THE BRISTOL ACCENT: Who Speaks it and how it's Spoken

J.K. Rowling and Cary Grant just to name two of the famous people who grew up in Bristol. In this video with Luke Nicholson from @ImproveYourAccent we will explore the Bristolian accent. This is part two of our tour of the accents of Britain. The other episodes will be released in the coming weeks.
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00:00 6 famous people
01:53 A bit of history
03:20 Stephen Merchant and the phonology of the Bristol accent
05:56 The intrusive L, pirates and more

[@cernaruka]

In 1981 I spent the night at the Bristol Railway station (due to my financial situation) and I got my Bristol accent

[@mariansheilamansilla6431]

Temple Meads

[@iainmc9859]

I love the Bristol accent. Its probably the most enchanting of all English accents. Great to see a clip of Robert Newton, everyone's favourite pirate and one of the C20th most underrated actors ... and then a bit of Blackadder as well, essential cultural reference points 😊

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Robert Newton is the basis of all pirate accents and how could I not play a clip of Blackadder.

[@mattuk56]

I have the accent. I was born in Bristol in the 1980s and still live here.

[@radicalrodriguez5912]

thank God. Please keep it, it's lovely. Don't want everyone sounding the same

[@OceanChild75]

I love the way you always bring history into your videos. Also now I fancy learning more about pirates! 🏴‍☠️ Arrr 😅

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks, I'm sure you'll make a great pirate.

[@Patticus420]

Native Bristolian here. I spent most of my childhood in Knowle West (largely considered to be one of the areas with the heaviest accent.) The whole Bristol L isn't very common amongst the younger generation tbh. However a few people I went to school with would say "dubba" instead of "double." Also another common thing would be to say "carm down" instead of "calm down." One of my personal favourites being from Knowle is when people would say "I" instead of "me." Example: I heard that, but she told I somefen defferent 😂😂😂 And yes, those last 2 words are not typos, that's how it's pronounced in Knowle 🤣

[@BoyeeSmudger]

Great city, lived in south and north Bristol. Always surprised me that Patchway natives sounded different to those in south Bristol. I guess I could hear it being a Somerset lad. The adding of L on the end got me, Asda to Asdal and smoothing dog.

[@user-om2ti8jj1f]

Thank you, Gideon and Luke! Informative and interesting.

[@isabelatence7035]

Great video, very noticeable, Luke Coach is very good, his material from the films is very cool with the occasion, learning a lot from this series. I think it's amazing to know

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I'm glad you liked it because there is a lot more to come. Stay tuned...

[@isabelatence7035]

@@LetThemTalkTV Super Cool, certainly waiting!!

[@barbaragemin5117]

Thanks for another of your accents series Gideon. Always fascinating and entertaining.

[@Clarkey1928]

my Nan qould use the word bist for example when asking me if i'm coming to the shops, she would say "bist coming or what?" miss the lingo, died out now

[@johnrohde5510]

Robert Newton learned his trade in Bristol.

[@raffaellabarbierato8854]

Compelling video, as always! Thank you Gedeon, you make linguistics an engaging journey through history

[@urso3000]

Very cool 😎 thanks for sharing 😊

[@Sarah.H5]

Growing up in Bristol, the intrusive L was often pronounced in my name. I was often called Sarawl. Not so much now though

[@bongumenzimtshali]

Good day… I am a South African who just discovered Karl Pilkington and I am very fascinated by his lazy English accent I would like to know more about it. If possible please provide explanation here on the comment or a link to a video.

[@user-nw3hh9og5d]

Hello I am a beginner learner I remeber that you have made a video about cockney accent After watching that video a question lights like lamp in my mind an overwhelming one that why the variety and diversity is useful for establishment or forming a accent indeed what is the importance of combining or being in the vicinity of other languages and dialects and being influenced by them I thought that any dialect that is purer is stronger because it is rooted in people's history and not created by unexpected events.

[@user-cc2ux9ew1r]

Hey Gideon. You couldn't make us a 2 minutes lesson about * ought to * could you by any chance? I 'll promise you to be a friend and fan for life.😉 Greetings from Casablanca.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

...it's a good idea.

[@user-cc2ux9ew1r]

Merci beaucoup Mon cher ami

[@peterc.7841]

I listed to a BBC radio drama once, and noticed rhotic r's. I didn't know there were any in England. So I messaged the writer of it on Twitter and asked her where it took placed and she told me Bristol.

[@martinshepherd626]

My Bristolian accent is exactly 100% the same as Steven Merchant.....mind you we both were brought up in the same area of Hanham ( pronounced An'um in Bristolian) and a few streets apart to be precise!

[@t.r.9542]

Wonderful all these accents. My question is how do i get rid of my dutch accent????

[@javierhillier4252]

6:31 sounded just like my pop used to

[@RD-ht6go]

I picked up some Bristol accent too when I studied there. I kinda-l like it. 😂

[@kernowforester811]

As someone from the west of the Westcountry, there is no one Westcountry accent. When I hear Bristolian it sounds like a cross between south Wales and Brummie to me, very different from Cornwall or Devon. I find it comical. In general, I consider Bristolian to be just the typical accent of the north and east of the Westcountry, such as north Somerset and Wiltshire. It isn't just restricted to the city. Bristolian is not much like Devonian, for instance Plymouthian (Janner) variety. Devonian has different vowels, diphthongs and consonants, for instance in Devon mate is 'meht', through is 'droo', like is 'lahk' (monodipthongs), boy is 'buhee', head is 'aid', the middle 't' in e.g. butter is a soft d so pronounced 'budder'. As for the rhotic 'r' in Devonian it is pronounced further to the back of the mouth, more like an Irish retroflex 'r'. When folk upcountry hear a real Devon accent (e.g. the late Johnny Kingdom, they seem to think it is northern Irish. As for Bristol, it was shown as Bridge Stow on old GWR time tables, with the Bristol 'L' being added on the end. As for the so called 'pirate accent', that is because the actor who played Long John Silver was from Dorset. He was not from Bristol. He used a Dorset accent of his home county. Many of the sea faring historical figures like Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh spoke broad Devonian. Many of the setters to America came from the Westcountry, with remanants in Newfoundland (cod fisheries fisheries men came from Devon) and the Smith Islands in Chesapeake Bay (came from Cornwall). Dear LetThemTalkTC, how about doing a Devon or Plymouth video? Fed up with Devonian and Cornish accents being butchered in British TV and films by people who have not a clue what they are doing.

[@gdsongwriter]

As a Bristolian I get what you say about South Wales because the inflection can be similar, especially with regards to Bristolian women. However, the South Wales accent lacks the rhoticity of the Bristol accent. But Birmingham? No way. Nevertheless, it's true that the Devonian accent is very different from the Bristol accent, no matter how much Michael McIntyre may think they're similar. As a child I used to go from Bristol to North Devon for my summer holiday, usually to Westward Ho! because we had relatives who lived in nearby Northam. Our Devonian relatives would say to me "Allo Geoffrey ma dear, do 'ee wanna cuppa tay?" The Bristolian version would have been "Awl right Geoff mate? Dost thee wanna cup o' tea?"

[@kernowforester811]

@@gdsongwriter How d’ee do from Cornwall. Yes, tea is ‘tay’!. Bed is ‘baid’, head is ‘aid’ etc. Boy is ‘buhey’, mate is ‘meht’, butter is ‘budder’ and Devon is De’m’ or ‘Debm’, few is ‘voo’, none of which I have ever heard (‘yurd’) upcountry in the Bristol area. I still know it as Bridgestow The late Johnny Kingdom spoke with a general Devonian accent, which some from upcountry think sounds northern Irish, as they seem to think Devonian is exactly like Bristol. Paul Whitehouse for an Aviva TV advert years ago about being a Plymouth FC fan, had to be told not to use a Bristol accent and word by the chairman of Plymouth FCs, but use Devon (Janner) ones! He still murdered Devonian and ended up sounding more like Bristolian. Just winding up a bit a about the south Midlands though having travelled around Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire (claimed to be in the south Midlands on road signs I have seen), north Somerset, Wiltshire and Bristolian fades into Gloucestershire and Herefordshire to my ears. Gloucestershire also fades into Gwent from my travels there. Having lived in Northern Ireland, the only real similarity between Devonian, Bristolian and Northern Irish accents (there a lot over there) is that they all have a retroflex ‘r’ . Devonian does not have the Bristol ‘i’ diphthong in words like, err ‘like’, and ‘I’, which people from upcountry always get wrong. Tends to be ‘lahk’ and ‘ah’.

[@raychat2816]

Dear Guideon, I wonder if you could help me identify a certain accent, and that’s of the gentleman running the KZbin channel TechMoan, I’ve noticed quite a few similarities between his accent and that of James May’s, am I too wrong ? And what region would that be ?

[@chrisburgess7756]

I'm just a random guy passing by but I would place this accent somewhere between Worcester and Banbury

[@leszekkadelski9569]

Would it be out of line to ask about your wristwatch? It looks vintage and probably has some history to it. What's the make & model?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I don't mind. It's a Cuervo and Sobrino I picked up at a market a few years ago. Nice watch but not of great value.

[@leszekkadelski9569]

​@@LetThemTalkTV I appreciate your response. Great find - it is a brand valued by those in the know.

[@Pfsif]

I know a bloke from the north east who pronounces "f" for the "Th". Thought is fought etc.

[@SebaCOYG]

That's common for Cockney and MLE, which has many variations with certain regional characteristics for each region. However it originated in London by the immigrants mainly from the Caribbean, Africa and also Asia, was highly influenced by Cockney, therefore it shares some features like t glottalisation and th fronting, which is what you said, that is replacing th with f, v or d and sometimes t sound, depending on the word ; )

[@magnusfranzonuvebrant9519]

Our daughter, age four, six months after moving from Sweden to Filton; -Da-ee, i fough o’ summink!

[@SebaCOYG]

@@magnusfranzonuvebrant9519 She dropped a 'd'? Now that's rare! ; )

[@monaalthaiby6852]

Can anyone tell me of which movie is the scene stitched at 1:57 of the video Thank you

[@timc8404]

Hot fuzz

[@timc8404]

เข้าใจไหม

[@johnrohde5510]

There are various accents within Bristol.

[@gdsongwriter]

Very true. There's South Bristol (Tricky), North Bristol (Terry the Oddjobman), East Bristol (Stephen Merchant) and also 'educated' Bristolian (Richard Scudemore - standard English with a very slight Bristol burr). To demonstrate this (and more) I did a KZbin video called "The Bristol Accent In All Its Glorious Variations".

[@rickebuschcatherine2729]

Speaing of Bewulf, what's the accent of Tolkien ?

[@hilarypower6217]

Living in Brizzle but coming from London my favourite word has to be seagull, pronounced seegle. And dont forget the 'of' as in must of, could of, should of and more. Finally, 'cheers droive' has to get a mention. You'll hear that every day on any Bristol bus as the passengers alight and thank the driver. Wouldn't live anywhere else.

[@ShinyBS4]

“Brizzle” of course, is a word invented by those moving in and wanting to sound affectionate about the place, but aware that using any local word invites stigmatisation.

[@user-cc2ux9ew1r]

Gideon', do you miss Blighty, fish and chips and mushy peas or the full Monty?❤

[@salaama9]

Gideon rocks!

[@erkkinho]

Is there an accent without glottal stop?

[@frankhooper7871]

I would dispute Anglo-Saxon being a German dialect, but will happily agree to it being a Germanic dialect

[@ildarmingazov2304]

That it be...

[@noorulthagur8289]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a Bristol accent.

[@oronjoffe]

I’m a little confused about the opening statement. J.k. Rowling is from Gloucestershire and Robbie Coltrane (“Hagrid”)was Scottish. Why give these as prime examples of the Bristol accent?.

[@jamestower4473]

JK Rowling is from Yate which is not part of bristol but very near to it. As far as I'm aware Robbie Coltrane was Glaswegian. He did a reasonable effort of a West country accent in that clip (for a Scotsman).

[@johnrohde5510]

Mercia was an Anglish not a Saxon Kingdom. Gloucestershire had previously been in the Saxon kingdom of Hwicce.

[@magnusfranzonuvebrant9519]

Wee bist u me luvrrr?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Are you Bristolian?

[@martinshepherd626]

The Bristol L is now very rare to hear in these modern times

[@mariansheilamansilla6431]

Ideal, instead of idea. What a good ideal.

[@kevbee8325]

Professor Alice Roberts

[@George-bi8sj]

Think the L has gone now, can't remember the kast time I heard it (although I moved oit of Bristol about 15 years ago). My Nan used to pronounce 'area' like 'aerial', funnily enough, her name was Eva.

[@johnlindsay3820]

The tricky bit is separating the broad West Country from broad Suffolk (East) accent…

[@luxpursuits]

Jos Buttler

[@badcarlos551]

Other features include using the masculine form for objects: 'pass ee over yer' and the redundant 'too'. When I was young you'd hear archaic pronouns like 'thee' and regional slang words like 'gurt' much more. It's dying out a bit now though but you still hear people using the pronoun 'I" rather than me.

[@user-ec6zx2ec5f]

I read Harry Potter in English and wonder what accent does Hagrid speak. Rowling uses a specific spelling for his speech...

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I'm guessing she wanted a character with an accent from the town she grew up in.

[@amiryazdani2318]

[@kerryfry1857]

What's missing is the 'a' pronunciation. Here in Bristol, we take it literally as the a from Apple. So path, bath, glass etc. We use the ahhh ple sound for the 'a'. Plus we refer thing's as him. The masculine. Example: "give us he." If you're asked to pass something. Clearly from the German.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Good to get feedback from a Bristolian. Yes, indeed this was a whistle-stop tour of the Bristol accent. I know there is a lot more we could (or should) have covered. Next time...

[@kerryfry1857]

@@LetThemTalkTV no worries great content ❤

[@martinshepherd626]

​@@kerryfry1857 100% agree Babs!

[@mariotabali2603]

You got the like just because there's Wheatley in it.

[@SebaCOYG]

I must admit that the intrusive L is... I am just unable to find logic in it. How come? 😅

[@LetThemTalkTV]

It's kind of the reverse of Italian where they put a vowel at the end even if there isn't one.

[@SebaCOYG]

@@LetThemTalkTV Oh, they do? Well, that's another thing learnt today. Thank you! ; )

[@gdsongwriter]

I think it was habit and imitation of elders rather than logic. The most famous example is 'ideawl' for idea (there can also be a 'w' sound which non-Bristolians don't always pick up on). As a young child I used to say 'chimley' instead of 'chimney' and I remember one lad at primary school would always say 'drawlin' for drawing. Sadly (for some of us) the intrusive L seems to be dying out.

[@SebaCOYG]

@@gdsongwriter Interesting 🤔

[@foka2701]

Bad syncro in this video 😞

[@mariansheilamansilla6431]

Very disappointing video. Just a few seconds of the Bristol accent actually heard.