Speak With a Yorkshire Accent

Yorkshire is the largest county in the United Kingdom and is located in North England. If you want to speak with a Yorkshire accent, whether you want to impress your friends or fit in, then you have some brushing up to do. You have to learn that many sounds are pronounced differently, such as saying "raight" instead of "right." If you're committed to learning and practicing all of the quirks of the Yorkshire accent, then you'll sound like a native in no time.

Steps

Speaking Help

Doc:Yorkshire Slang,Yorkshire Pronunciation

Speaking with a Yorkshire Accent

  1. Visit Yorkshire and try to pick up some of the lingo. Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Doncaster, Leeds, York.
  2. "Oh" sounds are pronounced "or". For example, No would be pronounced "nor" But please, please remember that there is no emphasis on the 'R' - if you say it like that, you'll sound Irish.
  3. Words ending with and "ee" sound are pronounced as "eh" sounds. Example: "Nasty" would be "nasteh".
  4. Yorkshire folk sometimes say "aye" for yes, and "nay or nah" for no.
  5. If you ever hear the word "Nowt" (pronounced nohwt -NOT 'nahwt'-) it means "nothing". Similarly, "owt" (pronounced "ohwt") means "anything".
  6. The word "right" is often pronounced "Raight" and has many, many different uses other than correct or the opposite of left! It could mean "really," E.G - "It's really good"/"It's RAIGHT good." Another use could be "Alright" - "Are you alright"/"Are you all-raight?"
  7. All use of "the" and "to" is replaced with "t'", which is pronounced by replacing the vowel sound with a half-audible "uh" noise, the kind you might make if you were lifting something unexpectedly heavy. EG: "I'm going into the woods"/"Ah'm goin' int'[uh noise] woods" (note: the g at the end of "ing" is also dropped).
  8. The letter T is usually dropped at the end of words and replaced with the same "uh"/heavy lifting sound. eg- that becomes tha[uh].
  9. "Nah then" is a perfectly acceptable, and very friendly way to greet someone. It's Yorkshire speak for "Now, then". Another common greeting is "Ey up, how's tha doin?"
  10. A wife or girlfriend is commonly referred to as "our lass".
  11. "Propah" is used to substitute "really" as well as "raight" and "well." EG:- "She's really nasty"/"She wa' propah nasteh"/"She wa' well nasteh".
  12. The 'th' at the end of 'with' is dropped. "I was going with him"/"I wa' goin' wi' 'im". This also applies to "was".
  13. "H" sounds are commonly dropped. Him/Her = 'im/'er.
  14. "Bloody" (or as Yorkshire folk say, 'bloodeh') could be a substitute for "f***ing". E.g., "That bloodeh dog never shuts up" (alternatively, that bloodeh dog neva giz it's gob a rest).
  15. "Give or gives" sometimes becomes "giz" and "take" becomes "tek".
  16. "Tha" and "thee" are both used to mean "you".
  17. The word Sandwich is sometimes shortened to "Sarnie" or "butty" instead. Eg- "i'm 'avin an 'am sarnie" ('am instead of ham) or "i'm 'avin a chip butty".
  18. Watch some clips on YouTube or films with Yorkshire accents. Brassed Off, Kes and The Full Monty are good examples.
    • Some famous movies might also be dubbed with a Yorkshire accent.
  19. A lot of Yorkshire people don't pronounce the letter 'h', so 'how' would be pronounced 'ow'.

Tips

  • Be mindful that there are great differences of accent within the county. For example a South Yorkshire accent is very different from accents around the Bradford area. Do not mix and match.
  • A few words and phrases include:
    • An alleyway is a "Snicket" or "Ginnell"
    • "On the table" would be "Ont table"; same with "In the kitchen" –– "Int kitchen" and also "Down the road" would be "Down't road"
    • A cup of tea would be "A brew" or "A cuppa"
    • "Bangers and mash" is sausage and mash.
  • Record yourself (on a computer, MP3 player, karaoke machine, etc.) and then play the recording back and see what you sound like - this is a great way to improve on your skills. You can improve every day from it.
  • You could also try to speak to your family and/or friends and see what they think of your accent.
  • Listen to BBC Leeds on live stream.
  • If you don't already have a British accent, work on a southern accent first before you start with the Yorkshire one.
  • Yorkshire slang is wide. For example, there is more slang in some Yorkshire counties than others. For example, West Yorkshire is a little more slang-y than North Yorkshire.

Warnings

  • Be careful not to miss out too many letters!
  • Don't say you're from Yorkshire if you're not. People from there will be able to tell.

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