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Regional accents are a characteristic of the working classes............Bill had no Irish accent, or at least none detectable to an English or American listener. This was true of people of the upper and upper middle classes throughout Britain"
A wee up-date there Bob.
I would say that regional accents are characteristic of a region regardless of the fortunes of those living in that region.
Up until the mid 1800s in Scotland, the only people who spoke with the laid-back distinctive upper-crust southern drawl were the aristocracy. This was because they were all educated in Public schools south of the border and spent most of their time in drawing rooms in London. Very often, after Eton or Harrow, they finished their education at either Oxbridge or Cambridge.
By the mid 1800s, most wealthy Scottish merchants, Indistrialist and Financiers with delusions of grandeure sent their sons and daughters south to be educated. Otherwise, they could buy a Peerage but could not sound like a Peer of the realm.
There were four distinct accents among those who remained north of the border and were educated in Scotland, . These were:
1. The Pseudo-english version spoken by those with delussions of granduer living in Edinburgh.
2. The 'Bools-in-the mooth' or 'awfy fer beck' brigade living in the Glasgow area and harbouring delusions of grandeur.
3. The 'common five eight' everywhere else who modified how they spoke so that all english speakers could understand them
4. The 'common five eight ', so called working Class. who had no desire whatsover to converse with anyone outside their immediate circle of aquaintances. This last group compounded the felony by including area-specifc terms and accents to their conversation.
Even today, there are families in Scotland who have a member being educated at an English private school. The result is like entertaining an alien at the half term break.
As a matter of interest, there is an area of N. Ireland where the locals speak with an accent exactly like a west coast lowland Scot. But then Robert the Bruce's brother James was King of N. Irleand for a short period.
Happy Easter!
Jim C.
