English Accents From The UK

English Accents From The UK

The Uk is a small place in comparison to many other places in the world but it is so unique because there are so many English accents from the UK. You can travel about 30 miles and the accent will change and it’s sometimes to the point where it is difficult for even locals to understand. All of Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales have their own accents and today we want to dive into a few of those. 

Scouse

Scose is an accent hailing from Liverpool, Englandl and its surrounding areas. The Irish, Norwegian, and Welsh immigrants who came to Liverpool via the docks profoundly affected the Scouse accent, which is very distinct and has little in common with the accents of its neighboring regions or the rest of England. A broader word for this multiethnic group or Liverpudlians in general is “scouse.” Scouse, a stew consumed by residents and sailors, inspired the accent’s name. There are a wide range of examples of well known celebrities who use this type of English including Taron Edgerton, John Lennon, Steven Gerard, Daniel Craig and many more. I suggest watching clips of them for more insight on the pronunciation etc. 

Glaswegian

Glasgwegian is an English Accent From The Uk used by the people of Glasgow, Scotland and its surrounding areas. The dialect ranges from the regional West Central Scots dialect at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum to Scottish English at the other. As a result, many Glaswegians’ speech can be described as a “continuum between entirely localized and fully standardised.” Due to the speech of the many Highlanders and Irish immigrants who came to the Glasgow area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Glasgow dialect also incorporates Highland English and Hiberno-English influences.

The accent, albeit named for Glasgow, is typical of locals in the entire Greater Glasgow area as well as nearby counties including Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire, and some of Ayrshire, which were historically under the sole control of Strathclyde. Working class people are most likely to experience it, which can cause stigma from people from other classes or outside of Glasgow. Some famous speakers include Billy Boyd, Andy Murray, Billy Connoly, Kenny Dalgleish, Lewis Capaldi and many more. 

Geordie

The term “Geordie” refers to both a person from the Tyneside region of North East England and the dialect spoken there, often known as Tyneside English or Newcastle English in linguistics. What characterizes a Geordie is subject to interpretation. The phrase is currently and has always been used to describe individuals from the North East. A Geordie can also be a local of Tyneside, particularly Newcastle upon Tyne, and its environs.

Not everyone from England’s North East considers themselves to be a Geordie. Geordie is a continuation and evolution of the Anglo-Saxon language, which the ancient Brythons first used to combat the Pictish invaders after Roman rule in Britain ended in the fifth century. Through later migration from tribal homelands around the northern coast of continental Europe, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who had come came to dominate the native British in terms of politics and culture. Old English was the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that arose during the Dark Ages. These dialects varied slightly in phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. Due to this grammatical conservatism, poetry by the Venerable Bede, an Anglo-Saxon scholar, transfer better into Geordie than into Standard English. Some famous speakers include Alan Shearer, Rowan Atkinson, Cheryl Cole and many more. 

Northern Irish

The majority of the Irish province of Ulster and all of Northern Ireland speak Ulster English, also known as Northern Hiberno-English or Northern Irish English (Ulster Scots: Ulstèr Inglish; Irish: Béarla Ultach). The Ulster Irish and Scots languages, the latter of which was introduced by Scottish settlers during the Plantation of Ulster and later settlements throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, have both had an influence on the dialect.The two main varieties of Ulster English are Mid-Ulster English, which is the most common, and Ulster Scots English, which is used extensively in northern County Antrim and is on a par with Scots. Between Mid-Ulster English and Hiberno-English, Southern Ulster English is a transitional dialect. Some famous northern Irish speakers include Liam Neeson, George Best, Jamie Dornan, Van Morrison and many more. 

Cockney

Cockney is a regional English accent from the uk and dialect that is mostly used by working-class and lower-middle class Londoners. Although it most frequently refers to speakers of the accent/dialect from all across London, the word “Cockney” has historically been used to denote people from the East End or born within sound of Bow Bells. Between Cockney and Received Pronunciation, Estuary English is a common accent in and around London as well as throughout larger southeastern England. The Cockney dialect is being partially supplanted in multicultural parts of London by Multicultural London English, a new dialect-influenced speech pattern. Famous speakers include Danny Dyer, Adele, Steve Harris, Bob Hoskins and more. As you can see, there are many English Accents from the UK and we have barely scratched the surface.