Northern English

Pronunciation

The pronunciation of northern English is much more 'open' than the English of the south east. Vowel sounds are particularly discernible:

• RP 'ah' becomes 'a' - hence the first vowel sound in "father" resembles the vowel sound in "fat";
• RP 'u' becomes 'uh' - hence the vowel sound in "but" resembles the vowel sound in "book".
• the RP diphthong 'ey' sounds like a long 'eh' - hence "name" sounds like 'nehm'.
• Many northern accents are rhotic (the 'r' being sounded in words like "car"), and 'h's are frequently dropped.

Within this area there are three full-blown dialects:

• Geordie (spoken around the Newcastle area); non-rhotic and the only English dialect where 'h's are NOT dropped; the 'aa' is particularly open and very long;
• Yorkshire (spoken around Leeds and Bradford); the definite article is shortened to 't', as in "in t' park"; the use of thou/thee forms survive in some areas;
• Scouse (spoken around the Liverpool area); has elements of local Lancashire speech and Irish varieties; 't' sounds often become 'r' sounds as in "What's the marrer?" and the final 'g' of '-ing' is sounded as in "brinGinG".

Midlands or Birmingham English (spoken in the Black Country) has a distinctive accent and shares many features with Northern English: it drops the 'h's, the /?/ vowel sound is open and the vowel sound in "but" is a low 'ooh'. It is, however, non-rhotic. Other features include:

• the RP diphthong 'ai' of "tie" sounds more like 'oy' as in "toy";
• the RP diphthong 'a-oo' as in "now" becomes more like 'oh-oo';
• the RP diphthong 'oh-oo' as in "coat" tends towards a tripthong 'uh-oh-oo';
• the final 'g' in '-ing' is often sounded as in Scouse: "sinGinG";
• in the northern part of the Birmingham area, some speakers use 'a-oo' for 'ooh' so that "you" rhymes with "how";
• 'uh' sounds often become long 'eh' sounds, hence "Birmingham" is 'beh-mingGum'.

The accent of the south west of England (Cornwall, Devon, etc. often called the West Country) is rhotic with a strong rolled 'rr', giving the accent its 'burr':

• RP 'f' is voiced, becoming 'v', therefore "fine" sounds like "vine";
• RP 's' is also often voiced, becoming 'z', therefore "see" sounds more like 'zee';
• the RP diphthong 'ai' of "pint" sounds more like 'oy' as in "point";
• - the /h/ sound is generally dropped;

The main grammar feature of note is the lack of declined forms for the verb "to be", giving I be, you be, he/she/it be, we be, they be. Sometimes the present progressive form of other verbs is formed with "do" and "be" as in "He do be drinking."

You could well hear something like: "Ee do be drinkin' a poynt 'v zoyderrr."

see special page (link: Introduction to Cockney)