The Geordie accent has quite a rep as one of the strongest accents in the UK.
Associated with the North East and in particular Newcastle, TV personalities Ant and Dec, and Geordie Shore, this accent is certainly worth learning if you want to play around with accent stereotypes.
The Geordie accent uses distinct pronunciation and an array of colloquialisms that make up the ‘Geordie’ terminology many people in the country have heard of.
In this article, we’re going to dive into what makes the Geordie accent so distinguishable and how you can voice act with the accent for your own productions.
With this said, we always recommend working with a professional voiceover agency for the creation of your audiovisual production! GoLocalise has a huge directory of British voiceover artists, including those with a Geordie Newcastle accent.
You will also find it interesting to read why we find the British Accent so charming.
Where is the Geordie Accent From?
The Geordie accent has a colourful vocabulary and can be compared to Cockney’s rhyming slang in many ways. Unlike the Southern Cockney accent, however, it originates in the heart of the North East, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
The Geordie dialect dates back hundreds of years, to the Saxon period. Unlike other British accents and dialects, Geordie was influenced by the Angles, who came from the coastal German region of Schleswig-Holstein.
Therefore, many Geordie words have a similar sound to that of modern Danish, which may come as a surprise. The Danish word for child ‘barn’ can be compared to the Geordie slang word for child, which is ‘bairn’.
If you’re wondering why the Newcastle Geordie accent is named ‘Geordie’, similar to the Brummie accent, there are some historical theories and links.
The name ‘Geordie’ has strong ties to the coal mining industry and ‘George’ was the most popular name for males in the area for many years. Both of these explanations combined could provide clues as to why Geordies are called Geordies!
Why is the Geordie Accent so Different?
For anybody who wants to learn how to do the Geordie accent, it’s a good idea to get familiar with how the accent differentiates from other accents in the UK.
The Geordie dialect and accent is unique because of its sing-song rhythm which is similar to that of Liverpudlian. Geordie also retains much more Old English than many of the modern accents spoken across the country today.
How to Do a Geordie English Accent
Now that you have learnt about Geordie origins and some characteristics of the accent, it’s time to learn the Geordie English accent. Below, we’ve provided some rules, accent features, and slang words that you should know.
Become familiar with sound differences
Start by learning to stay words with a Geordie accent by accentuating certain sounds.
There are specific Geordie mannerisms that you should aim to perfect before delving deeper into learning the accent. For example, ‘er’ sounds become an ‘a’ sound as heard in ‘brother’ which becomes ‘brotha’.
The sound ‘o’ is also often accentuated within a sentence and the letter ‘y’ at the end of words often sounds like ‘ee’. For example, ‘money’ sounds like ‘monee’.
Learn the vernacular aspects of Geordie
Noticing the slang aspects of Geordie through listening to dialogue or watching YouTube videos will be really useful for this step.
There are quite a lot of Geordie slang words including the following (check other British Slang Words):
- Areet – meaning ‘alright’
- Howay – meaning ‘come on’
- Wey aye – meaning ‘I agree’ or ‘yes!’
- Champion – meaning ‘great’
- Mebbies – meaning ‘maybe’
- Bairn – meaning ‘child’
- Gan – meaning ‘go’
- Aye – meaning ‘yes’
- Owa – meaning ‘over’
- Neet – meaning ‘night’
- Reet – meaning ‘right’
- Dee – meaning ‘do’
- Toon – meaning ‘Newcastle town centre’
- Us – meaning ‘me’
Celebrities with Geordie Accent
Many loved celebrities and TV personalities in the UK have a Geordie accent. Cheryl Cole, from Girls Aloud, and Sting who was born in Wallsend, are two examples.
There are also lots of YouTube videos to watch that showcase the Geordie accent in all of its glory.
We recommend checking out comedian Ross Noble and famous TV chef, The Hairy Bikers.
You’ll love this post about the impact of the different English Accents on Pop Culture. Check it out!
Voice Over in All British English Accents
GoLocalise are proud to work with genuine Geordie voice over artists across the UK.
Whether you’re based in London or happen to be in the North East, our team can help with an authentic Geordie accent voiceover as well as other accents such as received pronunciation.
Our huge network of UK voice over artists and years of experience in the industry make us a trusted and reputable voiceover agency to work with.
