AIBU to think that I need to start a thread about the Birmingham dialect?

[threeelephants]

I'm so annoyed lately at all of the threads belittling my accent/dialect. I'd like to describe it as snobbery but I actually feel it goes beyond that.

In Birmingham we say mom, not mum. It has been this way for at least a hundred years. It is not 'Amercanism', in fact it was us who took the word over there. Mum is a slang word, it isn't 'the correct term' in anyway-if you want to have a dig at me saying mom then you'd better be calling yours mother!

We eat nougat and pronounce it nugat (not nugget, like some of you seem to think). We also eat marshmellows...tbh I'd never noticed there was supposed to be an a in there!

We pronounce tooth with the shorter oo sound (like in book, look, foot etc).

We are not uneducated, nor are we all bloody working class!

And while we're here, dinner is a hot meal, doesn't matter what time of day you eat it, lunch is a cold meal in the middle of the day, tea is a simple meal at the end of the day and supper is a biscuit before bed.

The Birmingham accent/dialect is the closest in existence to how Chaucer/Shakespeare would have spoken. Which makes us more correct than most of you.

[SleepingStandingUp]

gambol to run around merrily like a spring lamb is universal.
Gambol as in a forward roll is Midlands

[bananamonkey]

Oh I see, I always pictured lambs doing forward rolls

[aRespectableBureaudeChange]

Tooth like book? Can't get how that works ? Is there another way of explaining that to a south east accent person?

[aRespectableBureaudeChange]

Yes a friendly sounding accent.

[Stephisaur]

@aRespectableBureaudeChange think of the way you say book, you say it like "buk" if that makes sense? (Unless you say "booooook" for some reason lol)

So that's the kind of "oo" we say in Birmingham - tooth is "tuth"... sort of, hard to type an accent!

@threeelephants which bit of Brum are you from? Sorry if you've covered it, just seen this thread!

[Theresasmayshoes11]

I do cringe at ‘was and were’being mixed up though.

My mil used to say ‘we was going’ made me cringe bless her. Dh does it occasionally but corrects himself

Oh and borrow and lend mixed up so ‘borrow us your pen’

I do say bab though and my dds tell me off as it’s ‘commen’

[bananamonkey]

aRespectableBureaudeChange it's more like "tuth" rather than using the long oo sound

[aRespectableBureaudeChange]

Ooh thank you both, having a go now (not very convincingly though).

[SleepingStandingUp]

Respectable

Tooth like tuth
Book like buck
Poorly like poo-lee
Bus like buzz

[SleepingStandingUp]

Theresasmayshoes11 and "we" and "us"
plus "teach" and "learn" although that might be specifically Black Country.

Am yow comin' to lunch wit' we and we'll learn ya some real Black Country"

[Theresasmayshoes11]

Cumonbuzz. Oft heard in the good old days of new street and corporation st. It’s all new fangled trams now.

Bostin

[Theresasmayshoes11]

Sleeping

Yes I remember a girl saying to ‘miss’ can you learn us summut enuff to pass the test’

[SleepingStandingUp]

Kids at youthie used to say "can you learn me how to...". No, but I will happy teach you

[Caspiana]

We Brummies can surely all agree though that the correct pronunciation is Soll-ihull not Soh-lihull

[aRespectableBureaudeChange]

sleeping: I particularly like poo lee, so no "r" pronounced at all?

[SleepingStandingUp]

Not when I was growing up. Then I learnt that people judge so I modified but I'm Wolves so it might just be quite local

I'm catching the buzz cos I've got a poo-lee tuth

[GreenTulips]

'That'll learn ya!' - is quite often used in jest - but maybe it's stuck?

[GreenTulips]

To explain further - when someone's done someFink particularly stupid!

[aRespectableBureaudeChange]

ok sleeping, yes I'm getting the hang of that now, I can hear it in my head as you're writing it and it sounds right (I won't attempt it out loud though).

[SleepingStandingUp]

Oooh paes instead of pease. Spelt correctly but pronounced as paes or pays as in grey paes abd bacon bits. Mmmmm

[Jassmells]

I'd say I have a Midlands accent. Not from Birmingham but near enough and I certainly haven't got a broad accent by any stretch of the imagination, interchange between Mum and Mom as the mood takes me! The only place I ever get the mickey taken out of my accent is Essex where I sometimes have to go for work and also have some family friends there. The first time it happened I was actually quite astounded given I could barely understand them between all the "innit" comments every other word and lack of any words ending properly. However this has happened frequently. Perhaps certain accents can't tune into each other I don't know?? But I know how I'd rather sound. If I could choose an accent I'd probably go slightly North to Nottingham I always think that sounds warm.

[Jassmells]

@SleepingStandingUp don't forget the Oss's (!)

[SleepingStandingUp]

Oh yeah Jassmells. Respectable you need to add os to your list

[aRespectableBureaudeChange]

What's an 'os' ?

[SleepingStandingUp]

🐴 a horse