Black Country - Black Country Dialect and Accent

Black Country Dialect and Accent

In general, the Black Country accent has resisted many of the changes from Middle English that are seen in other accents of British English. There is no Trap-Bath split, so that "bath" rhymes with "math", not with "hearth"; nor a foot-strut split, so that "cut" rhymes with "put"; nor NG-coalescence, so that "singer" rhymes with "finger". However, the Black Country accent is non-rhotic, such that "draw" and "drawer" are homophones.

In common with most parts of the UK, the extent to which the Black country accent and dialect are used varies from person to person and across the Black Country itself, with some elements of the dialect being stronger in some towns than others. Local dialect was, and probably still is to a lesser degree quite distinctive between the different towns and villages of the Black Country. Although most outsiders to the Black Country cannot tell this difference, Black Country folk can quite fiercely defend the difference between the accents.

Thus while a single example of Black Country dialect is hard to give, as different areas of the Black Country differ with colloquialisms, examples include "babby" for baby, "alf baerked" (half-baked) for stupid, "argy-bargy" for fight, and "bostin" to mean "very good".

The word endings with 'en' are still noticeable in conversation as in 'gooen' for going, callen for calling. The vowel 'a' is pronounced as 'o' as in 'sond' for sand, 'hond' for hand, 'opple' for apple, 'sponner' for spanner, and 'mon' for man. Other pronunciations are 'winder' for window, 'fer' for far, and 'loff' for laugh.

The traditional Black Country dialect preserves many archaic traits of Early Modern English and even Middle English, and can be very confusing for outsiders. Thee, Thy and Thou are still in use, as is the case in parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire. "'Ow B'ist", meaning "How are you?" is a greeting contracted from "How be-est thou?", with the typical answering being "'Bay too bah", meaning "I am not too bad" contracted from "I be not too bad". "I haven't seen her" becomes "I ay sid 'er". Black Country dialect often uses "ar" where other parts of England use "yes" (this is common as far away as Yorkshire). Similarly, the local version of "you" is pronounced /ˈjaʊ/ YOW, rhyming with "now". The local pronunciation "goo" (elsewhere "go") or "gooin'" is similar to that elsewhere in the Midlands. It is quite common for broad Black Country speakers to say agooin where others say going.

Despite the close proximity, many inhabitants of the Black Country resist hints at any relationship to people living in Birmingham, which may be called "Brum-a-jum" (Birmingham's colloquial name is Brummagem, a corruption of its older name of Bromwicham – and hence West Bromwich) or Birminam (missing the g and h out and saying it the way it's spelt). Residents of Birmingham (Brummies) meanwhile often refer to their Black Country neighbours as "Yam Yams", a reference to the use of "Yow am" (or yow'm) instead of "You are".

The dialect's perception was boosted in 2008, due to an internet video, The Black Country Alphabet, which described the whole alphabet in Black Country speak. Yet this in itself is quite misleading as a quality example of the dialect. For example, 'ow am ya?' is mainly used in the Wolverhampton area of the Black Country, which is only a small portion of the area, while 'ow bin ya?' is used by most.

A road sign containing local dialect was placed at the A461/A459/A4037 junction in 1997 before the construction of a traffic island on the site. The sign read, in translation, "If you're soft (stupid) enough to come down here on your way home, your tea will be spoilt." This island was completed in 1998 and was the first phase of the Dudley Southern By-Pass which was opened on 15 October 1999.