In George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, the notetaker quoted

"You see this creature with her kerbstone English: the English that will keep her in the gutter
to the end of her days."

I understand that Eliza speaks with a Cockney accent typical of East-Londoners. However,
what does 'kerbstone English' mean?

All Google searches come up with results that define 'kerbstone', but not 'kerbstone English'
as a phrase.

Edit:

Most comments and answers are focusing on the literal meaning and connection between
'gutter' and 'kerbstone'. However, I want to know if 'kerbstone English' has a deeper
meaning, such as being the name of an accent, Cockney, for example.
В „Пигмалион“ на Джордж Бърнард Шоу цитира бележникът

„Виждате това създание с нейния каменен английски: английският, който ще я държи в канавката
до края на дните й.“

Разбирам, че Елайза говори с кокни акцент, типичен за жителите на Източен Лондон. Но какво
означава „английски бордюр“?

Всички търсения в Google извеждат резултати, които определят „крайния камък“, но не и

„английски бордюрен камък“ като фраза.

Редактиране:

Повечето коментари и отговори се фокусират върху буквалното значение и връзката между „улук“
и „бордюр“. Искам обаче да знам дали „английският бордюр“ има по-дълбоко значение, като
например име на акцент, кокни, например.

The Definitive Guide to British

Regional Accents
People often talk about “the British accent”. The reality is
that there are many British accents and they can sound
very different indeed! We will guide you through the main
types of British accents and explain what all this means for
an English learner.
As an English teacher, I often get asked a simple question by my students:
Which is easier to understand, British English or American English?

As an English teacher, I also know that this is not really a simple question. So,
I put it back to my students. Which do YOU think is easier?

Some students say American English is easier, because we hear it all the time
in Hollywood movies.

Some students say British English is easier because British people speak
more slowly.

No, other students say, British people use longer words.

My students can never agree on the answer. But there is one thing that they
agree on - nobody can understand people from Scotland, because nobody can
understand their accent!

How many British regional accents are

there?
Britain is a densely populated country with an urban population. People are
often very proud of their city or region. They are proud of the way that they
speak.

For all of these reasons, there are many, many accents that you may
encounter in Britain.

In fact, even if two towns are only ten or twenty miles apart, the people living in
each one may have different accents!

One website suggests that there are 43 distinct dialects in the UK. By
comparison, they identify only six distinct dialects* in the United States.
However, to make things easier, we can look at accents by region.

It helps to examine the accents in the different countries that make up the
United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). Since England
is the largest country, we can further examine accents from northern England,
southern England and London.

*A dialect is a form of English spoken in a particular place. Dialect refers to

vocabulary and grammar as well as accent although accent may be the main
feature.

Is there really a “British” accent?

We have seen that there are as many as 43 accents in the United Kingdom,
but is there a “standard” accent?

It turns out that the answer is yes. The standard British accent is something
called received pronunciation, or RP.

Geographically, people who speak with this accent live in the southeastern
part of England. This is traditionally a “posh” part of England, so this accent is
considered to be upper/middle class.

In the past, having an RP accent might have helped you to get a better job.
Having a “working class” (non-RP) accent might have prevented you from
getting a better job.

Today, discriminating by accent is not seen as politically correct. Some

newspapers even claim that RP is a bad thing, because it separates people by
class.

Since English teachers need a language model to work with, many British
English books use the RP accent as a pronunciation guide.
prestigious
adjective
UK
/presˈtɪdʒ.əs/ US
/presˈtɪdʒ.əs/

C1
very much respected and admired, usually because of being important:
a prestigious literary award
a prestigious university

You might recognise RP English by the lack of an R at the end of words

like water (‘waw-tuh’) or by the long ‘a’ sound in bath (‘baath’).

You may have heard other names for the RP accent. When people talk about
“the Queen’s English”, they are referring to RP.

People may also use the term “BBC English”. In the past, the BBC hired only
presenters who spoke with an RP accent. However, this is no longer true.
Thus, we can say there is no such thing as BBC English anymore.

You can hear examples of RP pronunciation , and English Learning for

Curious Minds is spoken in RP.

What does a southern English accent sound

like?
As we have seen, a southern English accent is what we think of as a “standard
British accent”. In the south of England, most speakers have an accent which
is not too different from RP.

Other accents found in the south of England are the Cornish accent (people
here used to speak a language called Cornish) and the West Country accent.
What does a northern English accent sound
like?
To a British person, a northern accent sounds less posh than a southern
accent. It sounds a bit rougher, but also a bit friendlier.

One of the main features that jumps out is the use of ‘oo’ instead of ‘uh’. So,
instead of catching a bus, a northerner might catch a ‘boose’. Instead of living
up north, they live ‘oop’ north. (Note that they would still spell these words in
the standard way!)

A great example of a northern accent is the Yorkshire accent which you can
listen to below.

What does a Scottish accent sound like?

The Scottish accent is heavily influenced by another language, called Gaelic.
In fact, Gaelic was the main language spoken in Scotland until 1616, when it
was made illegal! However, even today you can find Scots who speak Gaelic.

The Scottish accent has a different rhythm from standard English. This gives it
a distinct sound, which many people say sounds very nice!

You may also hear Scots use the ‘oo’ sound in place of ‘ow’. So, ‘about’ may
sound like ‘aboot’ and ‘house’ may sound like ‘hoose’. Or you may hear the
‘ee’ sound for ‘eh’, so ‘head’ sounds like ‘heed’.

A great way to learn more about the Scottish accent is this video clip about the
TV series Outlander, which is set in Scotland.

Is it true that the Scottish accent is the hardest one to

understand?
As with the rest of the UK, there are actually many Scottish accents. Most of
them are quite easy to understand.

I believe that when people say the Scottish accent is difficult, they are actually
talking about the Glaswegian accent (Glaswegian = from Glasgow, the largest
city in Scotland). You can hear some samples below and decide for yourself.

One famous Glaswegian is Alex Ferguson, the former manager of Manchester

United. His star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, needed a translator to understand
him, according to some media reports!

What does a Welsh accent sound like?

Just like Scotland, Wales has its own language, Welsh. This language
continues to be used widely today. Again, this has an effect on the way Welsh
speakers use English.

The Welsh accent also has its own rhythm and flow. To me, it sounds cute,
and I love to hear the Welsh accent!

This actor describes it as a ‘sing-song’ accent and shows you what it sounds
like. ‘Sing-song’ is a good way to describe it since Welsh people are also
famous for their choirs!

What does a Northern Irish accent sound

like?
My own students always get very confused about Ireland and the United
Kingdom. The north-eastern area of Ireland is part of the UK and we refer to it
as Northern Ireland.
As in Scotland and Wales, Ireland has its own language, Irish (sometimes also
called Gaelic). It is still used widely today, especially in southern Ireland (which
is not part of the UK).

There is quite a difference between the accents in the two parts of Ireland and
each has a distinctive rhythm and flow.

It is very hard to copy a northern Irish accent, even for actors! However, one
feature to look for is how the ‘ow’ sound is shortened to an ‘ay’ sound. So,
‘now’ sounds like ‘nigh’.

Well, in fact it doesn’t sound exactly like ‘nigh’... as I said, it is very difficult to
copy or even describe. This guide will explain more.

What other accents should you look out for?

The East End of London was traditionally the working class part of the city. It is
famous for its Cockney accent. Perhaps you know the much-loved movie, My
Fair Lady, which is about a professor who tries to teach a Cockney flower-
seller to ‘speak properly’!

We have names for other accents, too. A Liverpool accent is a ‘scouse’

accent. A Newcastle accent is a ‘geordie’ accent and a Birmingham accent
is a ‘brummie’ accent (like in Peaky Blinders). Then, there’s the Mancunian
accent (from Manchester).

What does all this mean for language

learners?
Now that we’ve had an accent tour of the United Kingdom, are you feeling a bit
worried? Does this mean that you need to learn all of these different accents?

No, of course not!

Let’s take the example of Jock MacLean, from Glasgow. Jock speaks in a
strong Glaswegian accent and he is sent to Madrid for his job.

If his co-workers in Madrid have trouble understanding him, should they learn
the Glaswegian accent? No, that would not seem fair! Instead, the
responsibility is on Jock to ‘tone it down’ (lessen his accent). He needs to
speak in a more standard way to be understood outside of Scotland.

I’m from Scotland, myself, and I moved to America at age seven, so I’m
speaking from experience!

On the other hand, if you are sent to Glasgow for work, you will need to
become familiar with the Glaswegian accent. Now the responsibility is on you!

However, being ‘immersed’ in the accent means that you should become
familiar with it over days or weeks.

And if you travel around Britain as a tourist? Just relax and enjoy hearing all
the wonderful accents you will hear. If someone speaks with an accent you
don’t recognise, just ask them. British people tend to be very happy to tell you
about where they come from.

Most accents will not be difficult to understand and many people will adjust the
way they speak when they chat to someone who is not from the local area.

Remember, our differences are what makes life interesting. Variety is the
spice of life!

implausible
adjective
UK
/ɪmˈplɔː.zə.bəl/ US
/ɪmˈplɑː.zə.bəl/

difficult to believe, or unlikely:

The whole plot of the film is ridiculously implausible.

prestigious
adjective
UK
/presˈtɪdʒ.əs/ US
/presˈtɪdʒ.əs/

C1
very much respected and admired, usually because of being important:
a prestigious literary award
a prestigious university