Northerners are apparently losing their accent for something more 'generic', according to new research.Northern accents are merging into one dialect - except for those from Liverpool and Newcastle, linguists believe.Experts at the University of Manchester instead suggest that a "new variety" is emerging in the cities of Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester.This is, they say, "general northern English" which apparently is used by younger, middle-class people.Dr Patrycja Strycharczuk and her team used