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Britain:
Northern England
Map
North and Midlands
The region of England from the middle of the country north to the border with Scotland has a plethora of accents with many distinguishing features: some they share and others that mark them out from their neighbours.
Northern English accents are usually divided into Yorkshire, Northeast and Northwest.
Most speakers in these regions lack both the FOOT-STRUT and TRAP-BATH splits, which spread throughout the south of England.
The FOOT-STRUT split happened during the 17th century and was carried across to the North American colonies.
The TRAP-BATH split happened in the late 18th/early 19th centuries and made it across to the colonies in the southern hemisphere.
Lacking TRAP-BATH and FOOT-STRUT splits
Northeast English accents
Northeast English accents include Geordie (Newcastle/Tyneside), Mackem (Sunderland), Northumbrian (Northumberland and County Durham), Smoggie (Teesside), and Pitmatic (Great Northern Coalfield).
Keeping the /h/
Glottal reinforcement
Accent vs. Dialect
Northeast English accents
Yorkshire accents
Yorkshire accents cover a wide range of regional varieties, including West Yorkshire (Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield), South Yorkshire (Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley), East Yorkshire (Hull and the Holderness area), and North Yorkshire (York, Harrogate, Whitby). Each has its own distinct vowel qualities, rhythm, and intonation, often grouped loosely under the label “Yorkshire”.
'Ast 'eard o' t'
Definite Article Reduction?
Yorkshire varieties & the winds of constant change
'Appen there's a lorra features of Yorkshire accents
Yorkshire
Northwest English
Northwest English accents
Northwest English accents include Mancunian (Manchester), Scouse (Liverpool), Lancastrian (Lancashire towns and rural areas), Cumbrian (Cumbria), and Merseyside varieties beyond Liverpool itself (such as Wirral and St Helens), each with distinct phonetic features despite their close geographic proximity. Notably, there is also a small area in Lancashire where near-extinct rhoticity can still be heard, making it one of the last places in the north of England where post-vocalic /r/ survives.
Manchester vs. Liverpool: Spot the differences
Manchester vs. Liverpool (an accent feature comparison)
The many types of /t/ in Liverpool accents
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