Brewery backs dialect preservation campaign

May 23, 2005: Banks's - part of Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewery - has launched a campaign to help protect the Black Country and Birmingham dialects from extinction.

The region's accents could disappea,r according to research commission by
Banks's – 'Now Y'am Talking' aims to raise awareness and celebrate the way people talk in the area.

The University of Wolverhampton carried out the research, looking at current trends in how natives speak. Following a series of detailed interviews, it became obvious that there is a move away from the Black Country and Birmingham accents towards a more standardised English.

Course leader Dr Urszula Clark said: "The research shows that dialects in the West Midlands are changing because of the way they are viewed by people from other regions and the fact that they can create a negative impression. This means that we have to record and celebrate the dialect before it's too late so it's great that Banks's have got involved at this stage."

On a more positive note, people in the Black Country are very proud of the way that they speak, with more than 85 per cent of those taking part agreeing that they think regional accents are important.

Throughout May, pubs across the region are holding special West Midlands quizzes to test customers' knowledge about all aspects of life in the area, from pop music to sport, and even its folklore to support the campaign.

Banks’s marketing manager Hayley Aldous said: "Everybody interviewed was very proud of their regional dialect and this is what our campaign is all about. We want to help preserve the uniqueness of the West Midlands dialects and celebrate the differences, whilst having some fun and encouraging a good debate."

The research also demonstrated that the Black Country and Birmingham dialects have their own vocabulary dating back to a period of Old English, with words such as Thee, Thy and Thou still being used. "Ow b'ist" ('how beist thou?') is a common greeting, with the typical answer being "bay too bah" ('I bayn't be too bad').

Other popular words and phrases were "it ay" meaning "it isn't", "babby" meaning "baby", "alf baerked" meaning stupid, and "blarting", meaning "crying", while one of the key characteristics was the loss of letters from words, especially 'h' and 'p'. For example, Wolverhampton is pronounced "Wolveramton".