English language in England
There are many different accents and dialects throughout England and people are often very proud of their local accent or dialect. However, accents and dialects also highlight social class differences, rivalries or other associated prejudices—as illustrated by George Bernard Shaw's comment:
English language in southern England
Hampshire is often missed in dialect definitions and placed on borderlines between South East and West England. It is thought that Hampshire is generally a posh county using a Queen's English accent, however, use of Estuary English accent is also very common in Hampshire. Contrary to popular belief, it has been found [by whom?] that very few people from Hampshire use a West Country dialect or accent. [Timeline necessary - What about John Arlott, Lord Denning or Reg Presley?] Due to urbanization, the numbers have steadily decreased and it can be argued [how? by whom? vague] that Hampshire is a borderline county moving East, linguistically.