Because English is such a widespread language, there are a variety of different English accents. If you are attempting to learn the language, then it is likely that you will encounter many of these different English accents. On this page, we are going to introduce you to some of the more common of them.
United Kingdom
Let's start with the United Kingdom, mostly because this is where the English language was born. However, it also has some of the most varied of English accents.
Many of the other places that we mention on this list were colonized locations. This means that a massive population was transplanted there all at once, all with a mix of different accents. These people moved around, and thus accents were less varied as everybody was mingling with one another. The mass movement wasn't a thing when the English language started to develop, and thus there are several rather distinct accents in the United Kingdom. In fact, it is believed that there is a different accent every 13-15 miles in the United Kingdom.
Popular English accents from the United Kingdom include:
• Cockney
• Scouse
• Brummie
• Geordie
• Estuary English
• Received Pronunciation (commonly known as RP)
And that is just scratching the surface. Honestly, if you want to be exposed to a ton of different English accents, then the UK is where you need to be starting.
United States
While many Americans seem to believe that there is a wide variety of English accents across the country, there isn't. Each of the accents tends to be a slight twist on the other accents. There are around 7 fully distinct accents across the country. It may not seem like a lot, but they do tend to be a bit more varied. Common American accents (if we break these distinct accents up) include:
• New Yorker
• Bostonian
• Southern
Of course, you can creep out of the United States and head into Canada where you have even more distinctive accents that have developed based upon how the areas were colonized. They are a mix of French/English accents in some parts, while others have more of a flavor that is similar to the United States.
Africa
Many African countries actually have English as their official language. Again, this is due to colonization. As a result, many of the English accents that you find there are a blend of the more traditional accent from the area with a touch of English mixed in, and that English often came from various British accents. You can hear this most prominently in South Africa.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand have very similar accents, although not quite. However, the accents here tend to be far less varied than anywhere else on this list as the population never really moved around, which allowed the accents to develop into one. This is mostly going to be an accent similar to British accents, although a combination of accents. If you listen to Australian accents, they tend to be a hybrid of Northern and Southern British accents.
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