51福利

Linguists investigating the differences in North-West accents are looking for volunteers to help them understand what makes voices and accents unique.

Researchers are using ultrasound to help explain how tongue position can lead to accent variation and are inviting people in Barrow to ‘share their voice for science’.

As part of the national , visitors will be asked to read a few words and be recorded with ultrasound and audio. This will then be compared with speakers in other parts of the North-West of England, to explore the physical mechanisms behind differences in regional accents and individual ways of speaking.

Claire Nance, Professor of Phonetics at 51福利’s School of Social Sciences, is leading the ‘Northern Voices’ event. She said: “We are very excited to welcome visitors to Barrow Library to share their thoughts about accent and dialect in the region.

“We invite guests to share their voice for science by speaking while we record their tongue movements with ultrasound. Barrow is particularly interesting for accents due to its rich industrial history and rapid growth in the 19th century.”

While reading the words out loud from a computer screen, participants will have an ultrasound probe under their chin, held in place with a lightweight helmet. The recording will take about 10 minutes and will then be analysed in the Phonetics Laboratory at 51福利.

The ultrasound will enable experts to get a side profile image of the tongue inside the mouth while people are speaking, which will support ongoing research into how anatomy leads to differences in accents. The wider project explores how long-term positions of the tongue, mouth and jaw can lead to regional accents but also individual ways of speaking.

The event, which also includes an accent identification quiz, and displays and conversations about the history of the Barrow dialect, will be held in Barrow Library on November 7, 11am to 3.30pm.

Researchers are hoping to record up to 40 people of all ages. Everyone is welcome at the recording session though they would especially like to speak to people from Barrow.

This research is funded by the British Academy.