1976: ACCENTS - GLASGOW vs EDINBURGH | Word of Mouth | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

Introduced by Melvyn Bragg, Word of Mouth traces the pattern of speech in Britain.
Edinburgh and Glasgow are traditional rivals, a rivalry that is reflected in the contrast between the voices of the two cities. The East and West of Scotland speak a very different tongue - but is this a difference that owes as much to social class as to geography?
Representing Glasgow in this battle of the accents are comedian Billy Connolly, poet Tom Leonard and journalist John Rafferty. Speaking up for Edinburgh are theatre producer Sadie Aitken and poet Robert Garioch.
Clip taken from Word of Mouth: The Big Yin and the Wee Yin, originally broadcast on BBC Two, Thursday 5 August, 1976.
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[@20thCenturyPox]

Woody Guthrie docked in Glasgow during wartime when he was in the Merchant Marine. He wrote home, "The people don't talk here. They sing to each other"

[@shespeakssoftly]

:’) 🤍

[@raoulduke344]

Nice profile pic

[@shespeakssoftly]

@@raoulduke344 thank you! It’s from a painting by Romaine Brooks.

[@krashd]

@@shespeakssoftly Why are you thanking him?

[@shespeakssoftly]

@@krashd He told me he liked the painting I have set as my profile photo. I wanted to share its name in case he was interested in looking it up

[@59jalex]

My dad was from Bridgeton, Glasgow and my best mate is from Edinburgh. Very different accents, yet they both enjoyed a joke at us English. So they do have something in common 😆

[@rogueuniversities6866]

Yet they can't even speak English

[@Kopesy]

Joke's on them, brother ;)

[@joannaedssay5988]

@@rogueuniversities6866 and @Kope bitter much?

[@rogueuniversities6866]

@@joannaedssay5988 No, you?

[@rjjcms1]

My brother-in-law's mum grew up in Aberdeenshire (having spent the first few years of her life in Ecuador!),and she spoke with a really clear accent that was easy for us Sassenachs to understand. It was unmistakably Scottish,even after half a century of living in the south of England,but a world away from some of the more impenetrable (to us) Glasgow accents. We loved watching and listening to Billy Connolly from the moment we first saw him on television in about the spring of 1975 if I remember rightly,in an interview on Parkinson and when he was doing his stand-up,and we never had the slightest difficulty understanding what he was saying.

[@andrewdrummond1244]

It is not said enough, but Billy is a very intelligent guy.

[@eljayexplorer]

Billy Connolly has such a distinct voice

[@danw1374]

I remember Billy saying he grew up in Partick in Glasgow.

[@br-jj6re]

@@danw1374that’s because… he did?

[@duncanbick6732]

This is brilliant. I live in England now. My accent is pretty standard Morningside and one my best friends down here is very Glasgwegian. It’s brilliant when the locals say “you’re both Scottish but you sound different!” 😂.

[@papapiers1588]

Ok… and why is it brilliant? Manchester people don’t sound like people from Birmingham. People from Yorkshire don’t sound like people from Cornwall. They are all from England. Is that brilliant too? Do you ever get out?

[@duncanbick6732]

I enjoyed a report from 1976 which reminds me of my experience in the present day, I consider the experience brilliant. Scottish accents aren’t as widely discussed as English accents so it’s nice to see a report which does this. I go out plenty, often with my Glasgwegian mate.

[@johncurrie6693]

@@papapiers1588 sounds like your the one who doesn't get out. Why the aggression.

[@MultiOpolis]

@@papapiers1588 sounds like you need to get out

[@gaycha6589]

@@papapiers1588 It's good not lumping everyone from one country together. They can be and often are, different in manner, word, outlook and deed! It to be celebrated

[@rrobespierre]

I just love listening to the Scottish. There's something so warm about their accents and dialects.

[@sirwi11iam]

I love the Scots. Great accents and sense of humour, and tough as nails.

[@carlworrall]

every region of scotland has a different tongue of language and i love it. thats what makes scotland great

[@BadgerBotherer1]

So does Wales and England and probably every other country!

[@carlworrall]

@@BadgerBotherer1 that is my point

[@carlworrall]

@@BadgerBotherer1 agreed i never said otherwise

[@joedwyer3297]

@joe blogs you mustve mist the comments directly above yours

[@sratus]

@@carlworrall What exactly is your point Carl?

[@varcoliciulalex]

Bill Connolly was the original aquaman.

[@graeme6336]

Why didn’t they interview any of the many, many thousands of working class people in Edinburgh?

[@anonman3707]

yep. BBC as usual "Oh those rough Scotch in the terraces of Glasgow"

[@Mhor_Al]

Cos there is nae "wurkin class" in edinburger! 😏🤣 nae peace wi the East!!! 😇🤣🤣🤣

[@semperterra3235]

They didn't interview the "many, many thousands of working class people in Edinburgh" for the same reason they didn't interview the thousands of bourgeois Glaswegians in Kelvinside and Dowanhill, because they needed to keep things simple in order to produce a short piece of film.

[@SpicyRikers]

@@semperterra3235 Aye but they only used wee posh guys as an example of an edinburgh accent, i mean they missed alot fs, do you think they posh guys sound anything like the accents in trainspotting?

[@Tazza81]

Because they interviewed those from the majority. Yes, Edinburgh has working class people but the majority of people who live in Edinburgh (even back in 1976) are middle class and vice versa for Glasgow.

[@OnboardG1]

My Grandmother and her best friend had proper middle-class Edinburgh accents and sounded exactly like Sadie Aitken. My Grandfather was more working class and sounded like Sean Connery without the lisp. Was pretty funny when they had an argument.

[@poinky8]

I can understand Billy Connolly a lot easier than Kevin Bridges.

[@joannaedssay5988]

Depends what part of Glasgow you were brought up in that affects the strength of your accent. Plus KB keeps his accent strong when he is doing home gigs as most folk do understand him or get the gist of it atleast. When he is away on tour he waters down his accent a lot.

[@fenellainnis7216]

Wasn’t it nice to get a wee quick snapshot of the houses next to celtic park , all demolished now , and getting to eavesdrop on their conversations before going in.

[@aJJMakesSense]

Thank goodness for closed captioning

[@20thCenturyPox]

Daft racist. If you can't understand every single person in this video you must be thick.

[@peterbrown8880]

Brilliant!!!

[@joannaedssay5988]

Morningside: All fur coat and no knickers, even us in Edinburgh use this expression lol.

[@James-oo1yq]

I've lived in Edinburgh for 50 years, and never heard an accent like the one on here 😳

[@fioredeutchmark]

You’ve never been to court I take it…

[@philipknight3270]

@@fioredeutchmark ha ha...all rise

[@joannaedssay5988]

I am Edinburgh born and bred and I agree that the "Edinburgh accent" represented in this video is not representative of the actual Edinburgh accent.

[@leeriches8841]

@@joannaedssay5988 haha, I used to have that Edinburgh accent- I grew up in Morningside and went to school there! It’s really wearing off now luckily.

[@baronmeduse]

@@joannaedssay5988 The video is after all 46 years old.

[@ewanmacfarlane9195]

The kid asking for a lift over the turnstiles good old days

[@duncanmcewan1024]

Into Hampden ower the turnstile age 5 1948!

[@ewanmacfarlane9195]

Class mate must of been a big crowd

[@davidpanton3192]

4:21 "That's ma wee bra". Now that's Glasgow

[@papapiers1588]

It might be your glesga but it’s not my Glasgow. Slang and bam talk is not a sign of Glasgow… it’s a sign of … bam slang

[@viewer.123]

Papa Piers How's it bam talk?

[@McCann22]

@@papapiers1588 it is Glesga talk thats not even ned talk thats Glaswegian ya numpty

[@helenhucker346]

As a Londoner I liked the phrase 'Nae tea leafing', it reminded me of the cockney rhyming slang term 'tea leaf' for 'thief' and I'm guessing the meaning is the same. Maybe we are all more alike than we thought.

[@jennifergirling6850]

Celtic influence maybe!

[@hrvsmart]

Yes you're right it means the same

[@synthdude]

I think it's part of the "10 Commandments" at 2:28

[@kevinruddy448]

It's no joke, being a jock 😒?, if ya ken ma meaning 😯?

[@decimal1815]

Classic "real" Edinburgh accent: Norman MacCaig - kzbin.info/www/bejne/ona7oqqAbJVsrq8

[@goodarmsvsbadarms]

Surprised they didn't just interview a few of the Hearts fans. They would have got a few 'working class Edinburgh accents'. Having lived in Midlothian for all my life, I have rarely heard the stereotypical 'Morningside accent', so for it to be pitted against the working-class Glasgow accents in strange. The majority of the population of Edinburgh live in the outskirts or suburban towns around the city. Most of these areas are historically working-class, with the outskirt areas being places for masses of people to live, and the towns being historical areas with industries like mining and fishing providing employment for working class people. All these areas have distinct accents and, in my opinion are the true Edinburgh accents. Go to Pilton, Liberton, Craigmillar, Dalkeith or Musselburgh, and you'll find that the majority of accents are just as 'broad' as those Glasgow accents, but completely different.

[@williamdonnelly8532]

Glasgow people don't say,"I dinna ken"!🤣😂

[@kpec3]

Billy C has the best voice, accent!

[@brianquinn6014]

There is a lot of wealth in both cities and a lot of poverty. It’s the fools or politicians that try and divide us.

[@MarcioSilva-ssiillvvaa]

Great t-shirt by the way. Mick Ronson!!

[@leeriches8841]

I used to have the Edinburgh Morningside accent as that is where I literally grew up. It’s been wearing off over the last few decades (luckily- nobody likes a toff lol)

[@eatmoremusic3650]

Damn at the beginning I was like that dude looks just like Billy Connolly

[@moirashapiro100]

Check out the great Stanley Baxter's "Parliamo Glasgow" videos. Absolutely pure gold.

[@haraldtheyounger5504]

1:54 you wouldn't want to mess with that vicar, looks like one of the Mob undercover.

[@bigchewp9694]

That vicar going to the celtic v hearts match looks like he could be Grant Morrisons dad.

[@SCRB1GR3D98]

I knew that was Billy Connolly as soon as I heard his voice. Didn't even recognize him but I knew that was Billy.

[@satlynutz]

damn, young billy 😂

[@minecachair]

I'm the product of a mixed marriage-my dad is from Morningside Edinburgh,my mum from Garrowhill Glasgow.I spend about the same amount of time in both places and my accent changes according to where I am.

[@colshythecomedian]

A Glaswegian would never say “I dinnae ken” unless they were in Wishaw.

[@IAmSoMuchBetterThanYou]

‘no true Scotsman…’

[@krashd]

@@IAmSoMuchBetterThanYou No true Scotsman would speak Doric? That's good to ken, I must be English then for speaking an actual Scottish dialect instead of your Queen's English.

[@stoobie94]

@@IAmSoMuchBetterThanYou Not quite. "Ken" isn't in the words that Glaswegians tend to say. "Ken" is part of certain dialects. Glaswegian isn't one of then

[@wishawweather5421]

The cross over point is the village of Cleland just outside Wishaw. Where toon becomes town, doon becomes down and know becomes ken.

[@krashd]

@@stoobie94 No, his point was that "no true Scotsman" would say "I dinnae ken", meaning that he is a prat who doesn't know a thing about the various dialects of our country. I'd bet my life savings he's a London-worshipping Rangers supporter.

[@louisebastock5558]

What's the number plate on the blue Ford (Cortina? Taunus?). Northern Irish? It's 4 numbers 2 letters "2788 ZL" I think.

[@keithwald5349]

Billy Connolly and Sean Connery are iconic Glasgow and Edinburgh representatives, although from their surnames, I'd guess both are of Irish descent!

[@robertfindley9000]

My ancestors came from anywhere from Roxbourgh to the highlands then down the west coast then over to the east coast from Aaberdeen to Edinburgh.

[@VideoNOLA]

Planning to rewatch in hopes of understanding a single spoken word.

[@joannaedssay5988]

Put on subtitles, that will really give you a laugh.

[@derekmcfadyen127]

Most glaswegians can speak the queens english ......tho we mostly choose not tae bother our arse😂

[@drewcampbell8810]

HELP HELP HELP - Does anyone know the poem read by Tom Leonard here? - 2:28 Scoured the Googles and cannot find it anywhere...

[@Appnin89]

The ironic thing is that none of Glaswegians in the vid going on about being working class actually talk like normal everyday Glaswegians. They're putting on the "pan loaf" voice. Billy Connolly has never sounded like a "proper Glaswegian" to me, even though he is one. Great comedian though.

[@lauramcquade924]

Aye, but remember that Billy Connolly is a totally different generation of Glaswegian. My grandad says that, he and Billy are roughly the same age. Modern day working class Glaswegians, I honestly cannot understand. I don't mean that in a bad way but it's so thick I just can't hear the English they are speaking.

[@raoulduke344]

@@lauramcquade924 No offence taken. I've got a really thick accent a d when I see people faxes just gloss over, I realise they can't understand me and I adjust appropriately.

[@souskai]

Isn't many of the Scottish people, descendants of Norwegian voyagers (vikingrs)??

[@chee5e2ee48]

M8, accents now 🤯

[@IAmSoMuchBetterThanYou]

Tee shirt graphics have come a long way.

[@tompoynton]

Someone show this to Limmy

[@craighicksartwork]

Haha I thought that very thing too

[@eoinleen1]

Nay nookie huntin' nextdoor, nor covetin' her Ox. 😂

[@Alusnovalotus]

The guy playing pool is an actor, right?? He’s been in recent films but I can’t place him. Wait! Wasn’t he a ghost in Harry Potter?!? Edit: ok found out it’s Billy Connolly. He’s fun.

[@neilr4867]

That bizzare accent Kevin Bridges always takes the piss out of is something that wasn't really there 30 years ago.

[@clarsach29]

8:24 Glaswegians don't use the word "ken" ("know"), it's one way to tell them apart from Fifers or those from Edinburgh or even Ayrshire who do all use the word.

[@jenniferaird769]

I came here thinking we'd finally get to hear those working class east coast accents and how they actually sound so different to the west coast. But English TV presenters never seem interested in this

[@jamolotl]

Yup, none of that was how normal Edinburgh folk speak, it was all pretty upper class.

[@DSQueenie]

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie really warped peoples view of the Edinburgh accent.

[@delilahhart4398]

Billy Connolly was so young then!

[@williamdonnelly8532]

Have a 💓 heart,Hart.So were we!😀

[@delilahhart4398]

@@williamdonnelly8532 Yes, you were. 😊💟

[@sookmajoaby]

What do you know, Billy ended up with the kelvin side Westend of Glasgow accent

[@papapiers1588]

He did… to be fair

[@acksawblack]

He went to school in partick so makes sense

[@sookmajoaby]

Partick boys didn't speak with wanky West end accents 50 years ago It came about after the gentrification of the area.

[@benwakefield93]

The Edinburgh accent just makes me think of Maggie Smith in Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 😂

[@matthewpowell6516]

Wester hailes, sighthill and other areas on the outskirts of edinburgh having working class folk that live there and some of there accents can be a lot stronger then glasow accent.

[@MrZOMBIE170]

I'm from Greenock when growing up me and my brother thought my great ant and uncle who live Edinburgh were English because how proper they speak we would be given into trouble for specking scots, is there a Greenock accent i can tell someone form port glasgow by there accent

[@andrewgordon777]

It depends where in Edinburgh you're from!

[@charleskristiansson1296]

Every body has an accent. What can be deemed a 'nice accent' is highly prescriptive :)

[@rangerlcfc]

Parents from just outside Glasgow. I was raised in Leicester. I’ve got the weirdest accent. Most ppl think I’m from Yorkshire or Manchester 😂

[@phoeb_ulous1209]

My head's hurting fter watching this.

[@NagoyaHouseHead]

Will ye go lassie go And we`ll all go together

[@kevinjamesdawes7223]

I always thought Billy's aren't became more Aberdeen the older he got.

[@K_-_-_-_K]

mon the dorich

[@krashd]

@@K_-_-_-_K Fit like?

[@gump5ter01]

What pool hall is that

[@TurboMintyFresh]

Scottish accent overall is one of the best accent ever

[@Weeflowerofscotland]

I grew up in East Kilbride. We definitely did have an accent … I’m not so sure anymore. I now live in Kirkintilloch and it’s a harsher Glasgow accent so within a few miles accents can change 😂

[@standenberg]

I love it...Kirkintilloch sounds the most Scottish place-name ever 😁 even I sound Scottish when I say it (& I’m originally from South Africa)...but the Scots accent is the best ever IMO

[@JohnSmith-nx2bl]

Kirkintilloch just has a normal Glasgow accent. It’s when you get to Falkirk it changes.

[@gingerfellah5665]

@@JohnSmith-nx2blIt definitely changes in Falkirk but it actually changes in Croy. When I moved to Lenzie (very close to Kirkie) I picked up the accent, the dialect the lot. It was very distinctive, a sing song accent but I guess over the years it has become more Glasgow generic.

[@ruthruth647]

If you got Scottish accent and come to America All people will look at you lije Youre special

[@grahamlait1969]

The big question about the difference between the two accents is 'Where does the glottal stop?'... presumably somewhere around Harthill: So what happens there?

[@donladprao8378]

on which planet are these cities and dielects to find? I need go there.

[@seanseoltoir]

Glasgow and Edinburgh are about 45 miles apart (city center to city center)... To those of us in the US, the idea that you could have two noticeably different accents by traveling that short of a distance is absurd... Where I live, 45 miles is about half way across town and driving the entire length of the country would not even put me out of my home state, much less encounter a significantly different accent...

[@yootaobe5536]

Its like this across the UK with accents changing noticeably between short distances. I wonder why its like this in the UK but not as significant elsewhere?

[@Support-your-local-team]

@@yootaobe5536 It is like that in most countries. It maybe doesn't feel like that to us because it's not the case in the US, Canada and Australia for some reason.

[@atomictraveller]

we moved to arizona in 1980. i remember before that, noticing when people were from the next county by their accents.

[@joannaedssay5988]

I think some Glasgow accents are Irish influenced quite a bit. I might be wrong, I don't live in Glasgow I'm in Edinburgh. I only think this as some of the west coast accents have an Irish twang, to my ear anyway.

[@baronmeduse]

@@joannaedssay5988 Absolutely, there was a huge migration from Ireland a very long time ago. After the Romans Dál Riata comprised south-west Scotland and what is now Northern Ireland. Specific language similarities between the both. When that fellow in the video with the dark shirt is giving examples of 'top of the league' the third one is very 'Irish'.

[@Knappa22]

Is it comparing like with like though? They Glasgow people on this are all working class and the Edinburgh people are all middle class. It would be interesting to hear someone more lower class from Edinburgh.

[@djedd23]

They actually show a posh Glasgow accent from Kelvinside just before they switch over to Edinburgh. But yeah they should have shown more working class Edinburgh accents.

[@acksawblack]

Feel like I’m going mad, only people in the video with a working class glasgow accent are the few snippets at the football. The rest are all either academics or professionals speaking with a broad glasgow accent. Don’t know what you mean like for like?

[@gingerfellah5665]

I attended a training course in Glasgow and the minute the Edinburgh delegate discovered I was from Glasgow he blanked me.

[@nomdeplume8355]

Billy Connolly sounds EXACTLY the same as when he made this video. lol

[@lewiscarrington1777]

Limmy should watch this

[@lynnalborough9672]

Oh! Bring back Rab C Nesbitt... So brilliant...

[@haraldtheyounger5504]

Have you seen any of Scot Squad, had me on the floor splitting my sides.

[@lynnalborough9672]

@@haraldtheyounger5504 .. no. Is he the same as Rab?

[@haraldtheyounger5504]

@@lynnalborough9672 Based on policing in Scotland and the characters they have to deal with on a daily basis. There are episodes on KZbin.

[@lynnalborough9672]

@@haraldtheyounger5504 .thank you .

[@Kobuletely]

How do you understand it?) Eleven lift😀

[@user-ht8pn6dv9j]

6:28~7:13

[@synthdude]

2:28 The 10 Commandments...?

[@YerDa67]

There’s far more accents in Scotland than these two, though 😂 The boy at 2.44 (approx) sounds more Dundonian than Glaswegian, tbh.

[@tonyclifton265]

" “Choose life.Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f**king big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance."

[@T--xk3hf]

Bet I can tops yes all: My dad's from Dundee...

[@hellie_el]

❤️❤️❤️

[@elizabethdarley8646]

What's the poem I'm your gaffa's gaffa?

[@sporkfindus4777]

It takes some of the heat off us English though 😂

[@brownwarrior6867]

Glesga - More than a dash of gallus swagger with a slight undertone of imminent danger. Edinburgh - All fur coat and no nickers.

[@ChesterPerry187]

CCS

[@escfxp]

Never knew Jason Momoa was Scottish.

[@QiaoKeKit]

I thought I was the only one who saw it hahahaha

[@SamMcDonald83]

Feel like could have done with some Mounty Python in there

[@yingyang1008]

Accent in Scotland changes just a 30 minute drive away

[@JM-hc1pf]

Accents in England can change just a couple of miles away. People in Aldridge just 2 miles out from Walsall town centre sound like Brummies whilst Walsall folks sound Black country.

[@joedwyer3297]

@@JM-hc1pf thats the same accent

[@JM-hc1pf]

@@joedwyer3297 black country and Brummie is NOT the same accent lol

[@patsyballantyne9886]

❤

[@rustledjammies8769]

The guy at 8:36 sounds almost like the Glaswegian actor Gordon Jackson (The Great Escape, The Professionals). Listen here: vuxo2HcGoz0

[@nickwatson2167]

Edinburgh south and Edinburgh north have two different accents . And they haven't got the same accent as central Edinburgh . I am south and I might be typing in English but you would probably say that I am Glaswegian as the area of Edinburgh the souths accent is made up of Irish Glaswegian and travelling community . As well as borders and fife . we could have our own dictionary and I speak the same accent as king James the 3rd . Barry fir yer naggins . Good for you . Ah ken whit yeh mean gadgie . I know what you mean my friend . used to go out with a lassie from Manchester . What a hoot ,, God knows If we ever understood each other lol

[@New-ye2fl]

We always live rent free in Glaswegians heads

[@WhoJustReplying]

Edinburgh accent is like if Greeks, Italians spoke English at their best and Glasgow accent is like literally a different language.

[@PaulMappud]

Sure I heard a Mrs Doubtfire in there somewhere...

[@gingerfellah5665]

Robin Williams used Bill Forsyth’s accent for inspiration.

[@dooshmacbaggins]

Billy Connolly.

[@dazpatreg]

My feeling is that the Glasgow accent is scots mixed with a Donegal accent and in Edinburgh it's scots mixed with received pronunciation

[@alicemilne1444]

There are many different Glasgow accents. There is a large Irish influence, but there is also a huge Highlander/Gaelic influence as well. Regarding Edinburgh, all you heard here were two people speaking "pan loafy" (posh) accents. There are many working class accents in Edinburgh as well. They were just not represented here at all.

[@trebleking1641]

The influences on the Glasgow accent are mainly from Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and the Highlands.

[@gingerfellah5665]

I read that at one time 18 different dialects could be recorded in Glasgow.

[@mobrown7594]

Omds the accent is actually different lol

[@themadplotter]

Glaswegians think they are the most Scottish people in the country, until they meet someone that’s not from Edinburgh. Billy’s got a point about the weddings, they do have the slosh!

[@patsyballantyne9886]

Oki-dokee

[@theram4320]

I'm a terrible Sassenach, but I have to say that the posh Edinburgh accent has more than a touch of the poshest English accent. They could be naturally occurring. Just saying.

[@benmacdui9328]

The Edinburgh thing is bullshit , try telling the good folk of Pilton or Wester Hailes they dinna hae an accent.

[@James-oo1yq]

The Morningside accent is just that, an accent you hear in the tiny Morningside area. Listen for it anywhere else in Edinburgh you won't hear it. 5 miles outside Edinburgh, say Tranent or Fife, and you have different accents again

[@papapiers1588]

Exactly

[@raycroal]

aye restilrigg road don't speak morningside

[@garymac5571]

Exactly. Same with Stenhouse, parts of Muirhouse, parts of Leith and many other areas. Nobody in any Edinburgh scheme speaks with a Morningside accent!

[@chanelc95]

Exactly.