Sunderland, Durham and the Durham coalfield
The Wearside and Durham accent
Wearside is not Tyneside, and Sunderland will tell you so. The two share a vowel system but differ in the words that carry it: Sunderland says “mak” and “tak” where Newcastle says “make” and “take”, and the Durham coalfield behind it kept Pitmatic, a pit vocabulary distinct from Geordie again.
Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →
How to recognise a Wearside and Durham accent
- “Mak” and “tak” for “make” and “take” — the classic Mackem–Geordie split.
- “Marra” for a workmate, shared with Cumbria across the Pennines.
- “Charver” for a lad, and “howay” shared with Tyneside.
- H is kept more often than in Teesside to the south.
Also known as Mackem accent, Sunderland accent, Wearside accent, Durham accent, Pitmatic. Spoken in Sunderland, Durham and the Durham coalfield, England.
The Wearside and Durham pronunciation fingerprint
These are the answers the quiz expects from a Wearside and Durham 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
“go” is one flat sound — gaw
yod-coalescence — “tune” sounds like “choon”, or “tune” keeps its Y — “tyoon”
no — they sound different
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”
the H in “house” is pronounced, or 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 Sunderland, Durham and the Durham coalfield
The Wearside and Durham accent test
Is your accent Wearside and Durham? 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.
Related accents
- West Country accent
- Bristol accent
- Birmingham accent
- Modern RP accent
- London accent
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- Mancunian accent
- South Yorkshire accent
- West Yorkshire accent
- Geordie accent
- South Wales accent
- Cornish accent
- Black Country accent
- Potteries accent
- East Midlands accent
- East Anglian accent
- Lancashire accent
- Cumbrian accent
- North Yorkshire accent
- Hull accent
- Teesside accent
- North Wales accent