Why are there so many accents in the UK?

The UK has 56 main accent types.

We say “main”, because, within each accent type, there are also loads of sub-accents. Meaning there are loooooads more than 56.

These regional differences developed because of the historical way the English language itself developed. Up until the middle ages, people spoke a variety of different types of English. People in the north spoke “northern” English, derived from Northumbrian old English. People in the East and West Midlands spoke an English derived from Old Mercian English, and people in the south-west an English derived from West Saxon, and people in the east an English derived from Kentish.

But of course, over the centuries different ways of speaking persists.

Which is why even today we can pretty much tell where someone in the united kingdom comes based on the way they speak.

Can you guess where I come from based on my accent?

If you said London… you’re wrong!

I come from the south-west area of England.

If you need English for life in the UK, you want to live in the UK or are simply interested in British culture, check out my course British Stories.

Best,
Julian

P.S. You can try the first lesson of British Stories for free if you like — Just go Here.

If you enjoyed this video, share it:

The simple answer is, yes…

… but it’s very rare.

The slightly longer answer is no. Not normally. Bar some form of brain damage or very extreme circumstances. And it depends on what you mean by “forget” and how much you’re forgetting.

Right.

The technical term for forgetting—or losing—your native language is

“First-language Attrition”

And yes.

There are people who have completely lost a language.

But it’s rare.

Normally these people left their home country as children and never returned. Their language wasn’t fully developed, and often there’s a psychological element. For example, they were bullied and had a desperate desire to fit into their new country and language.

This won’t happen for most of us, though.

Let’s say you move to a foreign environment. You use your second language all the time and almost never use your native language. What generally what happens is that you find it harder to recall words quickly. You’ll feel like you should know the word… but can’t remember what it is (the “tip of the tongue” effect). Your language will get slow and awkward and take more effort than it should.

You might also end up inserting phrases and mannerisms from the language you use most… even if they’re unnatural. A great example of this that I’ve noticed in Japanese people who have lived in English speaking countries for a while: they start to say, “one of my” in Japanese. For example, “one of my friends” (watashi no tomodachi no hitori) which is very natural in English… but sounds odd in Japanese.

What you’ve got to understand though…

… this isn’t necessarily “losing” your language.

When you know more than one language, all your languages are constantly active in the brain. So to stop you using the wrong language the brain has a suppression mechanism that effectively puts a language to sleep when you’re not using it.

But when you start using it again, it’ll quickly “wake up”.

Incidentally, this is caused by the same process that makes thinking (and speaking) in English hard for you, the ESL Speaker ー something which I cover in detail in Think English, Speak English.

Best,
Julian

P.S. If you struggle with thinking in English (so you can speak English fluently and naturally) my book, “Think English, Speak English” will show you what to do ー here.

If you found this useful, share:

Small Talk Superhero

Why do we have conversations?

As human beings conversation is important. Nobody can deny that. Even the most introverted of us need conversation.

But what’s not quite so obvious…

… is why.

You might be tempted to think it’s all about exchanging information.

And this is partly true… but still not quite right.

The Evolutionary Perspective

To understand this, we’ve got to think from a biological and evolutionary perspective.

You see, Human beings aren’t the only living thing to “communicate”. Sure, we’re the only ones with a fully developed language system. But spoken language is only one means of communication… and other living things (whether animal or plant) have developed others.

Sounds, gestures, smell, colour, chemical interactions.

Think of a poison dart frog or a coral snake. Why do you think they’re so brightly coloured? Simple: to communicate to potential predators, “I will Kill you if you eat me… so fuck off.”

Bees communicate via complex dances that show other bees where pollen or water sources are.

You know how when you pick a flower or cut your lawn a sweet smell fills the air? Why is that? Well, it ain’t the plant trying to please you with a nice smell, I can tell you. Environmental ecologist James Cahill, University of Alberta says it’s actually to attract insects that come and eat the pests that eating the plants (thus causing them to release their insect-attracting chemicals).

Now, the next question is…

What’s the common denominator here?

And how does all this relate to why we human beings need conversation so much?

Simply put, It all comes down to survival.

Language and communication have always been about staying alive.

Go back about 100,000 years to the beginnings of homo-sapiens and (what we think) was the starting point of language, and you’d know not to eat those poisonous berries because you were TOLD that the caveman down the road ate them and died. But as I said at the beginning, there’s more to language than information exchange.

Because how do you know to trust that information? And how do you maintain strong bonds with your tribe so they’re there to fight by your side when attacked by another tribe?

Conversation. Small talk. Chit chat.

They’re all how we get to know other people, separate friend and foe and strengthen ties with the people we already know. Which is why you’d do well to perfect the art of everyday, casual English conversation…

The Advanced Conversation Masterclass

On June 9th in London, 1 pm to 4:30 pm I’ll be doing the Advanced English Conversation Masterclass — “Small Talk Superhero. We’re going to deep-dive into English conversation, advanced techniques, language, and making your English chit-chats more fun.

If you want to join us you can (and should) sign up here.

Best,
Julian

P.S. Remember Small Talk Superhero is live in London on June 9th – join us here.

If you found this interesting, share:

Fact: Advanced English does not an advanced speaker make.

One of the big mistakes people make when trying to improve their English is to think to become “advanced”, they need to learn and use “advanced English”.

Have a watch of this:

I once had a student who had a perfect score on the TOEIC test.

That’s impressive.

He knew words that I’d never heard of and had an amazing understanding of grammar. The problem was, though, that you couldn’t understand a single word of what she was saying. It was like she was speaking a totally different language.

You see, he knew a lot of high-level stuff.

… but didn’t know how to use any of that stuff well.

Simply put, a basic command of advanced language won’t make you advanced or help you speak well.

Because it’s the other way around.

An advanced command of basic language makes you advanced.

Make sense?

Best

Julian

P.S. We’ll be going deep into this topic in Small Talk Superhero on June 9th, Live in London – more information here.

Share if you found useful:

Small Talk Superhero