Ever thought you could pinpoint exactly where someone’s from in the Northeast just by hearing them talk? Well, we put that to the test at the Discover Festival on 7 June at the Great North Museum—and let’s just say, it was much harder than people expected!
What Was Happening?
The festival was packed with over 100 research stalls on all kinds of cool scientific topics scattered around Newcastle. Ours? A fun (and tricky!) game all about recognising Northeast accents. Visitors could drop by anytime, have a go, and maybe learn something new about the way we speak.
The Accent Challenge: How Well Do You Know the Northeast?
We set up a two-level game where participants listened to short voice clips (7-10 seconds) and had to guess where the speaker was from by clicking on an interactive map.
- Level 1: County-Level – Can you tell if someone’s from Northumberland, County Durham, or Tyne & Wear?
- Level 2: Borough-Level – Even trickier! Now, pinpoint the exact borough in Tyne & Wear: Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, or Gateshead.
Most people found it REALLY hard—and honestly, so did we researchers! Turns out, Northeast accents are more subtle (and similar) than we think.
Why This Game?
The point wasn’t just to stump people (though that was fun!). We wanted to:
- Make people aware that accents are all around us—and we often judge people subconsciously based on how they sound.
- Show that while accents alone might not tell us much about someone’s background (like education or social class), other things—like certain words, phrases, or speaking styles—can shape how we perceive them.
Who Came Along?
We had all ages giving it a go—from kids to grandparents—and loads of great chats about how accents change even within short distances. Some were convinced they’d nail it… until they actually tried!
Shout-Out to the Team!
Big thanks to the organisers—Cong, Dan, and Mary—and our awesome student helpers Yanyu and Scarlett from the P&P group for making it all happen.
Final Verdict: A Success!
People loved the challenge, learned something new, and left with a fresh appreciation for the diversity of Northeast voices. Maybe next year we’ll make it even harder… or easier? (Probably not!)
Think you could do better? Let us know in the comments—we dare you to try!
Link to the game: https://ne-accent-game.ncl.ac.uk/
More on the project: https://research.ncl.ac.uk/ne-accent-games/aboutourproject/
Did you play our game? How many did you get right? Share your accent stories with us!
