View source for English language in England

{{short description|Dialects of British English from England}}
{{pp-move}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox dialect
| name             = English English
| altname          = Anglo-English
| nativename       = English
| states           = [[United Kingdom]]
| region           = [[England]]
| ethnicity        = [[English people]]
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3             = [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
| fam4             = [[North Sea Germanic]]
| fam5             = [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]]
| fam6             = [[Anglic languages|Anglic]]
| fam7             = [[English language|English]]
| fam8             = [[European English]]
| fam9             = [[British English]]
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2        = [[Proto-Germanic]]
| ancestor3        = [[Proto-West Germanic]]
| ancestor4        = [[Proto-English]]
| ancestor5        = [[Old English]]
| ancestor6        = [[Middle English]]
| ancestor7        = [[Early Modern English]]
| ancestor8        = [[Modern English]]
|dia1=[[English language in Northern England]]
| dia2      = [[West Midlands English]]
| dia3      = [[East Midlands English]]
|dia4=[[English language in Southern England]]
| script           = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[English alphabet]])<br />[[Unified English Braille]]
}}
{{IPA notice}} 
{{Culture of England}}
{{English language}}

The [[English language]] spoken and written in [[England]] encompasses a diverse range of accents and dialects. The language forms part of the broader [[British English]], along with other varieties in the [[United Kingdom]]. Terms used to refer to the English language spoken and written in England include '''English English'''<ref>{{cite book|title=English, a. and n.|publisher=The Oxford English Dictionary|edition=2nd|date=1989 |url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50075365}}</ref>{{sfnp|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|p=2}} and '''Anglo-English'''.<ref>Tom McArthur, ''The Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language''. [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-ANGLOENGLISH.html Retrieved via encyclopedia.com.]</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Im-KAgAAQBAJ|last1=Todd|first1=Loreto|last2=Hancock|first2=Ian|title=International English Usage|date=1990|location=London|isbn=9780415051026}}</ref>

The related term ''British English'' is ambiguous, so it can be used and interpreted in multiple ways,<ref>According to Tom McArthur in the ''Oxford Guide to World English'' (p. 45)</ref> but it is usually reserved to describe the features common to Anglo-English, [[Welsh English]], and [[Scottish English]].

England, [[Wales]], and [[Scotland]] are the three traditional [[Countries of the United Kingdom|countries]] on the island of [[Great Britain]]. The main dialect of the fourth [[Countries of the United Kingdom|country of the United Kingdom]], [[Northern Ireland]], is [[Ulster English]], which is generally considered a dialect of [[Hiberno-English]].

==General features==
Many different accents and dialects are found throughout England, and people are often very proud of their local accent or dialect. However, accents and dialects also highlight [[social class]] differences, rivalries, or other associated prejudices, as illustrated by [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s comment:

{{cquote|It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.<ref>{{citation 
|last=Bernard Shaw |first=George 
|author-link=George Bernard Shaw
|title=Pygmalion, A Professor of Phonetics |year=1916 <!-- 1914 in mag form? --> |chapter=Preface |chapter-url=http://www.bartelby.com/138/0.html 
|access-date=20 April 2009
}}</ref>}}

As well as pride in one's accent, there is also stigma placed on many traditional working-class dialects. In [[A grammar of the dialect of the Bolton area|his work on the dialect of Bolton]], Graham Shorrocks wrote:

{{cquote|I have personally known those who would avoid, or could never enjoy, a conversation with a stranger, because they were literally too ashamed to open their mouths. It has been drummed into people—often in school, and certainly in society at large—that dialect speech is incorrect, impure, vulgar, clumsy, ugly, careless, shoddy, ignorant, and altogether inferior. Furthermore, the particularly close link in recent English society between speech, especially accents, and social class and values has made local dialect a hindrance to upward social mobility.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shorrocks |first=Graham |title=A Grammar of the Dialect of the Bolton Area. Pt. 1: Introduction; phonology |publisher=Peter Lang |location=Frankfurt am Main |year=1998 |series=Bamberger Beiträge Zur Englische Sprachwissenschaft; Bd. 41 |isbn=3-631-33066-9 |page=90}}</ref>
}}

The three largest recognisable dialect groups in England are [[Southern English]] dialects, Midlands English dialects and [[Northern England English]] dialects. The most prominent [[isogloss]] is the [[Phonological history of the high back vowels#Foot–strut split|foot–strut split]], which runs roughly from mid-[[Shropshire]] (on the Welsh border) to south of [[Birmingham]] and then to [[the Wash]]. South of the isogloss (the Midlands and Southern dialects), the Middle English phoneme {{IPA|/ʊ/}} split into {{IPA|/ʌ/}} (as in ''cut'', ''strut'') and {{IPA|/ʊ/}} (''put'', ''foot''); this change did not occur north of the isogloss.

Most native Anglo-English speakers can tell the general region in England that a speaker comes from, and experts or locals may be able to narrow this down to within a few miles. Historically, such differences could be a major impediment to understanding between people from different areas. There are also many cases where a large city has a very different accent from the rural area around it (e.g. Bristol and Avon, Hull and the East Riding, Liverpool and Lancashire). But modern communications and mass media have reduced these differences in some parts of the country.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2005/01/14/voices_kerswill_feature.shtml Voices 2005: Accent – a great leveller?] BBC 15 August 2005. Interview with Professor Paul Kerswill who stated "The difference between regional accents is getting less with time".</ref><ref>Alvarez, Lizette; [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DEEDF123CF936A25750C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&&scp=2&sq=Shortly%20after%20Rafael%20Benitez,%20a%20Spaniard,%20took%20over%20as%20coach%20of%20the%20Liverpool%20&st=cse Liverpool Journal; Baffling Scouse Is Spoken Here, So Bring a Sensa Yuma], [[International Herald Tribune]], 15 March 2005. "While most regional accents in England are growing a touch less pronounced in this age of high-speed travel and 600-channel satellite systems, it seems that the Liverpool accent is boldly growing thicker. ... migrating London accents are blamed for the slight changes in regional accents over the past few decades. ... That said, the curator of English accents and dialects at the British Library said the Northeast accents, from places like Northumberland and Tyneside, were also going stronger."</ref> Speakers may also change their pronunciation and vocabulary, particularly towards [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP) and [[Standard English]] when in public.

British and Irish varieties of English, including Anglo-English, are discussed in [[John C. Wells]] (1982). Some of the features of Anglo-English are that:
* Most versions of this dialect have [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic]] pronunciation, meaning that /r/ is not pronounced in [[syllable coda]] position. Non-rhoticity is also found elsewhere in the English-speaking world, including in [[Australian English]], [[New Zealand English]], [[South African English]], [[New York City English]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Labov |first1=William |last2=Ash |first2=Sharon |last3=Boberg |first3=Charles |title=The Atlas of North American English |date=2006}} chpt. 17</ref> and a few particular dialects of [[Southern American English]], as well as in most non-native varieties spoken throughout the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].{{sfnp|Trudgill|Hannah|2002|p=138}}{{verify source|date=May 2017}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Costa |first1=Davide |last2=Serra |first2=Raffaele |date=2022 |title=Rhoticity in English, a Journey Over Time Through Social Class: A Narrative Review |journal=Frontiers in Sociology |volume=7 |page=902213 |doi=10.3389/fsoc.2022.902213 |pmid=35602002 |pmc=9120598 |issn=2297-7775|doi-access=free }}</ref> Rhoticity currently exists in the [[West Country]], parts of [[Lancashire]], the far north of England and the town of [[Corby]]; its presence in the last two can be attributed to Scottish influence on local speech. Additionally, people who are children of at least one American, Canadian, Irish or Scottish (and thus rhotic-accented) parent but grew up, or were educated, in England generally speak with non-rhotic accents.
* As noted above, Northern versions of the dialect lack the [[Phonological history of the high back vowels#Foot–strut split|foot–strut split]], so that there is no distinction between {{IPA|/ʊ/}} and {{IPA|/ʌ/}}, making ''put'' and ''putt'' homophones as {{IPA|/pʊt/}}.
* In the Southern varieties, words like ''bath'', ''cast'', ''dance'', ''fast'', ''after'', ''castle'', ''grass'', etc. are pronounced with the long vowel found in ''calm'' (that is, {{IPA|[ɑː]}} or a similar vowel), while in the Midlands and Northern varieties, they are pronounced with the same vowel as ''trap'' or ''cat'', usually {{IPA|[a]}}. For more details see [[Trap–bath split]]. Some areas of the West Country use {{IPA|[aː]}} in both the TRAP and BATH sets. The Bristol area, although in the south of England, uses the short {{IPA|[a]}} in BATH.{{sfnp|Wells|1992|pp=348-349}}
* Many varieties undergo [[Phonological history of English consonants#''H''-dropping|''h''-dropping]], making ''harm'' and ''arm'' homophones. This is a feature of working-class accents across most of England but was traditionally stigmatised (a fact the comedy musical ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' was quick to exploit) but less so now.{{sfnp|Trask|1999|pp=104–106}} This was geographically widespread, but the linguist [[A. C. Gimson]] stated that it did not extend to the far north, nor to East Anglia, Essex, Wiltshire or Somerset.<ref>A. C. Gimson in ''Collins English Dictionary'', 1979, page xxiv</ref> In the past, working-class people were often unsure where an ''h'' ought to be pronounced, and, when attempting to speak "properly", would often preface any word that began with a vowel with an ''h'' (e.g. "henormous" instead of ''enormous'', "hicicles" instead of ''icicles''); this was referred to as the "[[Hypercorrection|hypercorrect]] h" in the [[Survey of English Dialects]], and is also referenced in literature (e.g. the policeman in ''[[Danny the Champion of the World]]'').
* A [[glottal stop]] for intervocalic {{IPA|/t/}} is now common amongst younger speakers across the country; it was originally confined to some areas of the south-east and East Anglia.{{Citation needed |date=November 2009 |reason=All classes in the South East yes – but in the Black Country?}}<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |last=Barrera |first=Berta Badia |date=August 2015 |publisher=Department of Language and Linguistics University of Essex |title=A Sociolinguistic Study of T-glottalling in Young RP: Accent, Class and Education |url=http://repository.essex.ac.uk/16806/1/PhD%20Thesis_Library%20%28Badia%20Barrera%29.pdf |access-date=24 November 2022 |via=repository.essex.ac.uk}}</ref>
* The [[Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩#Wine–whine merger|distinction between {{IPA|/w/|cat=no}} and {{IPA|/hw/|cat=no}}]] in ''wine'' and ''whine'' is lost, "wh" being pronounced consistently as {{IPA|/w/}}.
* Most varieties have the [[English-language vowel changes before historic r#Horse–hoarse merger|horse–hoarse merger]]. However, some northern accents retain the distinction, pronouncing pairs of words like ''for''/''four'', ''horse''/''hoarse'' and ''morning''/''mourning'' differently.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|loc=section 4.4}}
* The consonant clusters {{IPA|/sj/}}, {{IPA|/zj/}}, and {{IPA|/lj/}} in ''suit'', ''Zeus'', and ''lute'' are [[English consonant-cluster reductions#Yod-dropping|preserved]] by some.
* Many Southern varieties have the [[bad–lad split]], so that ''bad'' {{IPA|/bæːd/}} and ''lad'' {{IPA|/læd/}} do not rhyme.
* In most of the eastern half of England, plurals and past participle endings which are pronounced {{IPA|/ɪz/}} and {{IPA|/ɪd/}} (with the vowel of ''kit'') in RP may be pronounced with a [[schwa]] {{IPA|/ə/}}. This can be found as far north as [[Wakefield]] and as far south as [[Essex]]. This is unusual in being an east–west division in pronunciation when English dialects generally divide between north and south. Another east–west division involves the rhotic {{IPA|[r]}}; it can be heard in the speech of country folk (particularly the elder), more or less west of the course of the Roman era road known as [[Watling Street]] (the modern A5), which at one time divided King Alfred's Wessex and English Mercia from the Danish kingdoms in the east. The rhotic {{IPA|[r]}} is rarely found in the east.
* Sporadically, miscellaneous items of generally obsolete vocabulary survive: ''come'' in the past tense rather than ''came''; the use of ''thou'' and/or ''ye'' for ''you''.

==Change over time==
There has been academic interest in dialects since the late 19th century. The main works are ''On Early English Pronunciation'' by [[Alexander John Ellis|A.J. Ellis]], ''English Dialect Grammar'' by [[Joseph Wright (linguist)|Joseph Wright]], and the ''[[English Dialect Dictionary]]'' also by Joseph Wright. The [[Dialect Test]] was developed by Joseph Wright so he could hear the differences in the vowel sounds of a dialect by listening to different people reading the same short text passage.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the [[Survey of English Dialects]] was undertaken to preserve a record of the traditional spectrum of rural dialects that merged into each other. The traditional picture was that there would be a few changes in lexicon and pronunciation every couple of miles, but that there would be no sharp borders between completely different ways of speaking. Within a county, the accents of the different towns and villages would drift gradually so that residents of bordering areas sounded more similar to those in neighbouring counties.

Because of greater social mobility and the teaching of "Standard English" in [[secondary schools]], this model is no longer very accurate. There are some English counties in which there is little change in [[Accent (sociolinguistics)|accent]]/[[dialect]], and people are more likely to categorise their accent by a region or county than by their town or village. As [[agriculture]] became less prominent, many rural dialects were lost. Some [[Urban area|urban]] dialects have also declined; for example, the traditional dialect of [[Bradford]] is now quite rarely spoken in the city, and call centres have seen Bradford as a useful location for the very fact that potential employees there nowadays generally lack dialectal speech.<ref name="BTA101548">{{Cite news
|title=By 'eck! Bratford-speak is dyin' out
|publisher=Bradford Telegraph & Argus
|date=5 April 2004
|url=http://archive.cravenherald.co.uk/2004/4/5/101548.html
|access-date=2007-09-12
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313004303/http://archive.cravenherald.co.uk/2004/4/5/101548.html
|archive-date=13 March 2009
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="BBC001">
{{cite news
|title=Does tha kno't old way o' callin'?
|publisher=BBC News
|year=2005
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/voices2005/pete_1.shtml
|access-date=2007-09-12 }}</ref> Some local call centres have stated that they were attracted to Bradford because it has a regional accent that is relatively easy to understand.<ref name="TP001">{{Cite web |author=Mahony, GV |title=Race relations in Bradford |page=8 |publisher=GV Mahony |date=January 2001 |url=http://www.tapnet.co.uk/mahonyreport.pdf |access-date=2007-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927124749/http://www.tapnet.co.uk/mahonyreport.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-27}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023|reason=This is a letter to an enquiry, by a former council Race Relations Officer. It's a primary SPS at best.}} Nevertheless, working in the opposite direction, concentrations of migration may cause a town or area to develop its own accent. The two most famous examples of this are [[Liverpool]] and [[Corby]]. Liverpool's dialect is influenced heavily by Irish and Welsh, and it sounds completely different from the surrounding areas of [[Lancashire]]. Corby's dialect is influenced heavily by [[Scots language|Scots]], and it sounds completely different from the rest of [[Northamptonshire]]. The Voices 2006 survey found that the various ethnic minorities that have settled in large populations in parts of Britain develop their own specific dialects. For example, [[British Asian|Asian]] may have an Oriental influence on their accent so sometimes urban dialects are now just as easily identifiable as rural dialects, even if they are not from [[South Asia]]. In the traditional view, urban speech has just been seen as a watered-down version of that of the surrounding rural area. Historically, rural areas had much more stable demographics than urban areas, but there is now only a small difference between the two. It has probably never been true since the [[Industrial Revolution]] caused an enormous influx to cities from rural areas.

==Overview of regional accents==
According to dialectologist [[Peter Trudgill]], the major regional English accents of modern England can be divided on the basis on the following basic features; the word columns each represent the pronunciation of one italicised word in the sentence "''Very few cars made'' it ''up'' the ''long hill''".<ref>Ihalainen, Ossi (1992). "The Dialects of England since 1776". In ''The Cambridge History of the English language''. Vol. 5, English in Britain and Overseas: Origins and Development, ed. Robert Burchfield, pp. 255–258. Cambridge University Press.</ref> Two additional distinguishing features—the absence or presence of a [[trap–bath split]] and the realisation of the {{sc2|GOAT}} vowel—are also represented under the "path" and "stone" columns (so that the sentence could be rendered "''Very few cars made'' it ''up'' the ''path'' of the ''long stone hill''").<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Kortmann |editor1-first=Bernd |editor2-last=Schneider |editor2-first=Edgar W |editor3-last=Burridge |editor3-first=Kate |title=A handbook of varieties of English a multimedia reference tool |date=2004 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-11-019718-1 |pages=124, 138, 170, 187, 198}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Accent name !! [[Trudgill]]'s accent region !! Strongest centre !! ver{{underline|y}} !! f{{underline|ew}} !! c{{underline|ar}}s!! m{{underline|a}}de !! {{underline|u}}p!! p{{underline|a}}th !! lo{{underline|ng}}!! st{{underline|o}}ne !! {{underline|hill}}
|-
| [[Geordie]] ||Northeast|| Newcastle/Sunderland || /i/ || /juː/ || [ɒː] ||[eː] ||/ʊ/ || /æ/ [a]|| /ŋ/ || [oː] ||[hɪl] 
|-
| [[Yorkshire dialect|Yorkshire]] ||Central and Lower North|| Leeds/Bradford || /ɪ/ || /juː/ ||[äː]||[eː] ||/ʊ/ ||/æ/ [a]|| /ŋ/ ||[oː] ||[ɪl]
|-
| [[Lancashire dialect|Lancashire]] {{small|(traditional)}} ||Central Lancashire|| Rossendale || /ɪ/ || /juː/ ||[aː<sup>ɹ</sup>] <ref group=note>The traditional feature of rhoticity in Lancashire is increasingly giving way to non-rhoticity: Beal, Joan (2004). "English dialects in the North of England: phonology". ''A Handbook of Varieties of English'' (pp. 113–133). Berlin, Boston: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 127.</ref>||[eː] ||/ʊ/||/æ/ [a]|| /ŋg/||[oː] ||[ɪl]
|-
| [[Scouse]] ||Merseyside|| Liverpool || /i/ || /juː/ ||[äː]||[eɪ] ||/ʊ/ ||/æ/ [a]|| /ŋg/||[ou]|| [ɪl]
|-
| [[Manchester dialect|Manchester]] ||Northwest|| Manchester/Salford || /ɪ/ || /juː/ ||[äː]||[eɪ] ||/ʊ/ ||/æ/ [a]|| /ŋg/|| [ɔʊ] || [ɪl]
|-
| [[Brummie dialect|Brummie]] ||West Midlands|| Birmingham || /i/ || /juː/ ||[ɑː]||[ʌɪ] ||/ʊ/ ||/æ/ [a]|| /ŋg/||[ʌʊ]|| [ɪl]
|-
| [[East Midlands English|East Midlands]] ||East, North, and South Midlands|| Lincoln || /i/ <ref group=note>{{IPA|[ɪ]}} defines the Central Midlands (centred on Nottingham and Derby).</ref> || /juː/ <ref group=note>{{IPA|[uː]}} defines the East Midlands (centred on Leicester and Rutland) and partly defines the South Midlands (centred on Northampton and Bedford).</ref>||[ɑː]||[eɪ] <ref group=note>{{IPA|[eː]}} defines South Humberside or North Lincolnshire (centred on Scunthorpe).</ref>||/ʊ/ ||/æ/ [a]|| /ŋ/ || [ʌʊ]||[ɪl] <ref group=note>{{IPA|[ɪo]}} defines the South Midlands (centred on Northampton and Bedford).</ref>
|-
| [[West Country English|West Country]] ||Southwest|| Bristol/Plymouth || /i/ || /juː/ ||[ɑːɹ]||[eɪ] <ref group=note>{{IPA|[eː]}} defines the Lower Southwest (Cornwall and Devon).</ref>||/ʌ/ ||/æ/ [æ]|| /ŋ/ || [ɔʊ] || [ɪl] <ref group=note>{{IPA|[ɪo]}} defines the Central Southwest.</ref>
|-
| [[East Anglian English|East Anglian]] {{small|(traditional)}} ||East Anglia|| Rural Norfolk/Suffolk || /i/ || /uː/ ||[aː]||[æɪ] or [eː]||/ʌ/ ||/æ/ [æ]||/ŋ/ ||[ʊu]||[(h)ɪl]
|-
| [[Estuary English|London/Estuary]] (also [[Multicultural London English]]) ||Home Counties|| Greater London || /i/ || /juː/ ||[ɑː]||[eɪ~æɪ]||/ʌ/ ||/ɑː/||/ŋ/ ||[ʌʊ], [oː] in MLE||[ɪo̯]
|-
| [[Received Pronunciation|RP]] {{Small|(modern)}}|| || || /i/ || /juː/ ||[ɑː]||[eɪ] ||/ʌ/ ||/ɑː/|| /ŋ/ ||[əʊ]||[hɪl]
|}

===Southern England===
{{Main|British English in Southern England}}
{{See also|Sussex dialect|Kentish dialect|Surrey dialect|Isle of Wight#Language and dialect}}
In general, Southern English accents are distinguished from Northern English accents primarily by not using the short a in words such as "bath". In the south-east, the [[broad A]] is normally used before a {{IPA|/f/}}, {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/θ/}}: words such as "cast" and "bath" are pronounced {{IPA|/kɑːst/, /bɑːθ/}} rather than {{IPA|/kæst/, /bæθ/}}. This sometimes occurs before {{IPA|/nd/}}: it is used in "comm'''a'''nd" and "dem'''a'''nd" but not in "br'''a'''nd" or "gr'''a'''nd".

In the south-west, an {{IPA|/aː/}} sound is used in these words but also in words that take {{IPA|/æ/}} in RP; there is no [[trap–bath split]] but both are pronounced with an extended fronted vowel.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=352}} 

Accents originally from the upper class speech of the [[London]]–[[Oxford]]–[[Cambridge]] triangle are particularly notable as the basis for RP.

Southern English accents have three main historical influences:
# London accent, [[Cockney]] in particular
# Received Pronunciation
# Southern rural accents (such as [[West Country dialects|West Country]], [[Kent]] and [[East Anglian]])

Relatively recently, the first two have increasingly influenced southern accents outside London via [[social class]] mobility and the expansion of [[London]]. From some time during the 19th century, middle and upper middle classes began to adopt affectations, including the RP accent, associated with the upper class. In the late 20th and 21st century other social changes, such as middle class RP-speakers forming an increasing component of rural communities, have accentuated the spread of RP. The South East coast accents traditionally have several features in common with the West Country; for example, rhoticity and the a: sound in words such as ''bath'', ''cast'', etc. However, the younger generation in the area is more likely to be non-rhotic and use the London/East Anglian A: sound in ''bath''.

After the [[Second World War]], about one million Londoners were relocated to [[New towns in the United Kingdom|new]] and expanded towns throughout the south east, bringing with them their distinctive London accent.

During the 19th century distinct dialects of English were recorded in [[Sussex]], [[Surrey]] and [[Kent]]. These dialects are now extinct or nearly extinct due to improved communications and population movements.

===South West England===
{{Main|West Country dialects}}
The West Country dialects and accents are the English [[dialect]]s and [[Accent (dialect)|accent]]s used by much of the indigenous population of [[South West England]], the area popularly known as the [[West Country]].

This region encompasses [[Bristol]], [[Cornwall]], [[Devon]], [[Dorset]] and [[Somerset]], while [[Gloucestershire]], [[Herefordshire]] and [[Wiltshire]] are usually also included, although the northern and eastern boundaries of the area are hard to define and sometimes even wider areas are encompassed. The West Country accent is said to reflect the pronunciation of the [[Anglo-Saxons]] far better than other modern English Dialects.

In the nearby counties of [[Berkshire]], [[Oxfordshire]], [[Hampshire]] and the [[Isle of Wight]], it was possible to encounter comparable accents and, indeed, distinct local dialects until perhaps the 1960s. There is now limited use of such dialects amongst older people in local areas. Although natives of such locations, especially in western parts, can still have West Country influences in their speech, the increased mobility and [[urbanisation]] of the population have meant that local Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight dialects (as opposed to ''accents'') are today essentially extinct.

Academically the regional variations are considered to be dialectal forms. The ''[[Survey of English Dialects]]'' captured manners of speech across the West Country that were just as different from Standard English as anything from the far North. Close proximity has completely different languages such as [[Cornish language|Cornish]], which is a [[Celtic languages|Celtic language]] related to [[Welsh language|Welsh]], and more closely to [[Breton language|Breton]]. The [[Cornish dialect]] of English spoken in [[Cornwall]] by [[Cornish people]] is to some extent influenced by [[Cornish language|Cornish]] [[grammar]], and often includes words derived from the language.

===Norfolk===
The [[Norfolk dialect]] is spoken in the traditional county of Norfolk and areas of north Suffolk. Famous speakers include Keith Skipper.
The group FOND (Friends of Norfolk Dialect) was formed to record the county's dialect and to provide advice for TV companies using the dialect in productions.

East Anglian dialect is also spoken in areas of Cambridgeshire. It is characterised by the use of {{IPA|[ei]}} for {{IPA|/iː/}} in FLEECE words.{{sfnp|Wells|1984|p=62}}

===Midlands===
* As in the North, Midlands accents generally do not use a [[broad A]], so that ''cast'' is pronounced {{IPA|[kast]}} rather than the {{IPA|[kɑːst]}} pronunciation of most southern accents. The northern limit of the {{IPA|[ɑː]}} in many words crosses England from mid-[[Shropshire]] to [[The Wash]], passing just south of [[Birmingham]].
* Additionally, just like the North, most accents in the Midlands lack the foot–strut split, with words containing {{IPA|[ʌ]}} like ''strut'' or ''but'' being pronounced with {{IPA|[ʊ]}}, without any distinction between ''putt'' and ''put''.
* The [[West Midlands English|West Midlands]] accent is often described as having a pronounced nasal quality, the [[East Midlands English|East Midlands]] accent much less so.
* ''Old'' and ''cold'' may be pronounced as "owd" and "cowd" (rhyming with "loud" in the West Midlands and "ode" in the East Midlands), and in the northern Midlands ''home'' can become "wom".
* Whether Derbyshire should be classed as the West or East Midlands in terms of dialect is debatable. [[Stanley Ellis (linguist)|Stanley Ellis]], a dialect expert, said in 1985 that it was more like the West Midlands, but it is often grouped with the East and is part of the [[Regions of England|region]] [[East Midlands]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
* [[Cheshire]], although part of the North-West region, is usually grouped the Midlands for the purpose of accent and dialect.

====West Midlands====
{{main|West Midlands English}}
* The best-known accents in the West Midlands area are the [[Birmingham]] accents (see "[[Brummie dialect|Brummie]]") and the [[Black Country English|Black Country accent]] (''Yam Yam'').
* There is no [[Ng-coalescence]]. Cases of the spelling -ing are pronounced as {{IPA|[ɪŋɡ]}} rather than {{IPA|[ɪŋ]}}. Wells noted that there were no exceptions to this rule in Stoke-on-Trent, whereas there were for other areas with the {{IPA|[ɪŋɡ]}} pronunciation, such as Liverpool.{{sfnp|Wells|1984|p=58}}
* Dialect verbs are used, for example ''am'' for ''are'', ''ay'' for ''is not'' (related to ''ain't''), ''bay'' for ''are not'', ''bin'' for ''am'' or, emphatically, for ''are''. Hence the following joke dialogue about bay windows: "What sort of windas am them?" "They'm bay windas." "Well if they bay windas wot bin them?". There is also humour to be derived from the shop-owner's sign of Mr. "E. A. Wright" (that is, "He ay [isn't] right," a phrase implying someone is ''saft'' [soft] in the ''jed'' [head]). ''Saft'' also may mean silly as in, "Stop bein' so saft". {{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
* The Birmingham and [[Coventry]] accents are distinct, even though the cities are only 19 miles/30&nbsp;km apart. Coventry being closer to an East Midlands accent. {{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}
* Around [[Stoke-on-Trent]], the short ''i'' can sometimes sound rather like ''ee'', as very obvious when hearing a local say ''it'', however this is not always the case as most other words such as "miss" or "tip" are still pronounced as normal. The [[Potteries dialect|Potteries accent]] is perhaps the most distinctly 'northern' of the West Midlands accents, given that the urban area around Stoke-on-Trent is close to the [[Cheshire]] border.
* [[Herefordshire]] and parts of [[Worcestershire]] and [[Shropshire]] have a rhotic accent, somewhat like the West Country,{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} and in some parts of these counties, the local accent mixes features with the [[Welsh accent]], particularly in places closer to the [[English–Welsh border]].

====East Midlands====
{{main|East Midlands English}}
* [[East Midlands English|East Midlands]] accents are generally non-rhotic, instead drawing out their vowels, resulting in the Midlands Drawl, which can to non-natives be mistaken for dry [[sarcasm]]. {{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}
* The PRICE vowel has a very far back starting-point, and can be realised as {{IPA|[ɑɪ]}}.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Hughes |editor-last2=Trudgill |editor-last3=Watts |title=English accents and dialects: an introduction to social and regional varieties of English in the British Isles |chapter=chapter on Leicester's speech, Hodder Arnold |year=2005}}</ref>
* [[English consonant-cluster reductions#Yod-dropping|Yod-dropping]], as in East Anglia, can be found in some areas{{Where|date=July 2011}}, for example ''new'' as {{IPA|/nuː/}}, sounding like "noo".
* In Lincolnshire, sounds like the ''u'' vowel of words like ''strut'' being realised as {{IPA|[ʊ]}} may be even shorter than in the North.
* In [[Leicester]], words with short vowels such as ''up'' and ''last'' have a northern pronunciation, whereas words with vowels such as ''down'' and ''road'' sound rather more like a south-eastern accent. The vowel sound at the end of words like ''border'' (and the name of the city) is also a distinctive feature.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/individual/leicester-football-lees-anita.shtml |title=Voices – The Voices Recordings |publisher=BBC |date=6 July 1975 |access-date=1 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103173116/http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/individual/leicester-football-lees-anita.shtml |archive-date=3 November 2012}}</ref>
* [[Lincolnshire]] also has a marked north–south split in terms of accent. The north (around [[Grimsby]] and [[Scunthorpe]]) shares many features with Yorkshire, such as the open ''a'' sound in "car" and "park" or the replacement of ''take'' and ''make'' with ''tek'' and ''mek''. The south of Lincolnshire is close to Received Pronunciation, although it still has a short Northern a in words such as ''bath''. Accents in the north of the county are often classified as a form of [[Yorkshire dialect|Yorkshire]], influenced by [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[Doncaster]] and [[Sheffield]].{{sfnp|Hughes|Trudgill|1996|p=65}}
* Mixing of the words ''was'' and ''were'' when the other is used in Standard English.
* In [[Northamptonshire]], crossed by the north–south [[isogloss]], residents of the north of the county have an accent similar to that of [[Leicestershire]] and those in the south an accent similar to rural [[Oxfordshire]].
* The town of [[Corby]] in northern [[Northamptonshire]] has an accent with some originally Scottish features, apparently due to immigration of Scottish steelworkers.<ref>{{cite web |title= |url=http://www.joensuu.fi/fld/methodsxi/abstracts/dyer.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240524044851/https://www.webcitation.org/5QdQDYjD0?url=http://www.joensuu.fi/fld/methodsxi/abstracts/dyer.html |archive-date=24 May 2024 |access-date=2005-06-29}}</ref> It is common in Corby for the GOAT set of words to be pronounced with {{IPA|/oː/}}. This pronunciation is used across Scotland and most of Northern England, but Corby is alone in the Midlands in using it.<ref>{{cite book |title=Language in the British Isles |page=67 |editor-first=David |editor-last=Britain |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-511-62078-2 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511620782}}</ref>

===Northern England===
{{Main|Northern England English}}
There are several features that are common to most of the accents of northern England:{{sfnp|Wells|1982|loc=section 4.4}}

* Northern English tends not to have {{IPA|/ʌ/}} (''strut'', ''but'', etc.) as a separate vowel. Most words that have this vowel in RP are pronounced with {{IPA|/ʊ/}} in Northern accents, so that ''put'' and ''putt'' are homophonous as {{IPA|[pʊt]}}. But some words with {{IPA|/ʊ/}} in RP can have {{IPA|[uː]}} in the more conservative Northern accents, so that a pair like ''luck'' and ''look'' may be distinguished as {{IPA|/lʊk/}} and {{IPA|/luːk/}}.
* The accents of Northern England generally do not use a {{IPA|/ɑː/}}. so ''cast'' is pronounced {{IPA|[kast]}} rather than the {{IPA|[kɑːst]}} pronunciation of most southern accents. This pronunciation is found in the words that were affected by the [[trap–bath split]].
* For many speakers, the remaining instances of RP {{IPA|/ɑː/}} instead becomes {{IPA|[aː]}}: for example, in the words ''palm, cart, start, tomato''.
* The vowel in ''dress, test, pet'', etc. is slightly more open, transcribed by Wells as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} rather than {{IPA|[e]}}.
* The "short ''a''" vowel of ''cat, trap'' is normally pronounced {{IPA|[a]}} rather than the {{IPA|[æ]}} found in traditional Received Pronunciation and in many forms of [[American English]].
* In most areas, the letter ''y'' on the end of words as in ''happy'' or ''city'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ɪ]}}, like the ''i'' in ''bit'', and not {{IPA|[i]}}. This was considered RP until the 1990s. The longer {{IPA|[i]}} is found in the far north and in the Merseyside area.
* The phonemes {{IPA|/eɪ/}} (as in ''face'') and {{IPA|/oʊ/}} (as in ''goat'') are often pronounced as monophthongs (such as {{IPA|[eː]}} and {{IPA|[oː]}}). However, the quality of these vowels varies considerably across the region, and this is considered a greater indicator of a speaker's social class than the less stigmatised aspects listed above.

Some dialect words used across the North are listed in extended editions of the Oxford Dictionary with a marker "North England": for example, the words ''ginnell'' and ''snicket'' for specific types of alleyway, the word ''fettle'' for to organise, or the use of ''while'' to mean ''until''. The best-known Northern words are ''nowt'', ''owt'' and ''summat'', which are included in most dictionaries. For more localised features, see the following sections.

The "[[Northern subject rule|present historical]]" is named after the speech of the region, but it is often used in many working class dialects in the south of England too. Instead of saying "I ''said'' to him", users of the rule would say, "I ''says'' to him". Instead of saying, "I ''went'' up there", they would say, "I ''goes'' up there."

In the far north of England, the local speech is indistinguishable from [[Scots language|Scots]]. Wells said that northernmost Northumberland "though politically English is linguistically Scottish".{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=351}}

====Liverpool (Scouse)====
{{Main|Scouse}}

The Liverpool accent, known as Scouse colloquially, is quite different from the accent of surrounding Lancashire. This is because Liverpool has had many immigrants in recent centuries, particularly [[Irish people]]. Irish influences on Scouse speech include the pronunciation of unstressed 'my' as 'me' and the pronunciation of 'th' sounds like 't' or 'd' (although they remain distinct as dental {{IPA|/t̪/}} {{IPA|/d̪/}}). Other features of Scouse include the pronunciation of non-initial {{IPA|/k/}} as {{IPA|[x]}} and the pronunciation of 'r' as a tap {{IPA|/ɾ/}}.

====Yorkshire====
{{Main|Yorkshire dialect}}

''[[Wuthering Heights]]'' is one of the few classic works of English literature to contain a substantial amount of dialect, specifically Yorkshire dialect. Set in [[Haworth]], the servant Joseph speaks in the traditional dialect of the area, which many modern readers struggle to understand. This dialect was still spoken around Haworth until the late 1970s, but now only a minority of the dialect's features are still in everyday use.<ref>K.M. Petyt, ''Emily Bronte and the Haworth Dialect'', Hudson History, Settle, 2001.</ref>
The old dialect is now mainly encountered in [[Skipton]], [[Otley]], [[Settle, North Yorkshire|Settle]] and other similar places where older farmers from deep in the dales live.
Examples of differences from RP in Yorkshire pronunciation include, but are not limited to:
* H-dropping
* {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/k/}} are often replaced with a [[glottal stop]], {{IPA|[ʔ]}}
* The {{IPA|[ŋ]}} in ''hearing'' and ''eating'' is often changed to {{IPA|[n]}}, though {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} can be heard in [[Sheffield]]

====Teesside====
The accents of [[Teesside]], usually known as Smoggy, are sometimes grouped with Yorkshire and sometimes grouped with the North-East of England, for they share characteristics with both accent regions. As this urban area grew in the early 20th century, there are fewer dialect words that date back to older forms of English; Teesside speak is the sort of modern dialect that Peter Trudgill identified in his "The Dialects of England". There is a Lower Tees Dialect group.<ref name="TNE001">{{cite web
  |last=Wood
  |first=Vic
  |title=TeesSpeak: Dialect of the Lower Tees Valley
  |publisher=This is the North East
  |year=2007
  |url=http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/teesspeak/
  |access-date=2007-09-12
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083203/http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/teesspeak/
  |archive-date=29 September 2007
  |url-status=dead
  }}</ref> A recent study found that most people from Middlesbrough do not consider their accent to be "Yorkshire", but that they are less hostile to being grouped with Yorkshire than to being grouped with the Geordie accent.<ref name="Leeds001">{{Cite journal |author=Llamas, Carmen |title=Middlesbrough English: Convergent and divergent trends in a "Par of Britain with no identity" |journal=Leeds Working Papers in Linguistics and Phonetics |issue=8 |publisher=University of Leeds |date=2000 |url=https://www.latl.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/49/2019/05/Llamas_2000.pdf |access-date=2007-09-12}}</ref>
Intriguingly, speakers from Middlesbrough are occasionally mistaken for speakers from [[Liverpool]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2014/07/jonnie-robinson-lead-curator-for-sociolinguistics-writes-this-month-weve-uploaded-linguistic-descriptions-of-conversations.html|title=The shifting sand(-shoes) of linguistic identity in Teesside – Sound and vision blog|last=Robinson|first=Jonnie|website=Blogs.bl.uk|access-date=6 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816031713/https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2014/07/jonnie-robinson-lead-curator-for-sociolinguistics-writes-this-month-weve-uploaded-linguistic-descriptions-of-conversations.html|archive-date=16 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> as they share many of the same characteristics. It is thought the occasional similarities between the Middlesbrough and Liverpool accent may be due to the high number of Irish migrants to both areas during the late 1900s in fact the 1871 census showed Middlesbrough had the second-highest proportion of people from Ireland after Liverpool. 
Some examples of traits that are shared with [most parts of] Yorkshire include:
* ''H''-dropping.
* An {{IPA|/aː/}} sound in words such as ''start, car, park'', etc.
* In common with the east coast of Yorkshire, words such as ''bird, first, nurse'', etc. have an {{IPA|[ɛː]}} sound. It can be written as, ''baird, fairst, nairse''. [This vowel sound also occurs in Liverpool and Birkenhead].

Examples of traits shared with the North-East include:
* Absence of [[definite article reduction]].
* Glottal reinforcement for {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/t/}} can all occur.

The vowel in "goat" is an {{IPA|/oː/}} sound, as is found in both Durham and rural North Yorkshire. In common with this area of the country, Middlesbrough is a non-rhotic accent.

The vowel in "face" is pronounced as {{IPA|/eː/}}, as is commonplace in the North-East of England.

====Lancashire====
{{Main|Lancashire dialect}}

====Cumbria====
{{Main|Cumbrian dialect|Barrovian}}
* People from the [[Furness]] peninsula in south Cumbria tend to have a more Lancashire-orientated accent, whilst the dialect of [[Barrow-in-Furness]] itself is a result of migration from the likes of [[Strathclyde]] and [[Tyneside]]. Barrow grew on the [[shipbuilding]] industry during the 19th and 20th centuries, and many families moved from these already well-established shipbuilding towns to seek employment in Barrow.

====North East England====
*Dialects in this region are often known as [[Geordie]] (for speakers from the [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] area) or [[Mackem]] (for speakers from the [[Sunderland]] area). The dialects across the region are broadly similar however some differences do exist. For example, with words ending -re/-er, such as culture and father, the end syllable is pronounced by a Newcastle native as a short 'a', such as in 'fat' and 'back', therefore producing "cultcha" and "fatha" for "culture" and "father" respectively. The Sunderland area would pronounce the syllable much more closely to that of other accents. Similarly, Geordies pronounce "make" and "take" in line with the standard English pronunciation. However, a Mackem would pronounce these words as "mack" or "tack" (hence the origin of the term "Mackem"). For other differences, see the respective articles. For an explanation of the traditional dialects of the mining areas of [[County Durham]] and Northumberland see [[Pitmatic]].
* Glottal reinforcement for {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/t/}}. This feature is usually transcribed as [p͡ʔ], [t͡ʔ] and [k͡ʔ] or [ʔ͡p], [ʔ͡t] and [ʔ͡k].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beal |first1=Joan C. |last2=Burbano-Elizondo |first2=Lourdes |last3=Llamas |first3=Carmen |title=Urban North-Eastern English: Tyneside to Teesside |date=2012 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=0748641521 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctv2f4vkb3 |access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref>
* A feature of the North East accent, shared with [[Scots language|Scots]] and [[Irish English]], is the pronunciation of the consonant cluster ''-lm'' in coda position. As an example, "film" is pronounced as "fillum". Another of these features which are shared with [[Scots language|Scots]] is the use of the word 'Aye', pronounced like 'I', its meaning is yes.
* Also similar to Scots, the modals 'can', and less commonly 'will', have contracted forms "cannet" and "winnet". Additionally, distinct negative forms of 'do' exist. In Tyneside and Northumberland, the local form is "divvent", whereas "dinnet" is prevalent in Sunderland and Durham.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beal |first1=Joan C. |title=Urban North-eastern English: Tyneside to Teesside (Dialects of English) |date=2012 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press }}</ref>

==Examples of accents used by public figures==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2018}}
* Received Pronunciation: Queen [[Elizabeth II]]'s accent changed slightly over the years but she still spoke a conservative form of RP until the end of her life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/queen.htm |title=The Queen's English |website=Phon.ucl.ac.uk |access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003859.html |title=Language Log: Happy-tensing and coal in sex |last=Liberman |first=Mark |year=2006 |website=Itre.cis.upenn.edu |access-date=2018-01-06}}</ref> [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Tony Benn]] and [[Noël Coward]] are examples of old-fashioned RP speakers, whereas [[David Cameron]], [[Boris Johnson]], [[John Cleese]] and [[David Dimbleby]] are examples of contemporary RP.
* [[Berkshire]] (a southern rural accent): poet [[Pam Ayres]] is from [[Stanford in the Vale]], which belonged to Berkshire until the boundary changes of 1974.
* [[Derby]]: actor [[Jack O'Connell (actor)|Jack O'Connell]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Jack O'Connell's dilemma over accent |url=https://www.breakingnews.ie/showbiz/jack-oconnells-dilemma-over-accent-657136.html |date=7 January 2015 |website=Breaking News |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212104159/https://www.breakingnews.ie/showbiz/jack-oconnells-dilemma-over-accent-657136.html |archive-date=12 December 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Essex]] ([[Estuary English|Estuary]]): very strongly noticeable in [[YouTuber]] LukeIsNotSexy. [[Emma Blackery]] used to speak in a more regionally [[Essex dialect]], but as of early 2018 has mostly transitioned into Modern RP, with subtle [[Americanization]].
* [[Hampshire]] (a southern rural accent): the late [[John Arlott]], sports presenter and gardener [[Charlie Dimmock]].
* [[Hertfordshire]]: comedian and writer [[Robert Newman (comedian)|Robert Newman]].
* [[Lancashire]]: TV personality [[Fred Dibnah]], comedian [[Peter Kay]], McFly singer and guitarist [[Danny Jones]], [[BBC Radio 1]] DJ [[Vernon Kay]] and singer and actor [[Bernard Wrigley]] have degrees of broad Bolton accents. The actress [[Michelle Holmes]] has a Rochdale accent, which is similar to the accent of the western fringe of Yorkshire; hence, she has often featured in Yorkshire dramas. [[Julie Hesmondhalgh]], [[Vicky Entwistle]] and [[Julia Haworth]], actresses in the soap opera ''[[Coronation Street]]'', have East Lancashire accents, which have slightly different intonation and rhythm and also feature variable [[rhoticity in English|rhoticity]]. Actress [[Jane Horrocks]] also has an East Lancashire accent, alongside being a mostly rhotic speaker. 
* [[Leicester]]: The band [[Kasabian]] have Leicester accents.
* [[London]]: old recordings by [[Petula Clark]], [[Julie Andrews]], [[the Rolling Stones]], and [[The Who]] (although many of these contain affected patterns). For clear examples, see actor [[Stanley Holloway]] (Eliza Doolittle's father in ''[[My Fair Lady]]''), or [[Association football|footballer]] [[David Beckham]].
** [[Cockney]]: the actors [[Bob Hoskins]] and [[Michael Caine]]. [[Ray Winstone]] has quite an old-fashioned Cockney accent, and his replacement of an initial {{IPA|/r/}} with a {{IPA|/w/}} has been stigmatised. More examples can be heard in the movies ''[[Snatch (movie)|Snatch]]'' and ''[[Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels]]''. The [[Sex Pistols]] had Cockney accents, with [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]] having the strongest.
** [[Mockney]]: used by [[Guy Ritchie]] and many musicians, it is a variant of the London regional accent characterised by a non-standard mixture of linguistic and [[social class]] characteristics.
** [[West London]]: the journalist [[Janet Street Porter]].
** [[Estuary English|Estuary]]: athlete [[Sally Gunnell]], the model [[Katie Price]].
* [[Manchester]]: [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] members [[Liam Gallagher|Liam]] and [[Noel Gallagher]], [[Herman's Hermits]], actor [[Dominic Monaghan]], broadcaster/podcaster [[Karl Pilkington]], physicist [[Brian Cox (physicist)]], musician [[Davy Jones (musician)|Davy Jones (The Monkees)]].
* [[Merseyside]] ([[Scouse]]):
** [[Liverpool]]: Liverpool footballers [[Steven Gerrard]] and [[Jamie Carragher]] are often cited as having particularly strong Scouse accents.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} Recordings by [[The Beatles]] ([[George Harrison]]'s accent was the strongest of the four), [[Gerry & The Pacemakers]], [[Echo and the Bunnymen]]. Also the singer [[Cilla Black]] and the actors [[Craig Charles]] and [[Ricky Tomlinson]]. The British soap [[Brookside (television programme)|Brookside]] was set in Liverpool so the majority of the cast, including Philip Olivier and [[Jennifer Ellison]], had Scouse accents.
** [[St Helens, Merseyside|St Helens]]: Comedian [[Johnny Vegas]]. The comedy band [[The Lancashire Hotpots (band)|the Lancashire Hotpots]] sing in a traditional rhotic St Helens accent.
** [[The Wirral]]: Comedian and TV presenter [[Paul O'Grady]] alias [[Lily Savage]] is from [[Birkenhead]], pop singer [[Pete Burns]] of [[Dead or Alive (band)|Dead or Alive]] is from the [[model village]] [[Port Sunlight]].
* [[Nottingham]]: boxer [[Carl Froch]].
* [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]]: actor [[Christopher Eccleston]], bands [[Happy Mondays]] and [[New Order (band)|New Order]].
* [[Stoke-on-Trent]] or [[The Potteries]]: pop star [[Robbie Williams]], TV presenter [[Anthea Turner]], ex pop star and TV presenter [[Jonathan Wilkes]].
* [[Sunderland]] ([[Mackem]]): the accent of the rock group [[The Futureheads]] is easily detected on recordings and live performances and ex-footballer [[Chris Waddle]].
* [[Tyneside]] ([[Geordie]]): former Cabinet members [[Alan Milburn]] MP and [[Nick Brown]] MP, the actors [[Robson Green]] and [[Tim Healy (actor)|Tim Healy]], the footballer [[Alan Shearer]], actor and singer [[Jimmy Nail]], rock singer [[Brian Johnson]], singer [[Cheryl (singer)|Cheryl]], television personalities [[Ant and Dec]], [[Donna Air]] and [[Jayne Middlemiss]].
* [[West Country]]: [[The Vicar of Dibley]] was set in Oxfordshire, and many of the characters had West Country accents. {{Clarify|date=December 2011}}
** [[Bristol]]: Professor [[Colin Pillinger]] of the [[Beagle 2]] project, comedy writer, actor, radio DJ and director [[Stephen Merchant]]. Presenter and Comedian [[Justin Lee Collins]].
** [[Gloucestershire]]: [[Laurie Lee]], ruralist.
* [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]]: [[Phil Drabble]], presenter of ''[[One Man and His Dog]]''.
** [[Birmingham]] ([[Brummie dialect|Brummie]]): the rock musician [[Ozzy Osbourne]] (although he sometimes Americanises his speech), [[Jasper Carrott]] and [[Rob Halford]]. See [[Brummie dialect|Brummie]] for more examples.
** [[Black Country]] ([[Black Country dialect|Yam Yam]]): YouTuber Jay Swingler from [[TGFbro]] and [[Rob Halford]].
** [[Coventry]]: the actor [[Clive Owen]], in the films ''[[Sin City (film)|Sin City]]'' and ''[[King Arthur (2004 film)|King Arthur]]''. Singer-songwriter [[Terry Hall (singer)|Terry Hall]], lead vocalist with [[The Specials]].
* [[Yorkshire]]:
** [[Barnsley]]: in the 1969 film ''[[Kes (film)|Kes]]'', the lead characters, [[David (Dai) Bradley|David Bradley]] and Freddie Fletcher, both have very broad [[Barnsley]] accents, which are less likely to be heard nowadays. ''[[Coronation Street]]'' actress [[Katherine Kelly (actress)|Katherine Kelly]], Sam Nixon from Pop Idol 2003, Top of the Pops Saturday and Reloaded and Level Up also has a Barnsley accent. Also, chat show host [[Michael Parkinson]] and ex-union leader [[Arthur Scargill]] have slightly reduced Barnsley accents.
** [[Bradford]]: singers [[Gareth Gates]], [[Zayn Malik]] of [[One Direction]] and [[Kimberley Walsh]] of [[Girls Aloud]]. In ''[[Rita, Sue and Bob Too]]'', Bob has a Bradford accent whilst Rita and Sue sound more like Lancashire.
** [[Hemsworth]]: cricketer [[Geoffrey Boycott]] has an accent similar to those found in many old coal-mining towns.
** [[Holme Valley]]: Actors [[Peter Sallis]] and [[Bill Owen (actor)|Bill Owen]] of ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'' and Sallis in ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'' (although Sallis and Owen themselves were both Londoners).
** [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]]: Actors [[Tom Courtenay]] and [[Reece Shearsmith]], and singer-songwriter [[Paul Heaton]].
** [[Leeds]]: [[Melanie Brown]] of the [[Spice Girls]] and [[Beverley Callard]] who plays [[Liz McDonald]] in ''[[Coronation Street]]'', singer [[Corinne Bailey Rae]], the band [[Kaiser Chiefs]], model [[Nell McAndrew]], actress [[Angela Griffin]], Radio DJ [[Chris Moyles]], Comedian [[Leigh Francis]] alias [[Keith Lemon]].
** [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]]: characters from the 1998 film ''[[Little Voice (film)|Little Voice]]''.
** [[Sheffield]]: Ken Loach's 1977 film ''[[The Price of Coal]]'' was filmed almost entirely in the traditional dialect of the Sheffield-Rotherham area, but this variety of speech is receding. For examples of less marked Sheffield speech, see [[Sean Bean]], the band [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]], the film ''[[The Full Monty]]'' and the band [[Arctic Monkeys]].
** [[Humberside|South Humber]]: former [[England national football team|England]] manager [[Graham Taylor]] and motorcycle racer [[Guy Martin]].
** [[Wakefield]]: singer and actress [[Jane McDonald]], [[Hollyoaks]] actress [[Claire Cooper]], actor [[Reece Dinsdale]], ''[[Coronation Street]]''{{'}}s [[Helen Worth]], the band [[the Cribs]].

==Regional English accents in the media==
''[[The Archers]]'' has had characters with a variety of different West Country accents (see [[Mummerset]]).

The shows of [[Ian La Frenais]] and [[Dick Clement]] have often included a variety of regional accents, the most notable being ''[[Auf Wiedersehen Pet]]'' about [[Geordie]] men in Germany. ''[[Porridge (1974 TV series)|Porridge]]'' featured London and Cumberland accents, and ''[[The Likely Lads]]'' featured north east England.

The programmes of [[Carla Lane]] such as ''[[The Liver Birds]]'' and ''[[Bread (television series)|Bread]]'' featured [[Scouse]] accents.

In the 2005 version of the [[science fiction]] programme ''[[Doctor Who]]'', various Londoners wonder why the [[Doctor (Doctor Who)|Doctor]] ([[Ninth Doctor|played by]] [[Christopher Eccleston]]), an alien, sounds as if he comes from the North. Eccleston used his own [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]] accent in the role; the Doctor's usual response is "Lots of planets have a North!" Other accents in the same series include Cockney (used by actress [[Billie Piper]]) and Estuary (used by actress [[Catherine Tate]] and [[David Tennant]]'s [[Tenth Doctor]])

A television reality programme ''[[Rock School]]'' was set in Suffolk in its second series, providing lots of examples of the Suffolk dialect.

==See also==
{{Portal|England|Language}}
*[[American and British English differences]]
*[[England#Language|Languages of England]]
*[[Linguistic purism in English]]
*[[Regional accents of English speakers]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* {{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=Arthur |last2=Trudgill |first2=Peter |year=1996 |title=English Accents and Dialects |edition=3rd |place=London |publisher=Arnold |isbn=0-340-61445-5}}
* McArthur, Tom (2002). ''Oxford Guide to World English''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-866248-3}} hardback, {{ISBN|0-19-860771-7}} paperback.
* Peters, Pam (2004). ''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-62181-X}}.
* {{cite book |last=Trask |first=Larry |year=1999 |title=Language: The Basics |edition=2nd |place=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-20089-X}}
* {{cite book |last=Trudgill |first=Peter |year=1984 |title=Language in the British Isles |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-28409-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=Trudgill |first1=Peter |first2=Jean |last2=Hannah |year=2002 |title=International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English |edition=4th |place=London |publisher=Arnold |isbn=0-340-80834-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Wells |first=John C. |author-link=John C Wells |year=1982 |title=Accents of English. Vol. 2: The British Isles |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-28540-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Wells |first=John C. |year=1992 |title=Accents of English. Vol. 2: The British Isles |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-28540-2}}
* {{harvc |first=John |last=Wells |c=English Accents in England |in=Trudgill |year=1984}}

==Further reading==
* Partridge, A. C. (1969). ''Tudor to Augustan English: a Study in Syntax and Style, from Caxton to Johnson'', in series, ''The Language Library''. London: A. Deutsch. 242 p. SBN 233-96092-9

==External links==
* [https://www.iana.org/assignments/lang-tags/en-GB-oed IANA language tag for eng-GB-oed]
* [http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk British National Corpus]. (Official website for the BNC.)
*[http://sounds.bl.uk/BrowseCategory.aspx?category=Accents-and-dialects English Accents and Dialects]: searchable free-access archive of 681 English English speech samples, wma format with linguistic commentary including phonetic transcriptions in [[X-SAMPA]], British Library [http://www.collectbritain.co.uk Collect Britain] website.
* [http://www.audioenglish.net/p/british_american_english_pronunciation.htm Online British English and American English pronunciation courses]
* {{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/translation/writing/style_guides/english/style_guide_en.pdf |title=European Commission English Style Guide |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205092625/http://ec.europa.eu/translation/writing/style_guides/english/style_guide_en.pdf}} {{small|(621&nbsp;KB)}}. (Advocates ''-ise'' spellings.)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070716060325/http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/dialect/ For the Yorkshire dialect]

{{English dialects by continent}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:English Language in England}}
[[Category:English language in England| ]]
[[Category:Languages of England]]