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Rob Drummond

@robdrummond.bsky.social
1.6K followers 281 following 439 posts

Professor and author. Sociolinguistics.

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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Manchester Voices on WoM with @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social We spoke about: 🐝 How many people you can fit in the back of the Accent Van 🐝 happY, lettER, and SQUARE vowel sounds 🐝 Whether the 1990s Oasis-inspired Manchester accent is real or fake and lots more! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Word of Mouth - Voices of Manchester - BBC Sounds
Rob Drummond talks to Michael about the ways people talk in Manchester.
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Ian McMillan @imcmillan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Early stroll. Rows of grey bins waiting to complete the next part of their cycle. A watering can on the back of a flatbed truck. I hear an owl by the bridle path. A passing car seems to kickstart time. A dropped pencil, scribbleless.
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Make a band edible Whitesnack
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A great chat with @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social about the accents of Greater Manchester! Listen on 20th September here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... For more info about the Manchester Voices project (and access to lots of videos, maps and project findings) visit manchestervoices.org
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
On my way to London to talk to @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social on Word of Mouth about all things (Greater) Manchester Voices! *yes I am making notes from my own book on the train, and yes I do realise how that looks 😂😂
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Defne @defneci.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Just realised I’m matching with my new book by @robdrummond.bsky.social - excited to finally read it!
I’m holding the book „You’re all talk“ by Rob Drummond. The book has a bright blue cover. I’m wearing a jumper in a very similar colour.
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
What an amazing book
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Lane Greene @lanegreene.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Last week I wrote about Andy Burnham, the first man in Number 10 to have an accent like millions of his countrymen: a northern English one. Thanks to Amanda Cole, @robdrummond.bsky.social and Geoff Lindsey for their insight. www.economist.com/britain/2026...
economist.com
Andy Burnham and the politics of accents
His way of speaking marks him out in a long line of posh-sounding PMs
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Product names that work better in the north of England
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
One more. Definitely the last one! Going out with a bang
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Last one from that BBC documentary in 1985. This is about talking to machines
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Another clip from that documentary. Peter Bowles on the effect on his sense of identity of losing his Nottingham accent at drama school
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Just came across this amazing documentary. Expect some more clips today!
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I've got a new book coming out soon - Manchester Voices: Accents, Dialects and Identities - published by @cambup-linguistics.cambridge.org. And right now @waterstones.bsky.social are offering 25% off if you pre-order it! Use the code SUMMER26 today or tomorrow. #WPreorder #ManchesterVoices
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Andrew McCallum @andrewemc.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
‘the fall in teenagers opting for literature is linked to an unimaginative GCSE (surely something that a new prime minister with an English degree could fix)’ Easy win here, Mr Burnham! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on humanities cuts in universities: academic departments are more than cost centres | Editorial
Editorial: Literature, the arts and social sciences must not be sacrificed as higher education funding is squeezed
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Don't get me wrong, I like working there, but this is a bit much
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
It’s generally true that certain linguistic fillers (like), or speakers of those fillers (young people especially women) get singled out for criticism more than others. So maybe it’s a good thing that John Humphrys gets pointlessly irritated by everything equally? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Tom Rank @tomrank.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I understand that Claire Fox was once an English teacher - and so should know that this is utter nonsense - technically accentism (though no doubt she'd dismiss this as wokery). There are dozens of Manchester accents - explore.manchestervoices.org has the receipts. @robdrummond.bsky.social
explore.manchestervoices.org
Manchester Voices
Manchester Voices is a research project run by a team from Manchester Metropolitan University, exploring the accents, dialects and identities of people from across the ten boroughs of Grea...
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Interesting article about the complex relationship between accent, perception and identity when speaking English in India indianexpress.com/article/fres...
indianexpress.com
The Accent Olympics: India’s favourite hobby is judging English
From Mallu accents to American twangs, India's obsession with how English should sound reveals deeper anxieties about class, aspiration and belonging.
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Just been sent this by an English teacher (along with a postcard with the line “Keep upsetting the Daily Mail - this means you’re doing a great job!”) 😁 I can see who sent it, but have no way of saying thank you. If you see this, then thanks very much! (Very good) book by Simon Griffin.
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
just checking the index proofs for the Manchester Voices book, and bizarrely this isn't a typo 😀
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Dr. Hannah M. King @hmking-linguist.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
"English doesn't belong to one country or one accent. It's shaped by us all." 🗣💬 It's great to see the @britishcouncil.bsky.social engaging w/ #English varieties, accents, ideologies, hierarchies, etc. Thanks @robdrummond.bsky.social! #langsky #ELT www.britishcouncil.org/english-language-day
An image from the website with the title Global accents in middle, with the words Variety, Culture, Community, and Adaptation in four boxes. The top menu reads: What is an accent?, In the media, Global accents, Language innovation, Switching voices, the 'right' accent myth
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EngLangBlog @englangblog.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
I've written this piece for @natecommunity.bsky.social about accent prejudice based on some of the work done by @teachertapp.bsky.social last year and from discussions with ace linguists @dramandacole.bsky.social and @robdrummond.bsky.social
More than words: what do teachers need to know about accent prejudice? We all have an accent: that's just a simple linguistic fact.
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
I did some work with the British Council for English Language Day. The result is a really nice website exploring some of the diversity in English! www.britishcouncil.org/english-lang...
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
That was fun. Especially nice to see @clrnance.bsky.social on screen while I was waiting to start 😁
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
I’ll be on BBC Breakfast in a bit, talking about accents!
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Jen Nycz @jennycz.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
filling out check-in forms online before an appointment and impressed by the inclusivity of this urgent care's "preferred language" options #linguistics
partial drop-down menu of options including Dutch (middle), Dutch (flemish), Dyula, Erik, Egyptian (ancient), English, English (middle), English (old), Esperanto, Estonian, Ewe
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
‘That’s someone who knows how to use a thesaurus but not a dictionary’. Lovely comment from @mikewozniak.bsky.social on @threebeansaladpod.bsky.social about some marketing language
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Blackwell's Manchester @blackwellsmcr.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
19/5: @sophiasgaler.bsky.social in conversation with @robdrummond.bsky.social on language, linguicide, power and resistance. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-kil... @mcrlinguistics.bsky.social
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
A view from Bolton this morning
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘A fire that’s burning again’: Welsh language resurges thanks to adult learners
The number of people on Dysgu Cymraeg courses has risen by 61% since 2017, as people in Wales rediscover the ‘poetry’ of the language
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EngLangBlog @englangblog.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
We have a new event (the first of its kind) coming up in April. It's an online revision conference for AQA A Level Eng Lang Paper 2 and it will feature three excellent guest speakers, along with top tips to approach questions about change & diversity. www.englishandmedia.co.uk/conferences/...
englishandmedia.co.uk
Online Student Revision Conference for AQA A Level English Language (Paper 2)
emagazine 90-minute online revision conference for AQA A Level Language
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Lynne Murphy @lynneguist.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Deborah Cameron obituary
Linguist, feminist activist and author of influential books on how language can shape gendered experiences
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
How do publisher style guides get made/decided? I'm writing something in which all the '%' symbols need to be changed to 'per cent'. I'm not complaining, I'm just intrigued as to how that choice was discussed and decided. Genuine question.
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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
New eggcorn alert! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Incredibly sad news. Debbie was such a huge inspiration to so many of us. A brilliantly clever and supportive academic colleague, and just a fun person to spend time with
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
“each time my university friends jokingly echoed my Leeds-accented “no” with a noise that is perhaps best approximated as “nerhhh”, I found myself undergoing elocution conditioning.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... by @robynvinter.bsky.social
theguardian.com
It’s not easy being an English northerner surrounded by southerners. Here’s how we survive | Robyn Vinter
University undergraduates are forming northern societies, but in other circumstances we find different ways to be ourselves, says Guardian north of England correspondent Robyn Vinter
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Good morning Manchester
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
An unnecessarily tricky consonant cluster
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
A view of Manchester from Bolton on this morning’s dog walk
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EngLangBlog @englangblog.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
I’ve written a long blog here that comes out of various things that I’ve worked on with other people this term. It’s about accents... again! Sorry, not sorry. englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/pride-a...
englishandmedia.co.uk
Survey of teachers and accents
EMC's Dan Clayton explores the implications of a survey looking at teachers and accents
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Quick walk between meetings* (*my meetings, not Patty’s)
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
What’s that? You’re stuck for gift ideas for a friend or relative who: a) is intrigued by accents; b) thinks some ways of speaking are better than others; d) thinks Susie Dent, David Crystal, Ian McMillan, Chris Mason, and Simon Mayo know a good book when they see it?!
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
I’m listening
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
rnz.co.nz
Century-old voices reveal evolution of New Zealand accent
Postdoctoral fellow Dr Brooke Ross from the University of Auckland joins Emile Donovan.
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Liking the updated announcement on my train from London to Manchester: “If you see anything suspicious or dodgy looking…”
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Rob Drummond @robdrummond.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
A fascinating book. Totally engaging #KillingThatcher
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Mignon Fogarty @grammargirl.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Did you know people who stammer can often sing without any difficulty? Or that bilingual friends might use English when being funny but use their native language when discussing politics? @robdrummond.bsky.social delights us with stories of "languaging" today! APPLE: bit.ly/4ojU0Ac
Promotional graphic for the Grammar Girl podcast bonus episode titled ‘Languaging and our fluid speaking identities.’ The image shows Mignon Fogarty and guest Rob Drummond smiling against a green background with a fingerprint pattern. The top includes a red label reading ‘BONUS’ and icons for Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and QDT.
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