Scouse

This article is about the accent and dialect. For the dish, see Scouse (food).
"Scousers" redirects here. For the Harry Enfield sketch, see The Scousers.

Scouse
Liverpool English / Merseyside English
Native toEngland
RegionLiverpool City Region
Early forms
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
GlottologNone
IETFen-scouse
Speech example
The voice of musician Ringo Starr, an example of a working-class male from the inner-city Dingle area of Liverpool.
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Speech example
The voice of historian Andrew Hussey, another example of a working-class male from inner-city Liverpool.
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Speech example
The voice of comedian John Bishop, an example of a working-class male from Runcorn, a town near Liverpool which had its local accent changed by large numbers of Liverpudlians moving in during the 1950s.[1]
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Scouse (/skaʊs/ skowss), more formally known as Liverpool English[2] or Merseyside English,[3][4][5] is an accent and dialect of English associated with the city of Liverpool and the surrounding Liverpool City Region. The Scouse accent is highly distinctive as it was influenced heavily by Irish and Welsh immigrants who arrived via the Liverpool docks, as well as Scandinavian sailors who also used the docks,[6] and thus has very little in common with the accents found throughout the rest of England.[7] People from Liverpool are known as Liverpudlians, but are usually called Scousers; the name comes from scouse, a stew originating from Scandinavian lobscouse eaten by sailors and locals.[8][9][10][11]

The development of Liverpool since the 1950s has spread the accent into nearby areas such as the towns of Runcorn and Skelmersdale.[12] Variations within Scouse have been noted: the accent of Liverpool's city centre and northern neighbourhoods is usually described as fast, harsh, and nasal,[13] while the "Beatles-like" accent found in the southern suburbs of Liverpool is typically referred to as slow, soft, and dark.[14] Popular colloquialisms have shown a growing deviation from the historical Lancashire dialect that was previously found in Liverpool,[12] as well as a growth in the influence of the accent in the wider area.[7][15][16][17][18] Scouse is often considered by other Britons to be one of the country's least popular accents due to its difficulty, but it conversely also performs very well in polls of British accents that people perceive as happy and friendly.[19]

  1. ^ "John Bishop". Desert Island Discs. 24 June 2012. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. ^ Watson (2007:351–360)
  3. ^ Collins & Mees 2013, pp. 193–194.
  4. ^ Coupland, Nikolas; Thomas, Alan R., eds. (1990), English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change, Multilingual Matters Ltd., ISBN 1-85359-032-0
  5. ^ Howard, Jackson; Stockwell, Peter (2011), An Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language (2nd ed.), Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 172, ISBN 978-1-4411-4373-0
  6. ^ "The origins of Scouse". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b Dominic Tobin and Jonathan Leake (3 January 2010). "Regional accents thrive against the odds in Britain". The Sunday Times. Times Newspapers. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011.
  8. ^ Chris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press, 2006 (ISBN 0-7862-8517-6)
  9. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Harry Enfield - The Scousers Visit The Beach". 10 January 2008 – via www.youtube.com.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Patrick Honeybone. "New-dialect formation in nineteenth century Liverpool: a brief history of Scouse" (PDF). Open House Press.
  13. ^ Bona, Emilia (29 September 2019). "11 funny differences between north and south Liverpool". Liverpool Echo.
  14. ^ "BBC News - London 2012: A 12-part guide to the UK in 212 words each". Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  15. ^ Julie Henry (30 March 2008). "Scouse twang spreads beyond Merseyside". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  16. ^ Nick Coligan (29 March 2008). "Scouse accent defying experts and 'evolving'". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  17. ^ Chris Osuh (31 March 2008). "Scouse accent on the move". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  18. ^ Richard Savill (3 January 2010). "British regional accents 'still thriving'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  19. ^ Bona, Emilia (17 August 2015). "Scouse ranked second-least attractive accent in the country". Liverpool Echo.