What Did Your Ancestor Sound Like ?

If your ancestors came from another area of the country or if you're outside the UK, you may not be familiar with different British accents.

When I visited America, I was surprised to find that most people I met were disappointed or surprised that I did not speak with a London Cockney accent.

I was astonished that those people thought the London Cockney accent was pleasant - I don't.

On the other hand, I can't determine whether people are American or Canadian by their accent.

The BBC have a quick introduction to the range of accents in Britain but it doesn't have many Scots accents. There are some Scottish Borders people speaking on the Scottish Borders Memory Bank website but it's usually not clear which accent they have and it's difficult to find a particular accent. One set of interviews is with Mary McQueen from Thornielee, near Clovenfords between Galashiels and Innerleithen. The British Library have Walter Elliot from Selkirk but I haven't found any others.