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Regional Voices
All languages change over time and vary according to place and social setting. The way we speak is influenced by many factors — the roots of our elders, our social and educational background, our working environment, our friends and our own sense of identity. As we move across the country we experience the changing landscape and architecture. At the same time we notice a gradual change in the sounds we hear — the accents and dialects that immediately conjure up a sense of the place to which they belong. The terms accent and dialect are often used interchangeably, although in strict linguistic terms they refer to different aspects of language variation.
What is a dialect?
A dialect is a specific variety of English that differs from other varieties in three specific ways: lexis (vocabulary), grammar (structure) and phonology (pronunciation or accent). English dialects may be different from each other, but all speakers within the English- speaking world can still generally understand them. A speaker from Newcastle-upon- Tyne, for instance, might pepper his speech with localised vocabulary, such as gan for “to go” or clarts for “mud”. He may often use regional grammatical constructions, such as the past tense constructions I’ve went and I’ve drank or the reflexive pronouns mysel, yoursel, hissel etc. In addition he probably uses a range of local pronunciations. For all these reasons he could be described as a Geordie dialect speaker.
What is an accent?
Accent, on the other hand, refers only to differences in the sound patterns of a specific dialect. A speaker from Newcastle-upon-Tyne who generally uses mainstream vocabulary and grammar, but whose pronunciation has an unmistakeable hint of Tyneside, should properly be described as having a Geordie accent. In other words, dialect is the umbrella term for a variety of linguistic features, one of which is accent. True dialect speakers are relatively rare, but despite popular belief we all speak with an accent.
In this section you can listen to original recordings of dialect speakers from across the UK, recorded at different times last century. You will also find recordings of RP speakers and minority ethnic communities. Consider the following statement and click on the highlighted words for more information about particular types of language variation:
‘happen’ ‘she was’ ‘wearing’ a ‘mask’
Attitudes to language variety
For many years, certain English dialects have been viewed more positively than others. Many of us make assumptions based on the way people speak — judging certain dialects or accents as too posh, harsh, aggressive, unfriendly, ‘unintelligent’ or ‘common’. Unfortunately many individuals have suffered as a result of this irrational prejudice. No one dialect is better at communicating meaning than another. The fact some dialects and accents are seen to be more prestigious than others is more a reflection of judgements based on social, rather than linguistic, criteria. We live in an increasingly homogeneous society and so the vocabulary, structure and sounds that
define the speech of a particular region, should be and indeed are for many speakers, a source of great pride and an important expression of cultural identity.
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation ( RP) is the proper term to describe the regionally neutral accent used by many middle class speakers in England. It is widely used as a reference point in dictionaries and as a model for teaching English as a foreign language. But have you ever wondered how it came into existence, how it is changing or what role it plays in 21st century Britain? Find out more by listening to over 100 audio clips that put RP in all its forms under the microscope.
Geordie dialect
The UK has a number of distinctive dialects, and Geordie – the dialect of Newcastle- upon-Tyne – is arguably one of our most recognisable. In this section you can listen to more than 150 audio clips featuring a range of speakers from Tyneside and unpack the vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar that makes speech in the area so unique. You can use the audio clips and additional commentary to help you compare Geordie dialect with RP or with speech in your area.
Minority ethnic English
For more than half a century, immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and the West Indies have added variety and diversity to the rich patchwork of accents and dialects spoken in the UK. In this section you can listen to a selection of audio clips that demonstrate a number of aspects of the English we hear in Britain's Caribbean and Asian communities. You can also find out how English arrived in the Commonwealth and how it is used across the globe.
RP: a Social Accent of English
Received Pronunciation, or RP for short, is the instantly recognisable accent often described as ‘typically British’. Popular terms for this accent, such as ‘The Queen’s English’, ‘Oxford English’ or ‘BBC English’ are all a little misleading. The Queen, for instance, speaks an almost unique form of English, while the English we hear at Oxford University or on the BBC is no longer restricted to one type of accent. RP is an accent, not a dialect, since all RP speakers speak Standard English. In other words, they avoid non-standard grammatical constructions and localised vocabulary characteristic of regional dialects. RP is also regionally non-specific, that is it does not contain any clues about a speaker’s geographic background. But it does reveal a great deal about their social and/or educational background.
Well-known but not widely used RP is probably the most widely studied and most frequently described variety of spoken English in the world, yet recent estimates suggest only 2% of the UK population speak it. It has a negligible presence in Scotland and Northern Ireland and is arguably losing its prestige status in Wales. It should properly, therefore, be described as an English, rather than a British accent. As well as being a living accent, RP is also a theoretical linguistic concept. It is the accent on which phonemic transcriptions in dictionaries are based, and it is widely used (in competition with General American) for teaching English as a foreign language. RP is included here as a case study, not to imply it has
Like any other accent, RP has also changed over the course of time. The voices we associate with early BBC broadcasts, for instance, now sound extremely old-fashioned to most. Just as RP is constantly evolving, so our attitudes towards the accent are changing. For much of the twentieth century, RP represented the voice of education, authority, social status and economic power. The period immediately after the Second World War was a time when educational and social advancement suddenly became a possibility for many more people. Those who were able to take advantage of these opportunities - be it in terms of education or career - often felt under considerable pressure to conform linguistically and thus adopt the accent of the establishment or at least modify their speech towards RP norms. In recent years, however, as a result of continued social change, virtually every accent is represented in all walks of life to which people aspire - sport, the arts, the media, business, even former strongholds of RP England, such as the City, Civil Service and academia. As a result, fewer younger speakers with regional accents consider it necessary to adapt their speech to the same extent. Indeed many commentators even suggest that younger RP speakers often go to great lengths to disguise their middle-class accent by incorporating regional features into their speech.
