Brummie dialect
Updated: 12/11/2025, 5:34:46 PM Wikipedia source
The Brummie dialect, or more formally the Birmingham dialect, is spoken by many people in Birmingham, England, and some of its surrounding area. "Brummie" is also a demonym for people from Birmingham. It is often erroneously used in referring to all accents of the West Midlands, as it is markedly distinct from the traditional accent of the adjacent Black Country, but modern-day population mobility has tended to blur the distinction. Population mobility has meant that to a degree, the Brummie accent extends into some parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, but much of the accent within the borough might be considered to be closer to contemporary Received Pronunciation (RP).
Infobox
Native to
United Kingdom
Region
Birmingham, England
Language family
Indo-European GermanicWest GermanicNorth Sea GermanicAnglo-FrisianAnglicEnglishBritish EnglishWest Midlands EnglishBirmingham dialect
Early forms
Old English Middle English Early Modern English
ISO 639-3
–
Glottolog
None
Tables
Vowels of the Brummie accent · Pronunciation
Keyword
Keyword
Lax vowels
Keyword
Lax vowels
Realisation
Long vowels
Keyword
Long vowels
Realisation
R-coloured vowels
Keyword
R-coloured vowels
Realisation
Closing diphthongs
Keyword
Closing diphthongs
Realisation
Reduced vowels
Keyword
Reduced vowels
Realisation
TRAP/BATH
TRAP/BATH
Lax vowels
TRAP/BATH
Lax vowels
a
Long vowels
PALM/BATH
Long vowels
ɑː
R-coloured vowels
START
R-coloured vowels
ɑː
Closing diphthongs
FACE
Closing diphthongs
ɛi̯~aɪ̯~ɐɪ̯~ʌɪ̯
Reduced vowels
lettER
Reduced vowels
ə~ɐ
DRESS
DRESS
Lax vowels
DRESS
Lax vowels
ɛ~e
Long vowels
THOUGHT
Long vowels
o̞ː~ɔː
R-coloured vowels
NORTH
R-coloured vowels
o̞ː~ɔː
Closing diphthongs
GOAT
Closing diphthongs
aʊ̯~ɐʊ̯~ʌʊ̯
Reduced vowels
commA
Reduced vowels
ə~ɐ
KIT
KIT
Lax vowels
KIT
Lax vowels
ɪ~i
Long vowels
FLEECE
Long vowels
əi̯~ɪi̯
R-coloured vowels
FORCE
R-coloured vowels
o̞ː~ɔː, ʌʊ̯ə
Closing diphthongs
PRICE
Closing diphthongs
aɪ̯~ɒɪ̯~ɔɪ̯
Reduced vowels
happY
Reduced vowels
əi̯~iː
LOT
LOT
Lax vowels
LOT
Lax vowels
ɒ
Long vowels
GOOSE
Long vowels
əʉ̯~əu̯
R-coloured vowels
CURE
R-coloured vowels
əuɐ~uə̯~ʊə̯~ʊɐ̯, ɔː~o̞ː
Closing diphthongs
CHOICE
STRUT
STRUT
Lax vowels
STRUT
Lax vowels
ʌ~ə~ɤ~ʊ
Long vowels
NURSE
R-coloured vowels
ɘ̝͗ː~əː~ɜː
R-coloured vowels
MOUTH
Closing diphthongs
æə̯~æʊ̯~ɛʉ̯~ɛ̝̈ʊ̯
FOOT
FOOT
Lax vowels
FOOT
Lax vowels
ɤ~ʊ
Long vowels
SQUARE*
Long vowels
ɛə̯~ɛː~ɘ̝͗ː~əː~ɜː
| Lax vowels | Long vowels | R-coloured vowels | Closing diphthongs | Reduced vowels | |||||
| Keyword | Realisation | Keyword | Realisation | Keyword | Realisation | Keyword | Realisation | Keyword | Realisation |
| TRAP/BATH | a | PALM/BATH | ɑː | START | ɑː | FACE | ɛi̯~aɪ̯~ɐɪ̯~ʌɪ̯ | lettER | ə~ɐ |
| DRESS | ɛ~e | THOUGHT | o̞ː~ɔː | NORTH | o̞ː~ɔː | GOAT | aʊ̯~ɐʊ̯~ʌʊ̯ | commA | ə~ɐ |
| KIT | ɪ~i | FLEECE | əi̯~ɪi̯ | FORCE | o̞ː~ɔː, ʌʊ̯ə | PRICE | aɪ̯~ɒɪ̯~ɔɪ̯ | happY | əi̯~iː |
| LOT | ɒ | GOOSE | əʉ̯~əu̯ | CURE | əuɐ~uə̯~ʊə̯~ʊɐ̯, ɔː~o̞ː | CHOICE | |||
| STRUT | ʌ~ə~ɤ~ʊ | NURSE | ɘ̝͗ː~əː~ɜː | MOUTH | æə̯~æʊ̯~ɛʉ̯~ɛ̝̈ʊ̯ | ||||
| FOOT | ɤ~ʊ | SQUARE* | ɛə̯~ɛː~ɘ̝͗ː~əː~ɜː | ||||||
| NEAR | əiɐ~iə̯~ɪə̯~ɜː | ||||||||
References
- Elmes (2006), p. 130.
- Michael Pearce, “The Ethnonym Geordie in North East England” Names, Vol. 63 No. 2, June 2015, 75-85
- John Wells's phonetic bloghttps://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2011/06/black-country.html
- Evening Standardhttps://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/bard-spoke-loik-a-brummie-6943807.html
- The Birmingham Posthttps://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/shakespeare-did-not-use-midland-11092663
- See Early Modern English#Phonology.
- A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional Englishhttps://books.google.com/books?id=IAjyQdFwh4UC&pg=PA142
- Birmingham Posthttps://www.thefreelibrary.com/Perspective:+Pig+ignorant+about+the+Brummie+accent%3B+Lydia+Stockdale...-a0125619689
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jan/20/advertising.uknews
- Handbook of Varieties of English, Mouton de Gruyter, 2004, page 148
- Handbook of Varieties of English, Mouton de Gruyter, 2004, page 151
- Handbook of Varieties of English, Mouton de Gruyter, 2004, pages 145-6
- John Wells, Accents of English, page 364, Cambridge University Press, 1981.
- World Englisheshttps://books.google.com/books?id=57gZBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA152
- U wot m8?: American and British Attitudes toward Regional British Accentshttps://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1045
- H2g2.comhttp://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A496352
- Collect Britain Archived 2005-05-21 at the Wayback Machine, Samples of Birmingham speech. (WMA format, with annotationshttp://www.collectbritain.co.uk/
- Thorne 2003.
- Bentley, David (2017). "50 top Birmingham and Black Country sayings".http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/lifestyle/50-top-birmingham-black-country-6477059
- BBC Newshttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29307916