How The Scouse Accent Is Viewed By The Public In A YouGov Poll Answered By British Adults In The UK

The Liverpool City Region's Accent Ranked Second To Last As One Of The UK's Least Attractive Accents

Bitmoji avatar of Peter Eric Lang hovering over the UK (Credit: YouGov/ Bitmoji/ Peter Eric Lang).

I found a YouGov survey from November 2014 about British Accents, and the Scouse Accent, was unfortunately rated as one of the least attractive accents in the British Isles. It is naturally classed as one of the twelve main accents in the UK and is certainly one of the most recognisable without any shadow of a doubt.

The Infographic That YouGov Produced On Their Findings

YouGov map of the British Isles including the highlighted area of the Liverpool Metropolitan Area where the Scouse Accent is spoken (Credit: YouGov).

Conducted by YouGov and answered by British adult participants. Earning the top spot on the list is the Southern Irish Accent with a net score of 42. Received Pronunciation, also known as 'BBC English' or how many in Northern America refer to as a 'British Accent', had a net score of 31. Welsh gained a net score of 20 with the Yorkshire Accent having a net score of 15 and not far behind the West County gaining a net score of 13. The Geordie Accent which you will find in the Newcastle Area gained a net score of 10 and Northern Irish gaining the lowest positive net score of 5.

YouGov responses to the poll on British Accents (Credit: YouGov).

The five with minus net scores are highly distinctive accents with Glaswegian, which is found in the Scottish City of Glasgow gaining a net score of -29, and the Cockney Accent found in London gaining a narrow margin lower than Glaswegian with a net score of -30. The Mancunian Accent found in Manchester ranked third from last with a net score of -31, one slot above the Scouse Accent from the Liverpool City Region & Metropolitan Area which gained a net score of -33, making the accent the second to last in terms of the least attractive accent in the British Isles amongst British adults. Last place came the Brummie Accent which is found spoken in Birmingham and the West Midlands which garnered a net score of -52 and unfortunately received the dreaded headline from YouGov of ''Brummie' is the least attractive accent'. I find polls like this somewhat unfair as it pits cities against one another when they cannot help their accents, which implies that having any kind of an accent such as Glaswegian, Brummie or Scouse is a bad thing or a disadvantage when it isn't and if anything, make you even more unique and proud of the originality of your Region and its story to tell.

One of the titles posed by the YouGov poll about British Accents (Credit: YouGov).

The influences that the Scouse Accent has had over the years is fascinating and if anything makes me fall in love with my Region's Accent more than anything. The Scouse Accent is an amalgamation of influences from all over the world with Liverpool being considered as Ireland's second capital and nicknamed East Dublin, as well as the City being home to many Welsh people and at one point in time, Liverpool was home to more Welsh people than any city in Wales, which is shown by many Scousers across the City Region saying 'tara' rather than bye, which is the Welsh word for bye. In addition to Liverpool FC being the most supported team in Wales, with Everton FC also being in the top ten. This is alongside the fact that many in North Wales view Liverpool as their Capital City over Cardiff which is in the Southernmost part of Wales; a wonderful connection that was demonstrated by a Superlambanana being placed at the top of Moel Famau during Liverpool's European Capital of Culture Year.

'Learning about the history of it all just makes me fall even deeper in love with my accent and area.'

The poor air quality in the Region's docks such as Dingle, Birkenhead, Bootle and the Pier Head made these areas have an even thicker Scouse Accent than other areas. Many Scousers, myself included, alongside a number of neighbours I have spoken to about the issue, find that they have sinus problems which we often associate with the Mersey and the previously mentioned air quality and pollution that comes with being a busy port and densely built up urban area, and, instead of the shipping pollution associated with the River Mersey, it is increasingly more to do with traffic congestion, as sadly pointed out by the BBC and King's College London, with the 'Liverpool City Region's air pollution is linked to 1,040 deaths per year'.

Not to mention the City's Port that has had an influx of millions upon millions of people over hundreds of years both over prolonged periods of time and in short bursts. The Region's dish of stew known also as Scouse, which is how Scousers actually gained their name, was a Scandinavian import that was enjoyed in the melting pot that is Liverpool by workers in the City's docklands, from Wallasey and Seaforth, to Brunswick. This ruch multi-cultural history only adds layers to the Liverpudlian tapatry.

Learning about the history of it all just makes me fall even deeper in love with my accent and area. The same would be said about the history of all accents such as Brummie, Geordie and Mancunian. Each aspect of the UK has something special to offer which truly makes our country even more exciting to explore. Our accents should be cherished and celebrated, not ranked and shamed as to which is 'the least attractive'.

Bitmoji avatar of Peter Eric Lang with a love heart around the Liverpool Metropolitan Area (Credit: YouGov/ Bitmoji/ Peter Eric Lang).

The Scouse Accent is also known as the Liverpudlian Accent, the Mersey Accent or Merseyside Scouse. You will find the Scouse Accent spoken in the Liverpool City Region, which includes the City of Liverpool and the Region's Boroughs of Wirral, Sefton, Halton, St. Helens and Knowsley (as demonstrated on the YouGov map of the UK); as well as in villages, towns and cities that are included in the Liverpool Metropolitan Area, such as Ormskirk and Skelmersdale which are very much considered by many as overspill towns of the city. For example, Ormskirk is home to Liverpool's fifth University, Edge Hill. Is is however, located outside of the city, as the Liverpudlian business people that founded the University in the Edge Hill Area on the cusp of Liverpool City Centre, found that the University was growing too rapidly and needed even more space to expand. In the 1930s they moved the University outside of the densely packed centralised urban location, and relocated to a more rural area, enabling the University to grow and flourish without constraint. I have met numerous people from Ormskirk with a Scouse Accent and many people that consider the town as Scouse as any other area in the Region, especially as it is nestled in between the Northern parts of the Boroughs of Knowsley and the Eastern part of the Borough of Sefton.

'Each aspect of the UK has something special to offer which truly makes our country even more exciting to explore. Our accents should be cherished and celebrated'.

Whilst this is interesting, the wording should be altered and framed in less of a shameful light such as using the word 'popular', and the title should not shame Brummie as the 'least attractive' and instead frame it as 'Southern Irish Is the Most Popular Accent In The British Isles', this is a poll and article by a respected organisation, YouGov, and not a tabloid newspaper in a bid for more readers through the use of clickbait.