Residents from Levenshulme, Stretford and Moss Side are likely to sound 'posh', according to experts.
Sociolinguists at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) have published the findings of a three-year research project, investigating how people speak across the region. The study, called Manchester Voices, also discovered that the 'Manc' accent is usually found in the city centre and that residents of boroughs such as Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, and Oldham are more likely to have a 'Lancashire' accent.
Wiganers were found to have a distinctive dialect all of their own, while those living in South Manchester, Trafford and Stockport are more likely to sound ‘posh’, the study found. Manchester Central Library will keep a permanent record of the project's findings and they have been uploaded to a dedicated Manchester Voices website, alongside analysis, poems, podcasts, a quiz and some historical archive recordings.
Dr Rob Drummond, lead researcher on Manchester Voices and reader in Sociolinguistics at MMU, said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure working on this project and learning so much about the voices and people of Greater Manchester. We are extremely proud of the resource in Central Library, and hope that people will use it for years to come to find out more about local language in the 2020s.”
In the first stage of the research, conducted during the pandemic lockdowns, researchers asked more than 350 people from Greater Manchester to describe the different accents and dialects on an online map, as well as asking people to submit a recording of themselves speaking.
An 'accent van' was then taken on tour across all 10 boroughs in the summer of 2021, where members of the public were asked to reflect on where they live, the way they speak, and how it relates to who they are. In all, 421 people took part, and many of their interviews can be watched or listened to.
The findings of the project can be viewed on the Manchester Voices website.
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