Learning accents in English can be very interesting. Have you ever heard different accents in conversational English? If not, get on a plane and travel overseas, you’ll meet tons of people who speak differently to you! It’s fascinating to have a conversation with someone who pronounces words in a unique way, it makes you realize how big the world actually is, and will help you learn English fluently. Today we will be testing our vocal cords by learning about the variety of accents that exist, where they are from, and how they came about.
Different Types of Accents in English: the British Isles
RP accent (Received Pronunciation)
Whenever you think of one of the standard English accents, this will be the accent that comes to mind. Also known as BBC English, Oxford English, and The Queen’s English, it is commonly associated with the upper class of England. These accents are showcased in the popular Tv shows Bridgerton and Downtown Abbey, which are both based on wealthy families. The one characteristic of the Received Pronunciation accent which stands out is that any ‘r’ at the end of a word is cut, meaning ‘mother’ would be pronounced ‘muh-thuh’. The cutting of the ‘r’ indicates the accent is non-rhotic, therefore the ‘r’ will be cut unless it precedes a vowel. Below is the trailer for one of Netflix’s most popular shows, let’s open our ears and hear how they speak.
Geordie accent
This accent is based in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and the surrounding area, which is also called Tyneside. The Geordie accent was created by the Angles, who were travelers that settled in the North East of England and came from Denmark and Northern Germany. People that speak English with this accent are also referred to as ‘Geordies’. This English dialect has a large amount of British slang in it, which can be tricky to understand! Watch this video below to get an understanding of how this accent sounds and the slang it involves.
Brummie accent
Have you come across a show called Peaky Blinders on Netflix? Well if you’ve watched the series or even just the trailer, you would’ve gotten a taste of this relatively monotone accent. The Brummie accent comes from Birmingham, which is one of the most popular cities in England and has quite a negative connotation around it, possibly due to its dull and unenthusiastic vocal nature. The most prominent factor of this accent is the way their vowels are said, it is quite unique. Let’s listen to one of the most famous people from Birmingham, Ozzy Osbourne, the lead vocalist of Black Sabbath.
Cockney accent
England has many different accents, depending on which city you are in, this English accent is most common among working-class Londoners. The word Cockney is frequently used to refer to someone from London, especially if they come from the East End. The term was derived from the word “cokenay”, which means “Cocks’ egg”… We all know that a rooster does not lay eggs, so is therefore imaginary and implies that the egg is not of a high -quality. This negative connotation developed into the saying “cockered child”, which suggests that a child is spoilt and pampered, and then once again changed into a cynical expression to describe a small or weak town resident.
A unique element of this accent is something called Rhyming slang. There are many theories about how this way of speaking came about in the mid-nineteenth century, most of them pointing to salesmen and criminals. “Apples and pears” mean stairs and “bees and honey” mean money, it’s rather confusing but here are some examples for you!
Yorkshire accent
A dialect which can be traced back to the North of England, this accent was relatively influenced by the Vikings. It is said to be the one accent that has the most remains of old English compared to all the others. Examples of the Yorkshire dialect can be found in literature such as Charles Dickens’ novel Nicholas Nickleby and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. You may be wondering if English is hard to learn, and yes it can be tricky, but this specific accent is one of the hardest to grasp. Sayings such as “’Ow Do”, “nowt” and “butty” are extremely common and have different meanings than you would expect. Click on this video to hear some of these phrases!
Lancashire accent
Also referred to as “Lanky”, this area of England is well known for its poetry written in the Lancashire dialect. Poems with forgotten “lanky” phrases had been discovered a few years ago and were written about the period of the cotton famine that occurred from 1861 to 1865. It is fascinating how so many people express their lives through poetry, and to see how much the English language has changed since that era.
The different areas, and their accents, of Lancashire are affected by their neighbouring counties. If you had to venture out towards Manchester the chime of the dialect would differ from a suburb closer to Cumbria. Here is a video to break down the accent and its phrases.
Essex accent
An English dialect that isn’t spoken much, due to the rapid urbanization of Londoners and being stamped out by the BBC as well as the schooling system. This way of conversing is somewhat rare these days, therefore it is quite identifiable. The grammar is rather shocking if you ask me, so it makes sense that the schooling system booted it! Instead of saying threw, Essex people would say throwed… I told you it is absolutely horrendous, and don’t even get me started on the pronouns! Get ready for a little giggle with this Essex man who explains his accent.
Irish accent
The Irish accent is just as strong as their alcohol! This extremely distinct dialect has been voted one of the sexiest accents in English, in the world, but the sound will vary depending on which of the 32 counties you are in. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, was heavily influenced by England, so it isn’t as strong as other regions. One of the most common sayings is “Acting the maggot” which translates to “Up to no good”, “I’m wrecked” which means “I’m very tired” and “That’s gas” which stands for “That’s SO funny”. There are too many different counties to explain but have a glance at this summary of the Irish dialect.
Scottish accent
The standardized variety is called Standard Scottish English, which the school system uses as a norm, as well as professionals. This dialect emphasizes its “r’s” with a melodic trill, which is a rolling of your “r” and can be found in languages such as Spanish or Afrikaans. It can be a tricky pronunciation to learn, as your tongue will need to move at the speed of light against your palette and the back of your teeth… We believe in you though! If you’ve never heard someone rolling an “r”, here’s a famous actor James McAvoy who acts in the psychological horror film Spilt.
Welsh accent
The factor that differentiates this dialect is its musical intonation, according to a language expert named Dr. Rod Walters. Welsh is actually classified as its own language, but at the beginning of the 20th century, this unique language started to fade, as schools were almost completely teaching English. This shift added another dialect to the long list of accents in English around the world. In recent years, Welsh has made a comeback and more people are able to speak their native tongue. The Welsh accent is mostly extracted from non-rhotic Southern English. They stress their vowels unlike any other accent and speak with a large variety of pitches.
Different Types of Accents in English: America
General American accent
Initially, there was no difference between American English and British English, but during the American revolution, in the 18th century, the Britons began to convert to non-rhotic speech. Immigrants from all over the world had an influence on how America’s culture and language developed. The Northeast of America is the most British accent you will find, it is original but has the habit of lengthening the “a” in words such as yard and bath. Within America, you will find an enormous amount of accents across the 50 states. The most popular accents are from: New York, Southern, Californian, Bostonian, and local Hawaiian.
Southern accent
Are Ya’ll enjoying this article so far? Ya’ll is an extremely southern term, which is not exclusive to certain states. This twangy accent spreads across the south, but has a slight impact on an area in California and trickles into some Eastern states. It is based on the received pronunciation of English from Britain, but has a negative reputation for sounding improper, which is ironic! This accent is often associated with the terms “redneck” or “hillbilly”. A famous movie called Forest Gump is based in Alabama, which is one of the Southern states. Listen to the video below and see what you think!
Valley Girl accent
The most popular example of this accent is the character Cher Horowitz, played by Alicia Silverstone, from the movie Clueless. It is known for its high-pitched and dragged-out words and is believed to have originated from young wealthy women in Los Angeles. Another example is from the TV comedy series Square Pegs by Tracy Nelson. The stress of the high-pitched words makes statements sound like questions, and can come across as rather ‘blonde’. It is so distinct that Emilia Clarke used it as a disguise to go buy an air-conditioning unit, ha!
Canadian accent
This dialect is a complete mixed breed! It has a bit of American and British English, along with its own special attributes. People from across the globe might struggle to differentiate this accent from the standard American accent, but that will deeply offend the Canadians, who have tried so hard to separate themselves from the association to the US. Much like other large countries, Canada has a variety of accents depending on where you are. Canadians sound out their vowels and start words with a slightly higher pitch than the general American accent.
Different Types of Accents in English: Australia and New Zealand
Australian accent
The Aussies derived their accent from British and Irish English, therefore it is non-rhotic. The dialect is quite standardized across the land of the kangaroos, with such slight differences that you wouldn’t really notice. You can’t count on an Australian to pronounce your name correctly if it has a ‘t’ in it, as they naturally delete it from their speech, or they will swap the ‘t’ sound for a ‘d’ sound. This is rather confusing as a non-native and is difficult to get the hang of!
New Zealand accent
Travelers from Australia and Southern England have the greatest impression on the evolution of New Zealander English. The other main language of this beautiful country is the Māori language, which is an Eastern Polynesian language. The mix of these 3 cultures created a very unique sound, resulting in a fast-paced, tricky, and flat-sounding dialect. Keep in mind that Kiwis are some of the friendliest people, so don’t be afraid to ask them to explain what they mean!
FAQs for Accents in English
With a world as large as ours it makes sense that there are a total of 160 English dialects, that’s an insane amount of English variations! We have only mentioned a few in this article, here is a list of some others:
-South African English
-Burmese English
-Fiji English
-Cayman Islands English
-Jamaican English
-Chinese English
It is a tough competition between the Scottish, British and Irish, but answers vary depending on a person’s perspective. Studies show that you will personally find an accent attractive because of your subconscious assumption concerning its reproductive success of it. Our bodies work in extremely unique ways and are always geared toward creating the best genes possible. For me personally, I’d have to go with Scottish… and maybe it’s only because Gerald Butler is from Scotland!
It isn’t referred to as the Queen’s English for no reason! Received pronunciation is the accent in which the Queen spoke, it is the poshest sounding accent that Britain has, and possibly the world. This accent is most likely the most famous accent there is because almost everyone knows the Queen.
Learn How to Speak Different Accents in English!
If you would like to change the way you currently speak or prepare for an audition, then the best way for you to learn is through listening! Spend time watching Youtube videos, TV shows, and movies with the specific accent you are trying to obtain. Pay close attention to the slang and pronunciation of vowels, as this is the foundation for any language. At AmazingTalker we have teachers from all over the world, so find one from your chosen English accent and learn directly from them!
Good luck, or shall I say “Break a leg”!
