Accent and Dialect

 An ‘accent’ is a distinctive way of pronouncing language. They are usually associated with a particular country or area. Dialect however, refers to a form of language which different to a specific group or region.

The Uk is seen as the most dialect obsessed nation in the world. There are a significant amount of accents shapes by many people throughout history, with only few English-speaking nations with as many varieties of language in such a small space.

Cockney

Cockney originated from the east end of london and has now become one of the most popular accents in London. Due to this,cockney shares many traits with other dialects in that region. An example of someone who speaks cockney is the actor Ray Winstone, as well as the heavy metal rocker Steve Harri.

The features of Cockney Language:

-In words such as ‘cat’ and ‘trap’, people with a cockney accent raise the vowels. This means these words begin to sound like ‘trep’ and ‘cet’.

-In cockney, the ‘h’ is not pronounced. For example,with the word ‘house’ you wouldn’t pronounce the h at all, therefore it would simply be ‘ouse’.

-Th-fronting, another feature of cockney language is that certain words are pronounced with a more forward consonant. For example, thing becomes “fing,” this becomes “dis,” and mother becomes “muhvah.”

-Another key feature is the use of rhyme to communicate meanings. For example, Would you Adam and Eve it?’ - this uses rhyme to pragmatically say ‘can you believe it?’. Another example is  ‘We had a Bull and Cow last night.’ - this basically means ‘we had a row last night’.The final example is ‘does anyone want a pigs ear’ this is asking if anyone would like a beer. The use of rhyme makes it easier to read and creates a nice flow

Welsh English

Welsh english refers to the accents and dialects in wales. An example of someone who speaks welsh is the singer Tom Jones, as well as the actor Rhys Ifans. Many Americans argue that welsh is actually a foreign language. Until the start of the eighteenth century the vast majority of the population of Wales spoke Welsh, although many would have had regular contact with English

The features of Welsh English:

-One feature of welsh english is that the syllables are evenly stressed. The prosody of the accent is generally very musical.

-Also, welsh english is normally non-rhotic.

-In welsh, the letter ‘r’ if often trilled or tapped.

Estuary english

Estuary english, also known as south east english was derived from London english. This accent can be heard round South East England, East Anglia, and even starting to come in to the midlands and the north. South east is known to be one of the most common within essex, and is widely used. An example of people who have this accent are the comedians Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais, as well as the chef Gordon Ramsay. Estuary English shares many features with cockney.

Features of Estuary english

-Firstly, many people criticise estuary english for being ‘too informal at times’, ‘ over exaggerating’ and ‘fake’. This is because the stereotypes of this type of english is that the words are dragged out, making them longer - hence it being criticised for being too exaggerated.

-Additionally, an example of a stereotypical word used by people with a south east accent would be ‘bait’. This word means that something is obvious. An example of this in a sentence would be ‘’it's so bait you hate me’’.

-Although it is similar to cockney, estuary speakers do not front th words or raise the vowel in trap.

-Use of intrusive: pronouncing /r/ where etymologically no /r/ is present to prevent consecutive vowel sounds. For instance, drawing is pronounced /ˈdrɔːrɪŋ/.