Who are more 'common', Northerners or Southerners?

Who do you think are more 'common', northerners or southerners? I think it would have to be northerners by a long stretch (with perhaps the possible exception of Essex in the south). Down south we speak with etiquette - the Queen's english, if you will. Up north, the locals don't seem very classy at all, there are more chavs and the accents sound rather more vulgar.

What are your thoughts?

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Reply 1

in_vogue

But down south you're also a bit more gay.

Reply 2

Blatant Troll

Original post by Ian Holloway

Reply 3

Smelly Ellie

Northerners. Doesn't mean to say we aren't friendly, we're just a bit rougher round the edges.

Southern accents sound ridiculous to us though OP, it's just what you're used to I suppose. :smile:

Reply 4

Bella Occhi

Obvious troll, but I'll bite anyway - you can get 'common' areas and nicer areas in both the North and the South. As a Southerner, I can tell you that there are plenty of chavs here as well and their accents are horrific. "Stacay get over 'ere naow playse!"

Reply 5

Dynasty

There are just as many chavs down south, but generally southern accents are a bit 'posher' than northern ones, but bristolian/west country/essex/east london are hardly posh.

Reply 6

Lexi99

You get both sorts in both parts of the country

Reply 7

Jacktri

Northerners are just southerners on helium

Reply 8

Organ

I speak with a posh english voice, so do all my friends. We are from Leeds.

And lol at the essex comment :lol:

It really depends where you choose to go in the North - even then these sterotypes are pretty baseless.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 9

girlwithsharpteeth

I think it completely depends on the individuals tbh - whoever said cockney english was posh? But to be perfectly honest.... who gives a f**k?

Reply 10

Aj12

Must we have yet another thread based on petty generalizations?

Reply 11

Smelly Ellie

Original post by Jacktri

Northerners are just southerners on helium

Hahaha how do we have higher voices? I'd say our voices are much more gruff. :confused:

Reply 12

Jacktri

Original post by Smelly Ellie

Hahaha how do we have higher voices? I'd say our voices are much more gruff. :confused:

hmm i supposed some northern accents do but there are a few that are higher too

Reply 13

Smelly Ellie

Original post by Jacktri

hmm i supposed some northern accents do but there are a few that are higher too

Yeah I suppose, when I think of North Vs South I always think Emmerdale Vs the Queen. But the divide isn't really as clear cut as that is it? :biggrin:

Reply 14

MissLightyear

Original post by in_vogue

But down south you're also a bit more gay.

So wanted to rep this, but I ran out :frown:

My school went to France with a school from down south 2 years ago and they loved our accent :smile:

I can also reassure you that not all northerners are chavs, cant really help how we sound

Reply 15

nuodai

I never thought I had a northern accent until I went to Cambridge and everyone told me I did... so from the point of view of my own complete obliviousness, notherners on the whole probably sound more 'common'. Despite this, northern accents preserve some archaic features that southern accents don't; for example the trap-bath split and foot-strut split haven't happened here (yet). So it's very much up for debate which is more 'pure' (although being a descriptivist, rather than prescriptivist, I'd say that the word 'pure' has little to do with language at all).

Reply 16

Jacktri

Original post by nuodai

trap split?

Reply 17

MissLightyear

Original post by Jacktri

hmm i supposed some northern accents do but there are a few that are higher too

Ive been told by southerners that we talk quite low but random words go dead high. After that comment I started to notice that its true and just kept laughing at myself for it :colondollar:

Reply 18

TurboCretin

My thought is that only a **** would post a thread like this.

Reply 19

noobynoo

Original post by in_vogue

But down south you're also a bit more gay.

Given that the some of the main gay capitals of the UK are in Manchester, Blackpool and Newcastle and highly doubt that.

Yeah obv. north is more 'common' since it has all the commoners who worked in the mining/steel/cotton industries and when they shut down you get generations of unemployed people on the dole.

I tend to find that in the south even people with the lowest jobs such as in sandwich shops are more intelligent than those in the north.

Northerners can just say random words with no meaning to them whatsoever: "aye... luv... wey aye... like...aye...like...luv ....like" but southerners tend to say things which make actual sense: "So what's your opinion on the Libyan situation?"