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Geordie Phonology
The Consonant Sounds of Geordie
All British English accents have at least 24 consonants. Most sound the same from region to region. But there are variations.
The table below gives examples of consonant sounds associated with a Geordie accent. The left-hand column lists each feature and gives a brief explanation, while the second column describes the circumstances in which you might hear this alternative pronunciation. Click on the sound file to listen to a recording of a Geordie using the target feature. The right-hand column lists other recordings on this site where you can hear speakers who share the same pronunciation.
| pronunciation feature | circumstances where this feature is particularly noticeable | IPA symbol | sound file | recordings where this feature also occurs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
glottal reinforcement of <p> a <p> sound is produced simultaneously with a glottal stop | when <p> occurs between vowels in words such as happy and paper or across word boundaries in phrases such as keep up and stop it and when <p> occurs at the end of a syllable preceding a vowel in words such as jumper or phrases such as pump up |
/P/ | Stannington, Byker, Whitehaven, Middlesbrough, North Elmham, Norwich, MMB Hackney, Peckham | |
glottal reinforcement of <k> a <k> sound is produced simultaneously with a glottal stop | when <k> occurs between vowels in words such as lucky and striker or across word boundaries in phrases such as kick off and walk away and when <k> occurs at the end of a syllable preceding a vowel in words such as thinking or phrases such as drink up | /K&#;/ | Stannington, Byker, Whitehaven, Middlesbrough, North Elmham, Norwich, Peckham | |
glottal reinforcement of <t> <t> sound is produced simultaneously with a glottal stop | when <t> occurs between vowels in words such as matter and water or across word boundaries in phrases such as shut up and when <t> occurs at the end of a syllable preceding a vowel in words such as winter or phrases such as sent off | /t&#;/ | it does, it does help oneself to, uh, to feel a better person | Stannington, Byker, Whitehaven, Middlesbrough, North Elmham, Norwich, Peckham |
uvular <r> a sound produced at the back of the throat, very similar to the <r> sound we associate with French and German | commonly known as the Northumbrian burr, this pronunciation is increasingly rare today, although it can still sometimes be heard among older speakers in rural Northumberland | /K&#;/ | Aberhosan |
