London/Estuary English – VoiceAndSpeech.site

For hints on using this resource, please see How to Work on an Accent.

Listening Samples

Alan
Alfie
Charlie
Francis
Pauline
Rachel

James Kirtley
(Eastbourne, b. 1975)

James Kirtley

Ronnie Knight
(Hackney, b. 1934)

Ronnie Knight

Roger Bisby
(London, b. 1952)

Roger Bisby

Jamie Oliver
(Essex, b. 1975)

Jamie Oliver

Barbara Windsor
(Shoreditch, b. 1937)

Barbara Windsor

Amy Winehouse
(Southgate, b. 1983)

Amy Winehouse

Key Sounds

For each sound, I’ve included audio examples and a dropdown section of practice phrases.

Unless otherwise indicated, practice phrases are excerpted from Lexical Sets for Actors by Eric Armstrong under a creative commons license.

Consonant Sounds

R-Dropping

While R in initial position (e.g. “red roses”) is always pronounced, R is not pronounced when it falls at the end of a word or precedes a consonant sound. Some example word groups are: NURSE, lettER, NEAR, SQUARE, START, and NORTH.

Linking R

R-dropping does not occur when the sound following the R is a vowel sound.

Practice R-Dropping & Linking R

R-Dropping

The worst burnt sirloin.
Better, stronger, faster.
Clearly fearless.
Upstairs Downstairs.
A large star chart.
Play the chord on the organ.
Sherlock searched for the murderer.
Future conservative leader.
They persevered as a volunteer.
Swear with flair.
Sparklers for the garden party.
Norman drove from Yorkshire to Orkney.
The early bird catches the worm.
Tears for Fears appeared in Tangiers.
A square hairline.
Skylarks darkened Denmark’s skies.
Corgis have short legs and long torsos.

Linking R

Jennifer‿is a junior‿in university.
My career‿as an engineer.
The chair‿of the libraRians association.
The cashier wore‿earplugs.
The surfer’s trainer‿is from overseas.
Did you hear the LibeRians cheeRing?
CaRers, paRents, and grandpaRents.

T-Glottalizing

Medial and final T are often pronounced as a glottal stop.

Practice T-Glottalizing

Betty’s got it all figured out.
I can’t get down, I can’t get out.
How’s his fitness? Is he fit for it?
Stop it! I hate it! Will you quit it?
My notebook is not so notable, so forget it.

*These phrases are borrowed from American Accent Drills for British and Australian Speakers by Amanda Quaid.

L-Vocalizing

The L sound at the end of a word or preceding a consonant sound will often be pronounced as a vowel-like sound similar to W.

Practice L-Vocalizing

That motel pool has style.
Is that a metal kettle on the griddle?
They’re always too late to make a deal.
Can I help you feel your feelings?
Evil people repulse Ursula.

*These phrases are borrowed from Speaking Clearly by Hahner, Sokoloff, and Salisch and American Accent Drills for British and Australian Speakers by Amanda Quaid.

TH-Fronting

Voiceless TH (“THing”)

May be pronounced like F: “fing”

Voiced TH (“THis”, “weaTHer”)

In initial position may be pronounced somewhat like D: “dis”
In medial and final position may be pronounced like V: “wevver”

Practice TH-Fronting

Neither his father nor his mother bothered to clothe him, though they thought he was thoughtless about his appearance.
Length, width, and breadth are the three fundamental measurements lathe operators can’t do without.
As the throng gathered together, they withered at the sight of the thing’s clothing.

*These phrases are adapted from Speaking Clearly by Hahner, Sokoloff, and Salisch.

Vowel Sounds

Words like PRICE

The vowel sound in words like PRICE begins further back in the mouth than in many other varieties of English.

Practice PRICE Vowels

High and dry.
In spite of myself.
The spice of life.
Fine Key lime pie.
A bright night light.
Your guide to Fine Dining .
Your final lifeline.
Wild Mountain Thyme was on Prime.

Words like GOAT

Practice GOAT vowels

Don’t go home.
Row, row, row your boat.
Moan and groan on the phone.
Toby’s bespoke smoking jacket.
Onyesha loves coconut crab from Mozambique.
Moe totaled the Toyota he got in Tokyo.
If I sew the rosehips, will they grow?
The Edo shogunate lay siege to Osaka.
I was thrown by your iPhone’s ringtone.

Words like FACE

Practice FACE vowels

A great place to stay.
The rail at the tail of the sailboat.
Today’s the day!
No pain, no gain.
Don’t cut the main brachial vein!
They’ve won the space race.
He claims to feel ashamed
Why did he call the investigator A Famous Shamus?
Drain the rain gauge.

Words like BATH

Southern English accents make a distinction between the vowel sounds in BATH and TRAP. If you’re not sure whether your word is a BATH word or a TRAP word, you can look it up using a British dictionary such as Cambridge, listen at howjsay.com, or ask your dialect coach!

Practice BATH Vowels

On behalf of the calf.
A laughing giraffe.
I said “footpath”, not “bloodbath”.
A half-hour before Flagstaff.
We laughed about the aircraft.
Sample the raspberries at Belfast Castle.
The dancer from France was entrancing.

Words like TRAP

Careful not to over-generalize the BATH sound to TRAP words.

In addition to the usual TRAP words, there are a few notable “set jumper” words that are included in the TRAP set in southern English accents: marry, Harry, carry, Carolyn, carriage, Marilyn, Paris, arrow, parapet