Spoken English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. The United Kingdom has a wide variety of accents, and no single "British accent" exists. This article provides an overview of the numerous identifiable variations in pronunciation. Such distinctions usually derive from the phonetic inventory of local dialects, as well as from broader differences in the Standard English of different primary-speaking populations.
Northumberland is a ceremonial county in North East England, bordering Scotland. It is bordered by the Scottish Borders to the north, the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The town of Blyth is the largest settlement. Northumberland is the northernmost county in England.
Geordie is an English dialect spoken in the Tyneside area of North East England, especially connected with Newcastle upon Tyne, and sometimes known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. The Geordie dialect and identity are primarily associated with a working-class background. A 2008 newspaper survey found the Geordie accent to be perceived as the "most attractive in England" among the British public.
Pitmatic – originally 'pitmatical' – is a group of traditional Northern English dialects spoken in rural areas of the Great Northern Coalfield in England.
Mackem, Makem or Mak'em is a nickname for residents of and people from Sunderland, a city in North East England. It is also a name for the local dialect and accent ; and for a fan, of whatever origin, of Sunderland A.F.C. It has been used by the people of Sunderland to describe themselves since the 1980s, prior to which it was mainly used in Tyneside as a disparaging exonym. An alternative name for a Mackem is a Wearsider.
Northumbrian was a dialect of Old English spoken in the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria. Together with Mercian, Kentish and West Saxon, it forms one of the sub-categories of Old English devised and employed by modern scholars.
The spoken English language in Northern England has been shaped by the region's history of settlement and migration, and today encompasses a group of related accents and dialects known as Northern England English or Northern English.
The Scottish vowel length rule describes how vowel length in Scots, Scottish English, and, to some extent, Ulster English and Geordie is conditioned by the phonetic environment of the target vowel. Primarily, the rule is that certain vowels are phonetically long in the following environments:
The English language spoken and written in England encompasses a diverse range of accents and dialects. The language forms part of the broader British English, along with other varieties in the United Kingdom. Terms used to refer to the English language spoken and written in England include English English and Anglo-English.
Smoggie is a colloquial term used to refer to people from the Teesside area of North East England. The term is also used to describe the local accent and dialect spoken in the area. The term relates to the area's notoriety for its high levels of pollution from local industry, which resulted in a thick smog that often blanketed the region. Despite popular belief that the term originates from the 1960s, its earliest recorded use is in the 1990s, as visiting football supporters from other areas of the country began to refer to the locals as "smog monsters", which was later shortened to "smoggies". Despite its origins as a term of derision, "Smoggie" has since been adopted as a term of pride by many residents of Teesside.
The Northumbrian burr is the distinctive uvular pronunciation of R in the traditional dialects of Northumberland, Tyneside ('Geordie'), and northern County Durham, now remaining only among speakers of rural Northumberland, excluding Tyne and Wear. It is one of the few rhotic dialects left in England.
The Pitman's Courtship is a famous Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by William Mitford, in a style deriving from music hall. This piece takes a humorous look at the courtship of a Pitman and his lass where the discussion forms the proposal of marriage and the couple's plans for a life together. This song was generally considered to be one of the region's finest 'traditional' songs, one of only a handful of Tyneside songs to be appreciated outside the region in its day.
Rhymes of Northern Bards is a book of North East England traditional and popular song consisting of approximately 200 song lyrics on over 300 pages, published in 1812. It was reprinted in 1971 by Frank Graham, Newcastle upon Tyne with an introduction by David Harker.
John William Chater (1840–1885) was a prominent 19th-century Tyneside publisher, printer and bookseller, with premises in the centre of Newcastle.
Richard Oliver Heslop (1842–1916) was a British businessman, author, historian, lexicologist, lexicographer, songwriter and poet. His most famous work is the two-volume "Northumberland Words".
Wot Cheor Geordie was an early attempt by the BBC to produce a radio variety programme broadcast from Regional Studios and in a local dialect. Wot Cheor is a greeting in Geordie dialect.
Robert Allen was a Northumberland born farmer and poet.
Northumbria was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in early medieval England.
Northumbria, in modern contexts, usually refers to the region of England between the Tees and Tweed, including the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham, but it may also be taken to be synonymous with North East England. The area corresponds to the rump lands of the historical Kingdom of Northumbria, which later developed into the late medieval county of Northumberland or Comitatus Northumbriae, whose original southern boundary was the River Tees. A provincial flag of Northumbria has been registered.
The Humber-Lune Line is a term used for the traditional dialect boundary in England between descendants of Northumbrian Old English to the north and Mercian Old English to the south. It is considered the most significant dialect boundary within the Anglic dialect continuum and separates the Scots language and traditional Northern English dialects from all other Anglic varieties. The line trends from south-east to north-west, from the Humber estuary to the mouth of the Cumbrian River Lune west of Lancaster. In the 1899 publication On Early English Pronunciation, Part V, the dialectologist Alexander John Ellis attempted a precise plotting of the line, which he referred to as the "hoose line" because areas north of the line uses the "hoose" pronunciation rather than the "house" found south of the line.
