Speaker A
Hi, I'm Jill at engvid.com and today's lesson is about accents in the UK.
Explore UK accents and dialects including RP, Cockney, Midlands, Northern, and more with clear examples and pronunciation tips.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.
Key Takeaways
- Accents affect pronunciation while dialects involve unique local words.
- RP is clear and prestigious but spoken by a small minority.
- Cockney has distinctive phonetic features like glottal stops and 'th' sound changes.
- Regional accents like Midlands and Northern have unique vocabulary and pronunciation.
- Understanding UK accents enriches English learning and cultural awareness.
What the video covers
- Difference between accent (pronunciation) and dialect (local vocabulary) explained.
- Received Pronunciation (RP) is the standard UK accent, spoken by about 3%, associated with BBC and upper class.
- Cockney accent from London features distinct pronunciation like 'th' to 'f' or 'v', glottal stops, and dropped 'h's.
- Midlands accent includes unique pronunciations like 'coop' for cup and 'moog' for mug, with some influence from RP.
- Northern and Midlands accents share similarities such as pronunciation of 'bath' and 'path'.
- West Country accent is rural and farming-associated, featured in BBC Radio 4's The Archers.
- Welsh accent differs and is distinct from English accents; strong Cockney speakers may pronounce 'Wales' as 'Wowls'.
- Scottish accent example: 'I don't know' becomes 'Ah dinnae ken'.
- The video highlights regional diversity in UK English pronunciation and vocabulary.
- Encourages learners to understand and appreciate different UK accents without pressure to master RP.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
So UK accents and also dialects, okay, so what's the difference between an accent and a dialect?
Speaker A
Right, well, an accent, as you know, is to do with pronunciation, how you pronounce the word.
Speaker A
Dialect is when you have a word that only people in a certain area of the country use, it's not a national word, it's a local word that maybe people from other parts of the country, they won't even know what it means, so that's dialect.
Speaker A
Okay, so let's just have a look through some of the accents that we have in the UK.
Speaker A
Uh, the one that is often referred to as the standard accent in the UK is called RP, which stands for Received Pronunciation.
Speaker A
And this is the accent that is spoken by a very small percentage of the population, about 3%.
Speaker A
And it's often associated with the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and also the Prime Minister.
Speaker A
So if you hear the Prime Minister speaking, he will be speaking in Received Pronunciation, or she will be speaking in Received Pronunciation.
Speaker A
And it's often associated with the upper classes.
Speaker A
So it's a very small percentage of the population.
Speaker A
And it's a very clear accent, it's very easy to understand.
Speaker A
So if you're learning English, it's a good accent to try to learn.
Speaker A
But don't worry too much about it, because it's not spoken by many people.
Speaker A
Okay, so that's Received Pronunciation.
Speaker A
Then we have Cockney, which is spoken in London and the surrounding areas.
Speaker A
And it's also called Estuary English, because it's spoken around the River Thames.
Speaker A
And the River Thames has an estuary, which is where the river meets the sea.
Speaker A
So it's spoken in London and the surrounding areas.
Speaker A
And there are some very distinct features of Cockney English.
Speaker A
For example, the "th" sound, which is made with your tongue between your teeth.
Speaker A
So if you say the word "think", you make the "th" sound.
Speaker A
But in Cockney, it's often pronounced as an "f" sound.
Speaker A
So instead of "think", they say "fink".
Speaker A
And instead of "with", they say "wiv".
Speaker A
So you make the "v" sound instead of the "th" sound.
Speaker A
And the number three, t-h-r-e-e, is often pronounced "free".
Speaker A
Um, we have "free" people coming to dinner, "free" people.
Speaker A
So there can be confusion there, because we have the word "free".
Speaker A
Which has a meaning in itself, free.
Speaker A
But if you actually mean "three", the number three.
Speaker A
Uh, there can be some confusion, so don't get confused by "free" people.
Speaker A
Oh, they're free, they're free to come?
Speaker A
No, there are three of them, three people who are free to come.
Speaker A
Okay, um, another example.
Speaker A
Um, another aspect of Cockney is the glottal stop.
Speaker A
Uh, words like "computer" with a "t" in it.
Speaker A
The "t" is not pronounced, so some, a lot of Cockney speakers will say "computer".
Speaker A
I don't need to write it because you can hear I'm missing out the "t".
Speaker A
And doing a glottal in my throat instead, "computer".
Speaker A
Computer, computer, okay, and the word "matter".
Speaker A
Does it matter how I speak?
Speaker A
Does it matter, does it matter how I speak?
Speaker A
So that's for you to decide, does it matter or matter how you speak, how you pronounce?
Speaker A
Um, there's another thing with Cockney, uh, when there is an "l" sound.
Speaker A
In a word, like in the word "milk", the word "milk".
Speaker A
Um, Cockney speakers tend to make a "w" sound where instead of the "l".
Speaker A
So instead of a glass of milk, they will say a glass of "milk".
Speaker A
Milk, and they "w" go like a "w".
Speaker A
So, um, and the "mail", m-a-i-l.
Speaker A
When you have the mail delivered, they might say the "mail".
Speaker A
Mail, mail, it's hard for me to say, mail.
Speaker A
Rather than mail, the "l" you make with your tongue.
Speaker A
On the, the roof of your mouth just behind your front top teeth, mail.
Speaker A
But "mail" is the Cockney, uh, and there's a place in the West of the country.
Speaker A
Which I'm sure you've heard of, oh, I'll put it by this one.
Speaker A
To the West of the West Country, the country called Wales.
Speaker A
And you've probably heard of the Prince of Wales, one of the royal family.
Speaker A
This word with a very strong Cockney speaker, with a very strong accent.
Speaker A
Um, tends to pronounce it like "Wowls".
Speaker A
Not Wales, but "Wowls", which is like saying.
Speaker A
Wow, with an "s" on the end, "Wowls", we went to "Wowls" for our holiday.
Speaker A
Uh, but it's actually Wales, so these are some examples of, um, of that.
Speaker A
And one more aspect of Cockney is the letter "h".
Speaker A
So if you have a name like Harry.
Speaker A
Harry, uh, would be pronounced "Arry".
Speaker A
And "have", when you make the "h" sound, "have".
Speaker A
So the Cockney speaker tends to miss off the "h".
Speaker A
Okay, so okay, that's just a few examples of how the Cockney accent differs from from RP.
Speaker A
Okay, so now we have a little bit more space, we'll move on a little bit further north.
Speaker A
And the Midlands is an area of the country about 100 miles or more.
Speaker A
North of London, the Midlands, which is in the middle of the country.
Speaker A
Okay, and there's the East Midlands and the West Midlands.
Speaker A
I happen to come from the East Midlands.
Speaker A
So my accent is now, because I now live in London and I've lived in London for a long time.
Speaker A
My accent changed gradually after I moved.
Speaker A
But there is still a little bit of a mixture in my accent.
Speaker A
For example, um, I still say words like "bath" and "path".
Speaker A
Which is the same as the American and Canadian pronunciation.
Speaker A
Lots of people say "bath" and "path".
Speaker A
But the RP pronunciation of these words is "baath" and "paath".
Speaker A
So that is one thing that I have not changed in my accent.
Speaker A
Um, I still say "bath" and "path".
Speaker A
Because to me, it feels very strange psychologically to to talk about a "baath" or a "paath".
Speaker A
It's just a step too far for me.
Speaker A
Uh, but other aspects of my previous accent I have changed.
Speaker A
Uh, for example, if you have a cup of tea.
Speaker A
A cup of tea, that's the RP pronunciation.
Speaker A
But where I come from in the Midlands, we called it a "coop" of tea.
Speaker A
Okay, so I'll spell it like that, that's just a kind of phonetic spelling.
Speaker A
Coop, coop of tea, so it feels very strange for me now to say "coop".
Speaker A
Because I have trained myself to say "cup".
Speaker A
Which feels more refined, but a nice "cup" of tea, not a "coop" of tea.
Speaker A
Okay, um, and similarly, uh, larger than a cup is a mug.
Speaker A
That sort of thing is a mug, pronounced mug.
Speaker A
Uh, but in the Midlands, they say "moog", a "moog".
Speaker A
Do you want it in a "coop" or in a "moog"?
Speaker A
Okay, that's how they would say it.
Speaker A
Um, and the word "up", "up", look "up".
Speaker A
They would say look "oop", so that's another one, similar.
Speaker A
And in the Midlands also, and in other parts of the country, sometimes people are very friendly.
Speaker A
And they call people "love", "Hello love, how are you today?".
Speaker A
They use it in the South, but of course in the Midlands and the North, they say "love".
Speaker A
Okay, so the word "love" as well, used when you're speaking to somebody in a friendly way.
Speaker A
Hello love, love, love, they say "love".
Speaker A
Okay, um, okay, so that's just a few examples of the Midlands.
Speaker A
And the Northern as well, the further north you go, you still get these "bath", "path".
Speaker A
Coop, moog, love, oop, it's all very similar really.
Speaker A
So from the Midlands upwards, okay, uh, moving on.
Speaker A
There is the West Country, which is over obviously to the West of England.
Speaker A
Before you get to Wales, because Wales has its own accent, which is different again.
Speaker A
The West Country, I can't really imitate that very well.
Speaker A
But it, people sort of imagine it as a very sort of farming area, a kind of rural accent.
Speaker A
Um, and if, if you ever listen to a radio program called The Archers.
Speaker A
On the radio, BBC Radio 4, they, some of the characters in that program.
Speaker A
It's a little drama series, speak in this West Country accent.
Speaker A
So that's all I'm saying about West Country, because I can't imitate it.
Speaker A
So, moving on, apart from England, the country that has given the language its name, English.
Speaker A
We have other countries, uh, Scotland in the far north.
Speaker A
Um, Wales in the far West, and then Irish, the other island.
Speaker A
To the West, an island all on its own, called Ireland, which is confusing.
Speaker A
Ireland is the name of the country, and it is an island.
Speaker A
Again, so with the Scottish accent, um, if a Scottish person with their Scottish accent says "I don't know".
Speaker A
They say "Ah dinnae ken", okay, so that means I don't know.
Speaker A
So "Ah dinnae ken" is the, my accent isn't very good, but that, those are the words that are used.
Speaker A
I don't know, okay, and, um, instead of saying "can't" or "cannot".
Speaker A
They say "cannae", you cannae be serious, I think a tennis player used to say that, didn't he?
Speaker A
If he was Scottish, he might have said, "You cannae be serious, man!".
Speaker A
So "cannae" instead of "can't" or "cannot".
Speaker A
Okay, so those are some examples of Scottish accent and dialect.
Speaker A
And Scottish people also, instead of saying "yes", they say "aye".
Speaker A
So "aye" means "yes".
Speaker A
And they also, instead of saying "oh", the exclamation, "oh".
Speaker A
They say "och", "och", and they make this sound in the back of their throat.
Speaker A
Which is like the German "kh" sound, so "och".
Speaker A
And they also have these large expanses of water, like big lakes, which are called "lochs".
Speaker A
So "loch", so "och, I fell in the loch!".
Speaker A
And they also have a slightly different up and down in their voice as well.
Speaker A
Och, I fell in the loch, och, I'm wet through.
Speaker A
So they have a certain way of speaking.
Speaker A
If you've ever heard Sean Connery in a film, he changes his accent sometimes.
Speaker A
But if you hear Sean Connery, he's a Scottish actor.
Speaker A
Speaking in his Scottish accent, you will get some idea of the Scottish sound.
Speaker A
And also the younger actor, David Tennant, who also uses different accents.
Speaker A
But sometimes he uses his native Scottish accent.
Speaker A
Okay, right, so that's some Scottish examples.
Speaker A
And I just need to clear some space again to give you just the last few examples.
Speaker A
Okay, okay, so just one more example for you.
Speaker A
Um, there are various cities, uh, which have their own distinct accents.
Speaker A
Okay, places like Liverpool, which is up in the Northwest.
Speaker A
Birmingham, which is in the West Midlands.
Speaker A
Newcastle, which is in the Northeast, and Glasgow up in Scotland.
Speaker A
And I just would like to give you a few examples from the Birmingham accent.
Speaker A
So in Birmingham, um, if you say "I'll".
Speaker A
I'll be there, they actually, they change the vowel sound and they say "oil".
Speaker A
So it's like "oil", um, if they say "fine".
Speaker A
We say "fine", okay, but they say "foin".
Speaker A
So like that, um, and the word for the cosmetics that you put on your face.
Speaker A
Which we call "makeup", "makeup", or one word.
Speaker A
When you make up your face, you're using "makeup".
Speaker A
They pronounce it "mycoop", "mycoop".
Speaker A
I'm going to buy some "mycoop" instead of I'm going to buy some "makeup".
Speaker A
Okay, so that's just a few examples to show how a particular accent can change the vowel sound.
Speaker A
Right, so having said all of this, I'm giving you some examples.
Speaker A
Just to come back to London briefly, and any other big city, you you get many, many accents in a big city.
Speaker A
You get the accents from the people who live in that country, the national accents.
Speaker A
And the regional accents from different parts of the country.
Speaker A
You also get all the international accents from people who have come from other countries.
Speaker A
Okay, so in any big city that you visit, you will hear many, many different accents.
Speaker A
But there are three main things that really matter with accent.
Speaker A
It doesn't really matter so much which accent you use.
Speaker A
As long as you have these three things.
Speaker A
Clarity, that's if you speak clearly.
Speaker A
Okay, pace, or the speed, don't speak too quickly.
Speaker A
And you can ask other people to speak more slowly for you to understand them.
Speaker A
And volume, sometimes people speak very quietly, and you need to ask them to speak more loudly.
Speaker A
To speak up, so those are the three main things, whatever your accent.
Speaker A
Don't worry too much about your accent, just try to be clear.
Speaker A
Don't speak too quickly, and speak with a good volume, not too quietly.
Speaker A
Don't be so shy about making mistakes that you speak too quietly.
Speaker A
Make it fairly loud, okay, so I hope that little overview of UK accents has been useful for you.
Speaker A
And if you'd like to test your knowledge, we have a quiz on the website, engvid.com.
Speaker A
So if you'd like to go there and do the quiz, and if you'd like to subscribe to my channel on YouTube, that would be great.
Speaker A
And so thank you for watching, and hope to see you again soon.
Speaker A
Okay, bye.
Topics:British accentsUK dialectsReceived PronunciationCockney accentMidlands accentNorthern EnglishWest Country accentScottish accentEnglish pronunciationLearn English
