The United Kingdom, relatively speaking, is a small country. To put it into context, you can fit
the whole of the UK inside the United States around 40 times. Yet, despite being a pretty
small island, we boast a vast array of accents and dialects. You could have a cup of tea in
Liverpool and hear this accent… then jump in the car, drive an hour East to have a pint in a pub
in Manchester, and hear this accent. So, why is this the case? To understand why there are so many
different accents within this small nation, we first need to go back to the history classroom.
On the way if you just make sure to subscribe and give this video a link…that would be grand, ta.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath in
and picture the scene, as we go back through over 1000 years of British history… Eurgh,
it’s actually probably best not to picture the scene in too much detail, the UK back
in the day wasn’t the prettiest of sights! A lot of blood, personal hygiene definitely
wasn’t the best… and ….well… chamber pots…. Anyway! Let’s start in 55 BC when the island we
now call the UK was first invaded by the Romans. From this point on, over a period of 1000 years,
Britain faced continuous waves of bloody battles and invasions. After the Romans’ departure,
along came the Anglo-Saxons who were then followed by the notoriously fierce
Vikings. But why does this have anything to do with the number of accents present in the UK
today? Well, these invaders not only brought with them their cuisine, sense of fashion, (thanks for
the sweet helmets Vikings!) and architecture, they also brought their own language, which went
on to shape the English language forever. Let’s look at place names as an example.
When the Danes invaded in the 8th century, they mostly settled in the north of England,
in places such as Derby, Wetherby, Selby…. What do these places have in common? They
end with the typical Danish suffix -by, which means farmhouse or village. Another interesting
example is ManCHESTER and LanCASTER. The suffixes -chester & - caster comes from the latin word
‘ceaster’ meaning “encampment”, an example of Roman influence in the UK.
However, the prefixes “man” and “lan” both derive from Celtic words (the Celts inhabited the UK
long before the Romans invaded). “Man” comes from the word, “mamm”, meaning “breastlike hill”
and “lan” which probably came from the naming of the river “Lune” meaning “healthy and pure”.
Throughout the long history of the UK, accents and dialects mostly evolved in isolation. The general
population didn’t have the option to buy a flight for a tenner to go to the Canary Islands on their
holidays, so accents and dialects became more exaggerated and distinct over a period of time.
Things couldn’t be more different today, we are living in the height
of international travel. So, are accents and dialects as varied as they were in the past?
Before we look into the situation today, it’s important to understand the difference between
an accent and a dialect. An accent refers to pronunciation. For example,
people in the south of England say “bath” whereas people in the north pronounce this word with a
shortened vowel sound, “bath”. Dialects on the other hand, refer to grammar and vocabulary. You
just need to look at a bread roll to see how dialects can vary from region to region. Is
it a bread roll, a cob, a stottie, bun or a barm cake!? Well, it all depends on where you’re from!
As we’ve already seen, accents and dialects developed in the past when the population
generally stayed in their birthplace throughout their whole lifetime. In the modern-day UK
however, there are increasingly high levels of domestic migration as young people leave their
hometowns and move across the country to study or work. How does this migration affect the way
people speak? It’s generally agreed that when it comes to the migration of people,
one of two things may happen. A person might end up softening their regional accent, this may
be an unintentional shift as they naturally tend to imitate other people’s accents. Or
they might intentionally change their accent as a result of the continuing
accent discrimination that still felt today. On the other side of the coin,
people might hold on to or even exaggerate their regional accent in a new place as they
want to differentiate themselves from others and strengthen their ties to their home identity.
For more information on British accents, I have a Free PDF guide
to sounding British for you to download, plus I offer a comprehensive pronunciation course
and assessment for anyone interested in mastering Received Pronunciation, but more about that later.
So, are we seeing the end of regional British accents? Well,
the jury’s out. Although we definitely imitate those around us, for example we often see
British stars move to LA and start speaking with an American twang, I’m looking at you
Harry Styles, overall, accents and dialects from different regions of the UK are still
just as prominent as they’ve ever been. However, many studies over the last few decades highlight
increasing social and geographical mobility as a threat to regional accents and dialects.
Even if we are seeing the demise of British accents and dialects, it’s definitely
taking a little longer than linguists predicted. It seems that people generally continue to be
proud of their roots and use language as a way to develop their sense of identity
in the world. In fact, for some, accents and dialects are more celebrated than ever!
You just need to look at the BBC whose presenters historically used Received Pronunciation,
an accent which was supposedly non-regional and originated from the British private school system,
now employ presenters with a range of regional accents.
So, the next time you visit the UK, why not learn more about the unique phrases,
vocabulary and sounds as you travel around this linguistically diverse island.
I highlighted some key vocabulary and phrases in this video. Did you spot
all of them? Let’s have a look in more detail: * (an) array (of) - “Array” means a large group
of people or things. “The UK boasts a vast array of accents and dialects.”
* To derive from - The phrasal verb “derive from” means to come from something. “The suffix
-chester derives from the latin word, castrum.” * Inhabit - “Inhabit” is a way to say “to live
in a place”. “The Celts have inhabited the UK for thousands of years.”
* Tenner - A tenner, is a slang word for “10 pounds”. “I got a flight to
the Canary Islands for a tenner!” * “The jury’s out” - The jury’s
out is a phrase which means a decision has not yet been made on a particular subject.
* Twang - a ”twang” means to speak in a distinctive manner in relation to pronunciation.
“He speaks with an American twang”. * Roots - “roots” are the underground part
of the plant which searches for nutrition. It also refers to the origin of something.
“People are proud of their roots.”
I hope you have enjoyed today’s video! Please share your experience of accents and dialects in the comment
section below and why not try practicing some of the vocabulary we’ve seen in today’s video!
If you would like to learn more about our pronunciation course or assessment
head over to englishlikeanative.co.uk and help yourself to my free sounding British guide,
simply click on the link below, sign up for my mailing list and I will email it to you.
Thanks for watching. Until next time take care and goodbye!