UK Accents: Why So Many? British Culture

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!