'Eh up! What the 'eckerslike is that? Give over, that's never a dancing monkey...Oh I swear down it is!...'
Manchester Voices is actually a Greater Manchester project that is aiming to find out about how people speak, and what that might say about who they are in the region. It's run by Manchester Metropolitan University and is the largest research project ever into Greater Manchester accents.
It's all about pronunciation, so researchers are asking as many people as possible to record their voice describing a five minute journey that includes an ice skating bear, a dancing monkey, a tyre swing and everyday sights like a schooe-l, a boooooat on a laaaake , an 'orse raaader, a boooookshop and a lickle pier...
"Does the pronunciation of the words 'book', 'bus' or 'boat' change if you're from Bolton or Bury?" they ask "Or 'two' or 'tyre' if you live in Trafford or Tameside?"
The project is led by linguists Dr Rob Drummond, Dr Erin Carrie, Dr Sadie Ryan and Dr Holly Dann from Manchester Metropolitan University...
"At Manchester Voices, we want to get a really detailed picture of how people use language across the ten boroughs, which accent features are shared by lots of different people, and which might be unique to one particular region or demographic" says Dr Dann.
"We also want to find out how the different accents are evaluated" she explains "For example, which Greater Manchester accents are the most friendly sounding? And which are the most posh sounding? This is only possible due to the generosity of Greater Manchester residents submitting their recordings to us, and we are hugely appreciative of everyone who gets involved and helps us out."
When completed there will also be a permanent installation in Manchester Central Library that celebrates the diversity of language in the region.
To take part with full instructions on recording your voice and sending it in – click here
For more information on Manchester Voices – click here
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