Today we will be discussing how to discern English accents based on region. It is almost frightening how quickly that idea came to me; my mind is becoming adept at selecting incredibly boring things to talk about. It’s probably because I’m reading a book on statistics right now. Imagine how monotonous you have to be to read a book about statistics. Still, I digress.
Apparently, there are a lot of different English accents and they get unnecessarily angry if you confuse them. By they, I mean the Brits, of course. I will only be covering six of these accents today: Geordie, Cockney, Scottish English, West Country, Estuary, and Yorkshire. With each accent, I will give example words/slang and their ridiculous pronunciations along with a few well-known people with each.
Geordie:
Geordie is one of the most well-known and beloved English accents. It typically refers to the dialect of people in Northeast England. Cheryl Cole, a singer lady, is a Geordie. Here is some slang from the Geordies:
bait – food or snack brought to work
wazzock – imbecile or jerk
gan – to go
Here are some example sentences written how they would be pronounced:
Pay me Nan no mind, she’s gannin’ micey. – Don’t mind my Grandmother, she’s going crazy.
Come on, we’ll gan dooon to the pub – We’re going to the pub.
What a funny accent.
Cockney:
Typically spoken in the east end of London. This accent is so weird, they have a translator for it @ cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk. A notable Cockney is Chalie Chaplin. A more infamous version is Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins who apparently butchered it big time. Here are some slang words:
use your loaf – use your head
I’m going up the apples – I’m going upstairs
Oh yeah, Eggsy from the Kingsman series also has this accent. He says bruv a lot which I assume stems from Cockney.
Scottish English:
This infamous accent is one of the hardest to understand. Here are some slang phrases that without translation would be almost impossible to understand:
I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug – I’ll give you a slap on the ear
Black as the Earl of Hell’s Waistcoat (???) – It’s pitch black
And finally, a magnificent stretch:
Mony a mickle maks a muckle! – Saving a small amount soon builds up to a large sum.
Noteworthy runner-ups:
Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs – Don’t try to teach someone something they already know.
We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns – Everyone is equal; we are all God’s children.
Karen Gillan – known for playing Nebula (Guardians of the Galaxy) or Amy Pond (Doctor Who) – has a Scottish English accent.
West Country
This accent is predominantly found east of London, merging with the Welsh border. Hagrid from Harry Potter has an accent similar to West Country. Sometimes they say ‘I be’ instead of ‘I am’.
That’s about it.
Estuary
The Estuary accent can be found in the Midlands, Southeast England, and the North. Russell Brand and Gordon Ramsey both have this accent. That alone should be enough for you to visualize what it sounds like.
Yorkshire
The Yorkshire accent is typically found in the North. They say like ‘int’ for ‘isn’t’ or ‘dint’ for ‘didn’t’. Think of the dwarves in the Hobbit, or Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter.
Yea.
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