“ Sometimes I'll go into a shop and speak in a different accent to see if I can pull it off. But then somebody will be like, "Where did you say you were from again…?" And then I panic and my accent dissolves, and I pretend like I wasn't doing it in the first place. ”
—Tatiana Maslany (X)
English Slang- Regions/Counties
I have said before I don’t like the British slang posts that circle tumblr. Not all of these slang words are used universally across the UK and some are probably out of date. So here is my list based on regions.
Cheshire
- Dutty- dirty. “She’s so dutty!”
- Paralytic- drunk “God I was paralytic last night”
- Baghead- idiot “John was being a right baghead”
- Traffic light party- dress according to relationship status.
- Gange- weed “Gange is illegal!!”
- Bitch/hissy fit- tantrum “Oh stop throwing a hissy fit mum, I’ll clean it in a bit!”
Cumbria
- How’s your fettle- how’re you doing?
- Marra- friend “He’s such a good marra”
- yan tyan tethera methera- one, two, three, four
- Yous- plural form of you “Oi! Yous lot, pack it in!”
- Owt- anything “What do you want to do today?” “Owt”
- Nowt- nothing “What are you doing?” “Nowt”
- jammy- lucky “Oh your so jammy!”
- Garn yam- going home “I’m garn yam now”
- Be reet- it’ll be alright “Don’t worry, be reet”
Lancashire
- Chuddy- chewing gum “Can I have a chuddy?”
- Tart- slut “Have you see that dress? She’s such a tart.”
- Brew -tea/coffee “Make me a brew”
- Buttie- sandwich, “I love chip butties”
- Tintanet- internet “Just on tintanet”
by yuutfa
Merseyside (Mainly Liverpool/Scouse words)
- Scouse- A person from Liverpool is (also, “a scouser”),
- Scatty- something dirty “Don’t wear that, it’s scatty!”
- Gigs- (eye) glasses “I like your new gigs!”
- Kecks- Trousers “Pull your kecks up!”
- Meff- someone who is dirty
- Ming/Minger- someone who is dirty “Your such a minger Tom!”
- Bizzies- Police “The bizzies nearly got me!”
- Chippy- Fish and chip shop “Chippy for tea?”
- Divvy- Idiot “Stop being a divvy”
- Made up- Really happy “I’m real made up with your results!”
- Is right- “get in there” which I guess means “yay”
- Muzzy- “moustache” “Cor, look at the muzzy on him!”
- Pure- (adj) Very
- Doing my head in- annoying/frustrating me “Be quiet Lucy, you’re doing my head in”
- Swerve (that)- Stop that/something along the lines of “no I’m not doing that/let’s not do that”
- Cuppa- Cup of tea “Fancy a cuppa?”
- Butty/butties- sandwich/es “Lets have some butties”
- Fuming- Extremely angry “I was fuming”
- Boss- (adj) amazing “Wow you are so boss at that game!”
- As if- “I don’t believe it”, coming from “as if that’s true” “Harry’s in jail.” “As if!”
- Bevvy- Alcholic drink “Get me a bevvy”
- Blag- Lie “Stop blagging”
- Come ‘ed- “Come head” – offering a fight
- Geg (verb, usually followed by “in”, can be “gegging in”, “gegged in”, etc)- Join in on something (activity/conversation/etc. uninvited) “Stop gegging in!”
- Geg out- Usually said when telling somebody to butt out “This is nothing to do with you, geg out”
- No nee- used as an exclamation of digust/disappointment (also “any need?”)
- Wool- (noun) somebody not from Liverpool but from the surrounding areas e.g. St Helens, Wigan, Warrington, etc.”He’s a wool, isn’t he”
- Plazzy scouser- (Plastic Scouser) somebody who claims to be Scouse when they’re not
- Soft lad- Friendly name for somebody who is being a bit dim “Fred’s being a bit of a soft lad”
- Soz- Sorry
- Ta’-Thanks “Ta for that
- Ye ma-Your mum
Midlands ( More Black country)
- Ar cor- I can’t “Ar cor do that”
- I bay- I better not
- I day- I daren’t “Pull his trousers down!” “I day do that!
- Barmy- Crazy “Your mum is barmy!”
- Bab- pet name “You okay bab?”
- Babbee- Baby “She’s got a babbee now”
by anon
Northumbrian
- Plodging- to paddle in shallow water “Going to go plodging
- Canny- good “She’s a canny girl”
- Skumfished- hot or tired depending on region “Oh I’m skumfished, best go to bed.”
- Ahaad- something caught fire
- Cannit- cannot
- Lowp- jump
- Stottie- round bread
- on your honkers- crouching “Why are you on your honkers?”
- Crack-gossip “You’ll never believe this crack I just heard!”
- Hinny- honey “Give me a cuddle hinny”
- Divvent- do/did not “I divvent do that!”
- Toon- town “I’m going to go toon”
- Bairn- child “She’s such a cute bairn!”
- Hacky- dirty “Oh, your clothes are hacky”
by lixstorrm
Nottinghamshire
- Peng’ - meaning attractive, fit, pretty “She’s so peng!”
- Greb- emo “She looks like a greb”
- Short Weekends- trousers that are too short “Reece we’re going to have to buy you some new trousers, they are short weekends!”
Somerset
- Alllraiiiiight Me lover- alright my love “Hello” “Alright me lover?”
- Babber- baby “Oh look at the cute babber”
- Casn’t- can’t “I casn’t do that!”
- Gurt- very
- Kinave- can I have “Kinave a lolly please”
- Rit- write
- Pitcher- picture “Oh what a nice pitcheer”
- Wheres Attoo? - where is that
- Brissle- Bristol “He’s from brissle
- init- isn’t it “That food is so nice, innit”
by bkhea
Yorkshire
- ‘Eck/heck - hell “By heck that hill is steep!”
- Bait- snack “Let me get some bait”
- Beck- stream or brook. “Jill is playing down by the beck”
- Belt- to hit/thrash “I’ll belt you if you don’t shut up”
- Chuffed- happy “I’m really chuffed with you”
- Flaggin’- Tired “I’m flaggin today”
- Flummox - confused/puzzled “You’ve really flummoxed me”
- Gaffer- boss “Best speak to the gaffer about that”
- Lug- pull or tug something or a tangle in hair. “I have to lug that sack all the way upstairs!” “I have so many lugs in my hair”
- Mardy/mardy bum- moody/bad tempered “You are such a mardy bum, it’ll be your turn in a minute!”
- Mind- watch out for “Mind your brother at school”
- Nowt- nothing
- ‘Ow do - how do you do? “Ow do you today?”
- Owt - anything
- Pop- fizzy drink “Pass me the pop”
- Reckon- think “I reckon I’m going to fail these tests.”
- Reight- very “It’s reight good this game!”
- Spell- splinter of wood “I just got a spell in my hand from that fence!”
- Popped ‘is cloggs- died “Dennis popped ‘is cloggs last week
- Duck- pet name “How are you duck?”
- Love- pet name “Are you alright love?”
Further information
30 English accents- A funny video by a very talented guy!
If your area wasn’t included or some slang wasn’t send it to me and I will edit it.
-S
French and its accents!
We all read this :
Ce matin, nous sommes tous arrivés à l’école bien contents, parce qu’on va prendre une photo de la classe qui sera pour nous un souvenir que nous allons chérir toute notre vie, comme nous l’a dit la maîtresse. Elle nous a aussi dit de venir bien propres et bien coiffés. C’est avec plein de brillantine sur la tête que je suis entré dans la cour de récréation. Tous les copains étaient déjà là et la maîtresse était en train de gronder Geoffroy qui était venu habillé en martien. Geoffroy a un papa très riche qui lui achète tous les jouets qu’il veut. Geoffroy disait à la maîtresse qu’il voulait absolument être photographié en martien et que sinon il s’en irait.
France
Bretagne, by thefrenchmessengers
Francophone areas:
Ontario, by sieh
Belgium, by Francesca
Merci à tous et n’hésitez pas à m’envoyer plus d’accents ! :)
To those who criticise Rose Tyler's accent.
Rose from a South London council estate talking in Billie Piper’s own, upper middle class accent would make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Not unless they added in a part where Rose had been to elocution lessons or got a scholarship to a posh school, which would not fit Rose’s backstory.
Rose needs to talk as if she comes from where she’s shown to come from. I mean, we could suspend our disbelief, but it wouldn’t be ideal because Rose’s working class background is important to her life and her story. It helps us to understand why she doesn’t feel like she can get through A levels and university and get a good job even though she is clearly very intelligent. The vast majority of middle class girls would not describe themselves as having no future, simply because they lost their job—after all, at nineteen, she’s easily young enough that she could go to college and get some qualifications. But money is probably an object, and her school is less likely to have encouraged or expected her to do well, and she probably doesn’t personally know a lot of people with successful high-powered careers who could be role models to her or give her good connections. So her background is significant in the hopelessness and monotony she feels before leaving with the Doctor. In addition to all that, she’s probably continually underestimated because of her accent and appearance. This leads to her feeling like she has no future and can never make any kind of impact on the world, which makes her journey with the Doctor even more significant. As Mickey said “Who would have thought, me and you off the old estate, flying through the stars?” People from council estates (especially black men, and women who are seen to be unclassy, slovenly, ch*vvy, whatever—i.e. mickey and rose) are often discussed as if their very existence was some kind of social problem. So the fact that Mickey and Rose both become heroes is empowering to them, as well as subverting every notion that they must be shallow, materialistic, stupid, lazy, petty criminals.
I mean, they could replace Rose’s London accent with some other working class accent, but I imagine you guys would find fault with that as well, since the standard of English that’s held up as ‘correct’ in this country is a middle class South of England accent. But that’s silly. Because English is spoken in lots of different ways, and considering one type of accent less correct than the others, simply helps people to dismiss and ignore the people who speak with that accent. It’s not a coincidence that the least “correct” accents in this country are the most working class, and the least accepted accent of all (the “ch*v accent”) is a Jamaican-influenced London accent. So let’s not imply that some accents are less correct than others. It’s got racism and/or classism written all over it.
