‘Happy vowel’ is a key indicator of social class in Manchester accents, study finds

People in Manchester last week. Researchers say some features of the city’s accent have remained remarkably stable, particularly in working-class speech. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Pronunciation of the “happy vowel” is one of the key indicators of social class in Mancunian accents, researchers have found.

A sociolinguistic study, by Lancaster University and the University of Manchester, found that the final vowel in words such as happy, baby, chilly and city – known to linguists as “the happy vowel” – varies clearly by social class across Manchester.