A new study has claimed that people with proper Manchester accents live in the city centre, while those that live in the suburbs actually sound “posh”.
For the study – which is called Manchester Voices – researchers asked more than 350 people from Greater Manchester to describe the different accents and dialects on an online map.
They also as asking people to submit a recording of themselves speaking.
An ‘accent van’ was then taken on tour across all 10 boroughs in the summer of 2021, where members of the public were asked to reflect on where they live, the way they speak, and how it relates to who they are.
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The @VoicesMcr project, exploring how people speak across Greater Manchester, now has a permanent home online and at Manchester Central Library.
Alongside voice clips from the team's 'accent van', the collection maps the area's four distinct dialects.
The study – which was predominantly carried out during coronavirus lockdowns, and ended up featuring the contributions of a total of 421 local people – discovered that the so-called ‘Manc’ accent is usually found among residents living in the city centre, but residents from Levenshulme, Stretford and Moss Side are likely to sound “posh”.
They’re not the only ones to sound posh either, apparently, as the research also found that people in Trafford and Stockport are also likely to be considered this.
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Not only that, but people who live in Greater Manchester boroughs such as Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, and Oldham are more likely to have an accent that you’d expect to hear across Lancashire, according to the study.
Wiganers, on the other hand, apparently have a distinct dialect of their own too.
A permanent record of these findings, as well as a bunch of other findings from the Manchester Voices study are to be kept in Manchester Central Library in the city centre, on top of having also been uploaded to a dedicated website – alongside expert analysis, poems, podcasts, a quiz, and some historical archive recordings too.
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Dr Rob Drummond and the team behind the ‘Manchester Voices’ research project / Credit: MMU
“It’s been an absolute pleasure working on this project and learning so much about the voices and people of Greater Manchester,” explained Dr Rob Drummond – lead researcher on Manchester Voices and reader in Sociolinguistics at MMU.
He added that the MMU team is “extremely proud” of the research, and hopes that people will use it “for years to come” to find out more about local language in the 2020s.
You can check out the findings of the Manchester Voices study in full here.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Manchester United officially launch second Adidas fashion collab with The Stone Roses
Danny Jones
After several weeks of teasers, the latest fashion collab between Adidas, Manchester United and The Stone Roses has officially revealed.
We have no doubt this one will be lapped up just as quickly as the first.
Following images of the new Stone Roses x Man United kit and the focal point of this new collection being leaked online earlier this month, the second drop by Adidas has now been unveiled in full.
Releasing another stylistic video to the tune of the legendary Manc band’s famous anthem, ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, players both past and present from the men’s and women’s team star in the launch video.
As you can see, not only did the players get involved with the shoot as expected, but the clip also includes a snippet of archive footage featuring a young Ian Brown in a short but profound talking head.
The Stone Roses frontman, and indeed other members of the band, have never made their love of United a secret – none more so than the late, great Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield – and the supporters have also shared plenty of it back.
Be it through ‘This Is The One’ being chosen by Gary Neville as the official walk-out song at Old Trafford and various chants sung to Stone Roses tunes, to the previous collab back in February 2024, the two iconic cultural brands pretty much go hand in hand.
Besides the next multi-coloured paint-splashed shirt, which leaked first, as well as a new bucket hat (again, very era appropriate), there are scarves, a graphic design t-shirt, two sets of shorts and even two different pairs of shoes.
Images of the white Stone Roses trainers also popped up in leaks across various Man United fan accounts on social media, but few had seen the black ZX 600 Adidas trainers until now.
What do you make of the latest batch of lifestyle fashion from the club?
Meanwhile, with just days left in the transfer window, it remains to be seen whether new interim manager Michael Carrick will be rewarded for his first two wins against the top two in the league with any reinforcements before the end of January – but there are some rumblings…
Featured Images — Manchester United FC/Adidas/The Stone Roses
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John Bishop announces latest Manchester gig arena tour dates
Danny Jones
Beloved British comedian John Bishop has announced another massive Manchester gig on his latest run of arena tour dates.
The well-known veteran of the North West and national stand-up scene at large is heading back to the region next year for his fresh batch of live stand-up shows.
Serving as the follow-up to his critically acclaimed hour from 2025, with these dates also serving as another opportunity for fans who missed out last time to see at least some of that material, John Bishop is no stranger to selling out Manchester arenas.
Returning to Co-op Live once again after his first two visits there this past autumn, Manc crowds can look forward to more of his usual scouse charm.
Confirming the new 2027 UK tour dates online this Friday, 23 January, Bishop said: “So excited to announce I’ll be heading back out on tour next year with my brand new show…. ‘Let’s Go Round Again'”
As he goes on to write, he’s set to play “some of the biggest venues across the UK and Ireland in April and May 2027”, simply adding, “Come and join me for a night to remember…”
The 59-year-old will be coming to Co-op Live on Sunday, 2 May.
His Co-op Live debut last October went down a storm, so it’s no surprise that we cousins down the Mersey were one of the first cities to be named on the new tour.
Bishop is enjoying a little bit of added renaissance at the moment, amid being at the centre of a Hollywood film starring Will Arnett and Bradley Cooper.
You can see the duo talking about the recent release down below.
Bradley Cooper and Will Arnett allowed themselves to be vulnerable when adapting John Bishop's life story 🎬 pic.twitter.com/B5DYBfDfJ8
The Everton-born comic was already 35 when he first started live stand-up, turning up at the Frog and Bucket comedy club on the edge of the Northern Quarter and choosing to go up on stage during an open mic night rather than paying the entry fee.
Already a successful salesman in the pharmaceutical industry, he chose to switch careers just before his 40th birthday and hasn’t looked back since.
It’s part of this real-life story that inspired the movie, Is Thing On? – which finally premieres here in the UK at the end of this month – and continues to make him a hugely popular touring UK comedian.
For anyone who fancies going along to see his new tour, you can sign up for early access through his mailing list or via the venue’s pre-sale for official Co-op Members.
Those windows open on Wednesday, 28 January from 10am; general admission will be available from the same time on the following Friday (30 Jan). You can get ready to grab yours HERE.
You can watch the trailer for the aforementioned motion picture here.
Emily Sergeant -
15th November 2022 
