Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Lincolnshire
The East Midlands accent
East Midlands English sits on the line where the north of England becomes the south. It takes the northern side of both the great dividing isoglosses — short “bath”, no foot–strut split — while its diphthongs have already begun to drift towards London. The Danelaw left more Old Norse vocabulary here than anywhere south of it.
Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →
How to recognise a East Midlands accent
- “Duck” and “me duck” as a friendly address, regardless of who to.
- “Mardy” for sulky or bad-tempered — the region's best-known word.
- A bread roll is a “cob”.
- “Ay up” as the standard greeting.
Also known as East Midlands accent, Nottingham accent, Derby accent, Leicester accent. Spoken in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Lincolnshire, England.
The East Midlands pronunciation fingerprint
These are the answers the quiz expects from a East Midlands speaker on its 27 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.
“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat” — no trap–bath split
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
non-rhotic — “car” ends in a vowel, with no R sound
a clear T in the middle of “bottle”, or a glottal stop in “bottle” — “bo’le”
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound different
“day” is one flat sound — deh, or “day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
“go” is one flat sound — gaw, or “go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
yod-coalescence — “tune” sounds like “choon”, or “tune” keeps its Y — “tyoon”
yes — “singer” has a hard g
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
a th sound
“ship” and “sheep” hold two distinct vowels apart
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” sound the same — no foot–strut split
a true TH at the start of “three”, or TH-fronting — “three” sounds like “free”
H-dropping — “house” sounds like “ouse”
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
“happy” ends on a short “-ih”, or “happy” ends on a long “-ee” — happy-tensing
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
“school” starts straight on the S
“bed” keeps its voiced ending, apart from “bet”
an approximant R, made without contact
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Everyday words in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Lincolnshire
The East Midlands accent test
Is your accent East Midlands? The only way to answer that against real data is to compare your own speech to the profile above. The test takes about two minutes: answer 29 questions, pin the town where you grew up, and see your closest accent matches ranked by how well they fit — plus where people who answer like you actually live.
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