(Please note, these materials rely largely upon Hughes and Trudgill 1997 and Wells 1982 For more detail, refer to those sources)
By a close analysis of the way people pronounce vowels, diphthongs and consonant, it is possible to identify many regional accents throughout the UK (as well, of course, throughout the English speaking world.) For example, in one listing which still operates at a fairly broad level of analysis, Hughes and Trudgill ( 1997)identify 13 different accent areas within England (excluding, of course, Wales, Scotland and Ireland). These accent regions include, for example, the North East (Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham), the Central North (Bradford, Lancaster, York, Leeds), Mersyside (Liverpool, Birkenhead), the West Midlands (Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, and the South East (London, Brighton, Dover). There would be many more if more subtle and localised differences in pronunciation were taken into account.
By operating at an even broader level of analysis, however, it is possible to identify sound variations which, for example, distinguish north from south. This more broadly determined southern accent region includes the south Midlands (Bedford, Northampton), the South East (London etc), East Anglia (Norwich, Ipswich), the Eastern South West (Bristol, Gloucester) and the West South West (Plymouth, Exeter). The northern area extends northwards from the West Midlands and the East Midlands (Nottingham, Leicester, Grantham). In this section we'll explore differences which separate north from south.
