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British Accents

Northern English

Scottish

Received Pronunciation

Standard Southern British English

Midlands

Southeast English

Welsh

Southwest English

Map
British-RP

British RP accents

RP is the accent traditionally heard in British newsreading and formal public speech. It isn’t tied to any specific place, but it’s long been linked to education and social status.

TRAP-BATH split

Non-rhoticity (only pronounce /r/ when it's followed by a vowel sound)

There is no /r/-colouring

Modern British RP (a.k.a. SSBE) accents

A modern alternative to RP, Southern Standard British English is the model described in the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association.

Description

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Description

for Video 1

Description

for Video 1

SSBE

Scottish accents

Although it's a small country with not many more than 5 million people, Scotland has many regional accents alongside the 3 native languages spoken there (Scottish English, Scots, and Gaelic).
The accents in this region include Central: Glaswegian (Glasgow), Edinburgh, Fife, Stirling, Perthshire; Northeast: Aberdonian/Doric (Aberdeen), Dundonian (Dundee), Ayrshire; Highlands: Invernesian (Inverness); Insular: Orcadian (Orkney Is.), Shetlandic; Southern: Borders, Dumfries & Galloway 

Scottish Vowel Length Rule

Svarabakhti: that wee vowel that pops up

"Dark" versus "light" /l/

Scottish

Northern and Midlands English accents

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 Northeast and Northwest.
Midlands accents are usually divided into West Midlands and East Midlands
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

Northern English

Northeast English accents

Northeast English accents include Newcastle (Geordie)/Tyneside, Sunderland (Mackem), Northumberland, and Pitmatic.

Keeping the /h/

Glottal reinforcement

Accent vs. Dialect

Northeast English

Coming Soon

Other British accent regions are coming soon.
I'm creating videos and posting them to social media almost every day!

Coming Soon
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