What do you sound like ?

I'm western Canadian and always thought we didn't have accent, boy was I wrong! Lol. My DH from Newfoundland. I meet him after he had left the "rock" for many years and his accent is mild, until he talks to others from Newfoundland then it sure comes out. When we first married I had to have him translate everything his family said to me between their accent and local sayings I couldn't understand anything they said, much to their amusement.

People in Co. Durham say oo and u differently from those north of the Tyne.

My DD's partner is from Sunderland and his (Mackem) accent is so different to the Geordie accent (despite us being not too far away from each other).

Apparently calling a Mackem (or Mackum) a Geordie is the biggest insult !

Still have a potteries accent. Not so strong now after 50 years in the south. More pronounced if I have a cold. I was determined to keep my accent.
When I lived in Sheffield my landlady had very posh neighbours whose name was B U R D A S
Landlady used to say it was the only time they didn't use a long A.!

I was born in Birmingham (and very proud of that city) but moved around a lot and would say I speak more like a Londoner than a Brummie. I've lived in Scotland for 15 years now but have never picked up the (west coast) accent. From time to time people ask where I'm from and I always say that I'm originally from Brum and almost always they will reply that they thought so as they recognised my accent. I haven't the heart to tell them it's more west London than West Midlands.

Sunderland isn't that far from South Shields. Geordie has always been North of the Tyne and specifically Newcastle although lots of places in the NE now want to be regarded as such, and the accent is different.
Just as a Northumbrian accent is different.
I still don't know how you would distinguish in writing between a Northern accent with the longer "U" sound and the Southern accent with the shorter "U" sound gillybob. Northerners do lengthen the sound and "oo" seems a reasonable way to show it. Can I ask if you think this is some sort of an insult?
I would regard it simply as a way of communicating, much as I would write a Londoner as saying " loight" and "broight"

''Vera'' as in the TV detective series, has a terrible Geordie accent, its more Wearside than Tyneside and too sing-songy.
Its a cardinal sin to confuse a Geordie accent with a Sunderland/Wearside accent. A true Geordie is someone born on actual Tyneside. Northumberland had a different accent again, with things like Ashington pronounced Eshington.

I agree Smithy her accent is rubbish. People from the South probably think that Vera' s accent is true Geordie.

I can barely understand the Ashington accent it's so thick. They almost say
"Eshuntun" don't they ? when we had our caravan we were next door to the sister of a very famous Geordie . She did a very funny party piece of describing her first driving lesson around the perimeter of a farmers field;

"aa just cuddun garn strait and Neely had the bluddy cew"

Being from Blyth I suppose I'm not a true Geordie by some standards. but I do understand those from Eshntn.
I belong to another forum where the Blyth/Ashington/Bebside accents are sometimes discussed.
And the very narrow localised dialect words used in each town. It's fascinating.

Black country born and bred and proud of it but according to one or two people posh Black Country, lol. Never Brummy as it is a completely different accent and they use a different phraseology. I love how some people eg my two Welsh friends have lived in the Black Country for nearly 60 years but both still have their gorgeous accents. One is from Swansea and one from Brecon and yes you can tell they are Welsh but their accents are different.x

I was born in London, we moved several times, in Somerset & Kent finally settled in Lancashire when I was 9. No trace of a southern accent. I'm a Lancashire lass through and through, with the accent to prove it. I think our local accent sounds awful on the telephone. It's definitely bath, castle for me no r's in those words..

Like the queen, I'm told.

I was born in Tynemouth to Lancastrian parents. Now I live in Norfolk and got there via, Carlisle, Barnsley, Nigeria, Hong Kong, London, Surry, Sussex, Devon and Derby!
I sound posh but say certain words the Lancashire way e.g. ow er not arr( as in ow er kid).

I was born in a small fishing village in North East Scotland that has its own dialect, moved down to Leicester when I was 5/6 and lived there until my early 30's. a good Leicester accent is very 'slangy', which I had. We moved back to Scotland in 1989, but although I have never lost my 'Leicester ' accent, it has been watered down somewhat, but folk think I come from Manchester, Yorkshire and generally the North of England, apart from folk who come from those areas lol. No one believes I am in fact Scottish and I have occasionally suffered 'racist' comments from folk who consider that because I have an English accent then I must be English. So lesson here is 'never judge a person by their accent', as you may get a shock!

I was brought up in the North West, Cheshire to be exact. I've lived in the South now for more than 40 years; I used to be told that I wasn't 'from around here' (which surprisingly I already knew!) Now people tell me I have a 'soft' northern accent.

Edinburgh Scots with a tinge of NE Scotland. We moved a lot with the RAF when I was a child so I have a chameleon tendency and find myself speaking in the same accent as the person I'm talking to! There was a time when I was very anglicised and it can rise to the surface on occasion.

And there is no 'r' in drawing!!!

I was born in Liverpool but lived from 3 weeks old to five and a half years in north London. Then we lived in Bury, Romiley, Sutton Coldfield, back to Liverpool, Derby, Cardiff, back to Derby, St Helens, Morpeth, Whaley Bridge and finally back to Morpeth. You'd know me for a northerner (short 'a' but no oop!) but I think you'd find it hard to pin me down more specifically than that.

I'm from Belfast but don't have that 'hard' accent mines quite soft except when I'm talking to my sister and it all quickens up. My partner thinks it's hilarious. It's wee this and wee that, yer man/woman lol

Good point Juliette .

I looked st that a few times before it clicked Kaytek

As in .... "draw...ring "

I was born in the north west, moved around a lot in Lancashire and Gtr Manchester so my accent reflects that. It's odd that we northerners are accused of having chips on our shoulders when we object to eg "ooop" rather than "up". I've seen that regularly on granset but never seen "loight" for "light" . Presumably because it's assumed only so called northern accents need spelling out.
My mother told her children not to pick up the strong line cal accentsvin the various places we lived because people would think we weren't as "clever". The flat cap, clogs and whippet image persists towards those of us like vying in the northern poor house. Sorry for not being as light hearted as the OP intended, it's a response to reading some of the exchanges here

MagicWriter2016...... fit like? Presume you are a Doric speaker!

I agree I am64 This image persists, why do TV presenters think its amusing to mimic the northern accents but never the southern ones. Specifically Tim Wonnacott and Dave? Lamb from Come Dine with Me.

Gillybob, southern Irish accent being dreamy - Michael O'Leary, anyone?