West Midlands English
West Midlands English is a group of dialects of the English language. 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. "'Ow B'ist", meaning "How beist thou?" is a common greeting, with the typical answering being "'Bay too bah", meaning "I bayn't be too bad". "I haven't seen her" becomes "I ay sid 'er". Somebody from the Black Country will often substitute the word "ar" instead of "yes".
The thick Black Country dialect is less commonly heard today than in the past.
Varieties of West Midlands English
- Black Country (Yam Yam)
- Brummie (spoken in Birmingham)
- Potteries (North Staffordshire)
- Herefordshire
- Warwickshire
- Worcestershire
- Cheshirian dialect
External links
- Sounds Familiar? — Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects from across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website
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