Super-accents

England will be dominated by a few 'super-accents' within 40 years, according to this recent Daily Mail report, which quotes research undertaken at the University of Lancaster. In particular, in the north of England, Geordie, or the dialect spoken in the north-east around Newcastle and Sunderland, is set to make inroads into Cumbria in the north-west.

 

Geordie is spreading outside its traditional area thanks to celebrities such as Ant and Dec, and Cheryl Cole, who speak it. In the south of England it is the London accent that is spreading into the home counties, as people move out of the capital. Professor Paul Kerswill of Lancaster University predicts that the London dialect will be a multi-cultural one within 40 years, influenced by London's Caribbean and Asian communities. As it is now, it is fashionable among young people who have never been anywhere near the Caribbean to speak so-called Jafaican ie fake Jamaican.

 

Here's the Mail article.

Comments

[John]

Great post, great article linked. Thanks.

[Jo]

Hey there is nothing wrong with having a strong accent it makes you the person you are, many people on television have gone on to have great careers with strong accents, Sean Bean from Sheffield is one, Cheryl Cole and Ant and Dec are just a long string of people... as a Yorkshire Lass its fab to see.

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks for your comments.