Wiganers' distinct voices become part of historic record looking at the area's dialects

Sociolinguists at Manchester Metropolitan University have finished a three-year research project named Manchester Voices, investigating how people speak across Greater Manchester, and what people think and feel about these ways of speaking.

Now people can explore the project’s fascinating findings, including clips recorded in the team’s special “Accent Van”.

And there are maps showing the four distinct dialects identified in the area – Manc, Lancashire, Wigan and posh.

There is also analysis from the Manchester Voices experts on features of local accents, as well as poems, podcasts, a quiz and historical archive recordings.

For generations to come, people will be able to explore the findings and learn about language through the website and archive at Manchester Central Library.

Dr Rob Drummond, lead researcher and reader in sociolinguistics, said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure working on this project and learning so much about the voices and people of Greater Manchester. We are extremely proud of the resource in Central Library, and hope that people will use it for years to come to find out more about local language in the 2020s.”

In the first stage of the research – conducted during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns – researchers asked more than 350 people from the region to draw and describe the different accents and dialects on an online map. They also asked people who were born and raised in one borough to submit a recording of themselves.

Those early findings showed people thought the “Manc” accent was situated mostly in the city of Manchester, while residents of South Manchester, Trafford and Stockport were more likely to sound “posh”.

While residents of the northern boroughs of Bury, Bolton, Rochdale and Oldham were characterised as speaking “Lancashire”, Wiganers were thought to have a distinctive dialect of their own – and were more likely to catch the ‘”buz” or read a “bewk”.

In summer 2021, researchers took the Accent Van on tour across the 10 boroughs, offering people a quiet place to reflect on where they live, the way they speak and how it relates to who they are. In all, 421 people took part and many of their interviews can be accessed through the permanent archive.