For anyone learning the Queen’s English, you might find yourself a little lost if you visited some British towns and cities. Not everyone talks like that as there is huge regional variations and unique local dialects around the UK. Accents play a massive part of who we are but also how we are perceived. Here are some of the best and worst that the UK has to offer:

Estuary English – this comes from the English spoken in London and it can be heard all around Southeast England and East Anglia. It is considered to be similar to the Cockney accent but not quite as pronounced.

Cockney – this world-famous accent is meant to only apply to those born within the sounds of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow Church but now refers to anyone of the East End of London. It was famously attempted by Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, much to the amusement of the UK. ‘Th’ is often replaced with an f or v so a thing becomes a ‘fing’. Cockney rhyming slang is almost a language of its own!

Geordie – a much loved accent, it represents a warm, welcoming Newcastle dialect. In very strong accents the ‘ou’ sound becomes ‘oo’ so the word ‘about’ is pronounced ‘aboot’. A perfect example of the Geordie accent can be seen in the singer Cheryl (formerly Cheryl Cole).

West Country – this accent is found in all areas of the Southwest of the country with many slight variations due to the large size of the geographical area. Bristolians have a strong accent and place heavy pronunciation on the letter r. A similar accent is found in Gloucestershire and is often parodied as sounding like a farmer! If you’re business is in this beautiful part of the world then consider SEO Gloucester. For more information, visit http://digi-tel.co.uk/gloucestershire-seo-services/seo-internet-marketing-gloucester/

Midlands – whilst there are differences between East and West Midlands, the most well-known accent in this region has to be ‘Brummie’. Often considered one of the worst accents in the UK, it can be argued that it is warm, down-to-earth and very melodic! Due to its looseness, it does share similarities with the Australian accent.

Northern English – there are big differences in the cities of Liverpool and Manchester but most other areas seem to split into a Yorkshire or Lancashire accent. Northern accents tend to elongate vowels so that the word kite, for example, would be said as ’kaaait’.

Liverpool – this city deserves a special mention on its own as it is an instantly recognisable accent quite unlike others in the UK. The unique scouse accent seems to have developed from the city becoming a melting pot during industrialization. There was a massive influx of Welsh and Irish workers and when mixed together with the pre-existing Lancashire lilt – created the scouse sound.

Wales – the accents here are influenced by the sound of the traditional Welsh language. It is said to be very melodic as syllables are evenly paced, giving a ‘sing-song’ sound and many words ending in or containing the letter ‘r’ are rolled. The Welsh accent contains its own regional variations and someone from Cardiff sounds different to someone from the Rhondda Valley.