Northern and midland accents

• Non-RP (Received Pronunciation) accents in England

  • Southern Accents
  • Northern/Midland Accents
• Southern Accents


  • Greater London and Surrounding Areas: Cockney, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire
  • East Anglia: Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire
  • South-West: Gloucestershire, Avon, Somerset, Wiltshire
• Northern and Midland Accents

  • Northern: Northumberland, Durham, Cleveland
  • Yorkshire
  • North-West: Lancashire, Cheshire
  • West Midland: Birmingham, Wolverhampton
• Differences Between Southern and Northern Accents

  • Vowel Sounds: Before the voiceless fricatives [f], [0], [s] and certain consonant clusters containing initial [n] or [m], [æ] is pronounced in the North instead of [a:] in the South
• RP (Received Pronunciation)


  The national standard of pronunciation in the UK, used by BBC newsreaders since the 1920s
• Types of RP


  • Conservative RP: Used by the older generation and certain professions
  • General RP: Commonly used, typified by the BBC
  • Advanced RP: Used by younger people in exclusive social groups
• Another classification of RP

  • General RP: Used by middle-class educated speakers
  • Refined RP: Associated with the upper class, characterized by specific vowel sounds
  • Regional RP: Reflects regional influences
• Northern English Accents


  • Influenced by the Scottish accent
  • Vowel differences from RP
  • Consonant differences from RP
• Midlands Accent (Brummie - Birmingham)


  • Foot-strut Merger: Words like "love" or "cup" pronounced like "foot"
  • No Trap-Bath Split: Words like "bath" and "dance" pronounced like "trap"
  • Short "i": Sounds similar to a longer "i" (live, fit like leave, feet)
  • Archaic Elements: Words like "bin" (am, are) and "ay" (isn't)