A comprehensive guide to British accents.... including, inexplicably, some Irish ones.

When I was asked to contribute to this Voice Crafters article 'British Accents - A Comprehensive Guide,' I was, as many other Irish people would understand, a little conflicted.

While I didn't quite start my responding email with '800 years...', I did try to highlight The Republic as a separate nation, albeit one very much shaped, linguistically and otherwise, by its colonial past. Not sure how well that came across in the finished article, but this is certainly a comprehensive and interesting guide to British accents - as well as some Irish ones for good measure.

I mean, it wouldn't really be a British accent guide if they didn't claim a few Irish along the way, so I suppose it all checks out.

Here's a quote from me trying really hard not to sound like a Fenian warrior, below.
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The majority of Southern Irish people are fiercely protective of our cultural and linguistic heritage, and quite adamant in separating that from our previous history as a colony of the United Kingdom.
However, in saying this, our histories are so closely linked that the impact of British occupation in Ireland is still evident through the accents

The ‘West British’ accent of the Irish ascendancy is still alive in Irish society today, amongst the wealthy estate owners who would have been aligned with British rule, up until their departure in the early 20th century.
This is an accent that is close to the Queen’s English but with Irish influences, such as a slightly harder ‘r’ sound or other influences...

Irish voiceover artist – Remie M.

To read the rest of this article, go here.