The Black Country is the most western part of the West Midlands county in the middle of England. Once heavily industrialised it is now relatively run down and, despite a splendid museum and a zoo, would struggle to sell itself as a holiday destination at the best of times (no coast, no hills, no up-market retail outlets and restaurants …) let alone as we come out of a pandemic and more exotic destinations beckon.
What the Black Country does have though is a distinct regional accent and many unique turns of phrase. You are unlikely to see any of these written down, but they are relatively common in everyday speech. Although some people look down on those speaking in this dialect, and many modify their accents when leaving the area, the dialect has a venerable heritage. Linguistic experts consider it to be the closest thing to Old English.
Outsiders often assume the accent is the same as the Birmingham (Brummie) accent. It isn’t – and you would cause great offence – possibly leading to a bost up (see list below) if you voiced this assumption! Recently a local paper rounded up 41 popular words and phrases that you will only hear in the Black Country. The list below gives an indication of what the word or phrase would sound like, what it means, and how you would use it in conversation.
- Aer bin ya: How have you been? “Aer bin ya pal?”
- Aer kid: A family member or friend. “Aer bin ya aer kid?”
- All around the Wrekin: the long way around, probably named after the hill in Telford, Shropshire. “The satnav took me all around the Wrekin.”
- Ay: isn’t. “No it ay.”
- Black over Bill’s mothers: the weather is bad on the horizon. “Put your coat on when you head out, it is black over Bill’s mothers over there.”
- Blartin: crying. “The baby hasn’t stopped blartin.”
- Bost: broke. “The oven is bost.”
- Bostin: great. “The food at the pub was bostin.”
- Bost-up: fight. “There was a bost-up at the pub.”
- Caerke’ole: mouth. “Shut your caerke’ole.”
- Cor: can’t. “No I cor.”
- Cut: canal. “I’m going for a walk down the cut.”
- Day: didn’t. “No I day.”
- Donny: hands. “It’s cold outside, wrap up your donnies.”
- Darlo: Darlston, the town in Walsall. “I’m going shopping down Darlo.”
- Fittle: food. “There was bostin fittle at the pub.”
- Fizzog: face. “I’ve hurt my fizzog.”
- Fust: first. “Let me go fust.”
- Gew: go. “Gewin for a walk.”
- Gid: give. “I gid him a piece of my mind.”
- Gizzit ere: give it to me. “Pass me the TV remote, gizzit ere.”
- Kalied: drunk. “I went to a party last night, I got absolutely kalied.”
- Loffin: laughing. “I went to see a comedy show, I was loffin all night.”
- Mardy: moody. “The weather outside is mardy.”
- Mind yow: mind you. “That was a bad idea. Mind yow, it could have been worse.”
- Mucker: friend. “Aer bin ya me mucker?”
- Ommer: hammer. “Pass me the ommer.”
- Opple: apple. “I bought a juicy opple from the shop.”
- Oss: horse. “There are old oss roads in Gornal.”
- Saft: daft. “Yow am saft in the head.”
- Sid: saw. “I sid a ghost.”
- Sponner: spanner. “Pass me the sponner.”
- Sozzled: drunk. “I went to the pub last night, I got sozzled.”
- Tae: tea. “What is for tae tonight?”
- Taerter: potato. “Go down the shop and buy some taerters.”
- Tek: take. “I’ll tek the bus.”
- Yam: you are: “Yam funny.”
- Yow am: you are. “Yow am saft, yow am.”
- Yampy: deranged. “He’s a bit yampy.”
- Wench: woman. “I’m married to a good wench.”
- Wor: wasn’t. “No I wor.”
Writers tip: It is tempting to show off one’s knowledge of a local dialect by using it extensively in any dialogue in a work in progress. The professional advice is to resist this temptation. Hint at a regional accent, use a few phrases so the reader gets the picture, describe the incomprehension of an outsider first meeting a local … But extensive use, like too much on-page swearing, holds up the action and annoys the reader. It is better, as they say in the Black Country, to keep your caerke’ole shut than do that!
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