Brummie people and Brummie slang
Different parts of the UK have their own dialects and their own different ways of using the English language. ‘Brummie’ is the term for Birmingham’s own dialect, as well as a name for people who come from the city of Birmingham. These terms may once have specifically described people from Birmingham itself (and their use of language) but often today they are used to describe the accent for identity of people from all over the West Midlands.
Brummie people
‘Brummie’ as a name for a Birmingham person is what is known as a demonym. This is a word that shows a person as being a resident of a particular place, and the word is usually derived from that place's name. In the case of Birmingham, ‘Brummie’ comes from Brummagem, a name for the city used by locals since the 1700s.
The Brummie Accent and Dialect
When used to describe how Brummies speak, the term Brummie is used to denote the accent of people from Birmingham, as well as distinct vocabulary. The Brummie accent is often seen as very strong, and people from outside Birmingham often think that everyone from the city speaks with the same accent. Like most places, the accent can vary across different areas.
When people speak about a Brummie dialect, often they are really speaking of the dialect of the neighbouring Black Country area. This Black Country dialect is often called ‘Yam Yam’ (as are people from the Black Country) as they tend to replace the word ‘are with ‘am’. This produces sentences like the greeting, ‘how am ya?’, which can be strange for people who do not have English as a first language, as well as native English speakers! It can be difficult to tell the difference between the accents in these areas, unless the accents are very strong!
The Brummie dialect includes many traditional expressions, as well as changed versions of regular English words, all peculiar to Birmingham!
Bosting (or Bostin’ as it is usually pronounced) is used to describe something that is particularly good. It means the same as calling something wonderful, or brilliant.
Cob is a word for a bread roll. The name is because bread rolls can look like the stones one might find in an old-fashioned cobbled street.
Pop is a word used for any fizzy drink. This can be really confusing, and has no relation to pop music.
The Outdoor is a term for an off-licence. When Brummies say they’re off to the outdoor, they’re more likely to be getting ready for a night out than just going for a stroll.
Brummie slang can be difficult to understand, as can the Brummie accent. The Brummie accent has a strong stereotyped image in the UK: the accent is often seen as the most unpleasant form of spoken English in the British Isles. Despite the negative press the Brummie accent gets, Birmingham has actually been named one of the top 10 friendliest places in the UK. so don’t let the accent, or the language, put you off Brummies. They’re actually a friendly lot!