West Country English

West Country English refers collectively to the English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of South West England, the area popularly known as the West Country.

The West Country is often defined as encompassing the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, and the City of Bristol; Gloucestershire and even Herefordshire and Worcestershire are sometimes also included. However, the northern and eastern boundaries of the area are hard to define. In adjacent counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Oxfordshire it is possible to encounter similar accents and, indeed, much the same distinct dialect, though with some similarities to others in neighbouring regions — a dialect speaker from the Isle of Wight for instance could hold an understandable conversation with a dialect speaker from Devon without too many problems. Although natives of such locations, especially in rural parts, can still have West Country influences in their speech, the increased mobility and urbanisation of the population have meant that in Berkshire, Hampshire (including the Isle of Wight), and Oxfordshire the dialect itself – as opposed to various local accents – is becoming increasingly rare.