey Rae, the band Kaiser Chiefs, model Nell McAndrew, actress Angela Griffin, Radio DJ Chris Moyles, Comedian Leigh Francis alias Keith Lemon **Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough: the film ''Little Voice (film), Little Voice'' **Sheffield: Ken Loach's 1977 film ''The Price of Coal'' was filmed almost entirely in the traditional dialect of the Sheffield-Rotherham area, but this variety of speech is receding. For examples of less marked Sheffield speech, see Sean Bean, the band ''Pulp (band), Pulp'', the film ''The Full Monty'' and the band Arctic Monkeys. **Humberside, South Humber: former England national football team, England manager Graham Taylor and motorcycle racer Guy Martin. **
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
, singer and actress Jane McDonald, Hollyoaks actress Claire Cooper, actor Reece Dinsdale, Coronation Street Helen Worth, the band the Cribs


Regional English accents in the media

''The Archers'' has had characters with a variety of different West Country accents (see Mummerset). The shows of Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement have often included a variety of regional accents, the most notable being ''Auf Wiedersehen Pet'' about Geordie men in Germany. ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'' featured London and Cumberland accents, and ''The Likely Lads'' featured north east England. The programmes of Carla Lane such as ''The Liver Birds'' and ''Bread (television series), Bread'' featured Scouse accents. In the 2005 version of the science fiction programme ''Doctor Who'', various Londoners wonder why the Doctor (Doctor Who), Doctor (Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston), an alien, sounds as if he comes from the North. Eccleston used his own Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford accent in the role; the Doctor's usual response is "Lots of planets have a North!" Other accents in the same series include Cockney (used by actress Billie Piper) and Estuary (used by actress Catherine Tate). A television reality programme ''Rock School'' was set in Suffolk in its second series, providing lots of examples of the Suffolk dialect.


See also

*American and British English differences *England#Language, Languages of England *Linguistic purism in English *Regional accents of English speakers


Notes


References

* * McArthur, Tom (2002). ''Oxford Guide to World English''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. hardback, paperback. * Peters, Pam (2004). ''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * * * * * *


Further reading

* Partridge, A. C. (1969). ''Tudor to Augustan English: a Study in Syntax and Style, from Caxton to Johnson'', in series, ''The Language Library''. London: A. Deutsch. 242 p. SBN 233-96092-9


External links


IANA language tag for eng-GB-oed

British National Corpus
(Official website for the BNC.)
English Accents and Dialects
searchable free-access archive of 681 English English speech samples, wma format with linguistic commentary including phonetic transcriptions in X-SAMPA, British Librar
Collect Britain
website.

* . (Advocates ''-ise'' spellings.)
For the Yorkshire dialect
{{DEFAULTSORT:English Language in England English language in England, Languages of England