According to a recent report called "The Sounds of 2066," spoken English is predicted to become increasingly homogenized, with regional accents and dialects disappearing within the next 50 years. The report suggests that "talking to machines and listening to Americans" will play a significant role in killing off regional accents and phrases, leading to a more universally informal spoken English. Voice recognition technology is expected to replace keyboards soon, which might bring about shortened words and simplified pronunciations, further flattening the diversity of English. The report claims that informal, chatty, and jokey language in technological fields will change both vocabulary and pronunciation. The study’s authors suggest that relaxed and unpretentious approaches to speaking are essential for technological innovations in computing, which is why so many come from California. Despite these changes, the authors claim that age is the real driving force behind the transformation of accents. The report predicts that non-standard accents and dialects will become more widely accepted in various fields, improving opportunities for people from different backgrounds. Pronunciations perceived as attempts to sound less grand and more informal, commonly called yoof-speak, may become universal. In London, multicultural influences will lead to significant changes in the way people speak and pronounce words. Overall, the report concludes that within the next few decades, spoken English will become more homogenized, leading to the loss of accents and dialects we cherish.
The Ellises, a family from the east-end community of Stratford, were interviewed by the authors across three generations: grandfather Frank, his daughter Stacey, and grandson Tommie. According to Frank, Cockney is all but extinct, while Stacey claims that no one in the neighborhood can understand it anymore. Disapprovingly, Tommie mentions his grandfather’s use of "weird stuff" like "dog and bone and that."
The report, entitled "The Sound of Britain in 2066," was commissioned by HSBC bank to commemorate the launch of their voice biometrics security technology.
The report predicts how certain words may evolve and sound in the year 2066 across different regions of the UK:
London:
– Think/Wed – Fink/Wed
– Mother – Muvver
– Beauty – Booty
– Red – Wed
Newcastle:
– Mee-uhk – Mehk
– Butter – Boo’ttah – buhtuh
– Toast – terst
Birmingham:
– You – Yow – yoo
– Singer – Sin-guh – singuh
– Price – Proice – praayce
Glasgow:
– Stone – Stane
– Glass – Gless
– Foot – Fit
