Dive into the fascinating world of how people across Greater Manchester speak, and what their voices reveal about identity and belonging. This lively book follows a groundbreaking research project that explored local accents, dialects, and social meaning using perception maps, pronunciation analysis, archive recordings, and interviews conducted in a roving ‘Accent Van’. Packed with real voices, it offers surprising insights into how language connects us to place, community, and culture. Each chapter highlights a different strand of the research, while reflecting on broader themes of identity, the social significance of everyday language, and the value of listening. Along the way, readers get a behind-the-scenes look at how large-scale sociolinguistic projects are designed, funded, and executed – and why they matter. Celebrating the richness and diversity of local speech, this book is a joyful, thought-provoking tribute to the voices that shape our communities.
Coming out in Sep 2026 with Cambridge University Press
Chapter 3 of the book describes the sounds of Greater Manchester speech. The example clips below are provided to illustrate the sounds being described in each section. See also the online resource at explore.manchestervoices.org.
Book section 3.3.3: the bath vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word dancing.
Book section 3.3.3: the start vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word start.
Book section 3.3.3: the palm vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word father.
Book section 3.3.4: the strut vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word xxxx.
[coming soon]
Book section 3.3.4.1: the foot vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word bookshop.
Book section 3.3.5: the square vowel. Listen to these two pronunciations of the word bear.
Book section 3.3.5: the nurse vowel. Listen to these two pronunciations of the word first (‘first generation’; ‘first started’).
Book section 3.3.6: the face vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word lake.
Book section 3.3.7: the goat vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word boat.
Book section 3.3.8: the mouth vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word house.
Book section 3.3.9: the price vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word xxxx.
[coming soon]
Book section 3.3.10: the north vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word horse.
Book section 3.3.11: the near vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word pier.
Book section 3.3.12: the ghoul vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word school.
Book section 3.3.13: the letter vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word daughter.
Book section 3.3.14: the happy vowel. Listen to some of the variants of the word monkey.
Book section 3.3.15: postnasal [g]. Listen to these two pronunciations of the word swing.
Book section 3.3.16: ‘bus’. Listen to these two pronunciations of the word bus.
Book section 3.3.17: h-dropping. Listen to these pronunciations of the words farmhouse and horse.
[coming soon]
Book section 3.3.18: ‘little’. Listen to these two pronunciations of the word little.
Book section 3.3.19: Definite article reduction.
[coming soon]
Book section 3.3.20: Schwa off-glide.
[coming soon]