Broad and general accents


The distinction between broad and general accents is a socio-economic-linguistic contrast made between different accents of the same language, typically spoken in a single geographical location and perceived by the language users themselves:
Sometimes a third category is also distinguished: a cultivated accent that is considered particularly cultured, stylish, affluent, or even contrived, associated with the educated upper class of a given region. All three distinctions are well studied varieties within South African, New Zealand, and Australian English phonology. The capitalized term "broad" before a location is common in the United Kingdom, such as "Broad Lancashire" or "Broad Yorkshire". The alleged mainstream English accent of the United States has been called "General American" since the early-mid 20th century.
Broad and general are not definitively established terms in phonology and phonetics, and thus other terms are commonly used to make the same basic distinction. Irish linguist Raymond Hickey, for example, has classified the broad, traditional accent of Dublin as "local" and more mainstream accents of Dublin collectively as "non-local". He has also referred to a particular general and non-local accent common throughout Ireland as "supraregional".