h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I found How to Speak Brummie badly researched. Just to set the record straight - accent concerns pronunciation, whereas dialect concerns lexis, grammar and pronunciation. It is wise not to confuse the two. Brummie does, in fact, have a large amount of specifically local dialect words and phrases (approx. 3,000 in all) - many of which are still in common use, and many of which Shakespeare used (funny, isn't it, how Shakespearean language is universally celebrated, whereas Brummie is reviled by British English speakers - even though the two are so close). For those who doubt me on this point, a book I have recently compiled, entitled Proper Brummie: A Dictionary of the Birmingham Dialect, is due to be published later this year. The Brummie and Black Country accents are also completely different - something which the researcher obviously failed to grasp in his/her analysis of phonological variables. It might also have been worth pointing out that the sociolinguistic consensus is that qualitative evaluations of accent varieties in terms of inferiority/superiority and aesthetic value are not relatable to observable linguistic facts. Language attitude studies, including one I conducted myself, have demonstrated that people from outside the socio-cultural milieu where an accent, such as Brummie, is stigmatised do not discriminate on these grounds. Americans who listened to the Birmingham accent along with many other British English accents in my study rated it higher in aesthetic appeal than the others because of its 'sing-songy', 'lilting', and 'melodious' tone. It seems, therefore, that Brummie intonation is only ugly to the British ear. Sociolinguistic research has shown that judgements of the quality and prestige of certain accents are based almost entirely upon a knowledge of the social connotations which they possess for those familiar with them. It goes without saying that if you find Birmingham and Brummies unappealing, then you will also find the accent unappealing. Stereotypical portrayals of Brummies as 'thick' in the media, as well as ignorant dismissals of Birmingham as an ugly city are therefore almost completely to blame for the way in which only British English speakers (pre-)judge Brummie to be an 'ugly', 'grating' or 'whiny' accent. It seems perverse that at a time when discrimination on the grounds of age, gender, race, social class or sexual orientation has been outlawed that discrimination against people because of the way that they speak - accentism, for want of a better word - should be allowed to continue unabated. As a born and bred Brummie I know how it feels to be instantly pigeonholed as soon as I open my mouth, and more should be done to combat it - including better research!

I must say, I think your comments are somewhat unfair. This article does not portray the city of Birmingham as being ugly nor its people as being ignorant. I went to University in Birmingham and have tremendous fondness for the city and the people who live there. The Brummies I have met over the years have generally proved far more friendly and intelligent than many of the people from my own home town. The stereotype of the witless Brummie is wholy offensive and there is no intention in this article to reinforce that image.

The purpose of the piece (which is by no means serious) is to give people an idea of how you might go about learning an accent. As a student of acting I studied phonetics at drama school, soon after leaving University. Through this I became familiar with a large number of different UK accents. I found the experience immensley enjoyable and this article attempts to share some of that pleasure with the reader. I do not claim to be an expert in this area, but I do know enough to write competently and that is what I believe I have done.

I am aware of the difference between an 'accent' and a 'dialect'. It is solely the Brummie accent that this article focuses upon. If that is not clear, then I apologise. However, the phonetic differences outlined between the Brummie accent and RP are both accurate and well-researched (or at least as accurate as they can be without using standard phonetic symbols).

You take issue with my statement that Brummie does not have a large number of specifically local words. I do not take issue with your expertise in this area. However, Brummie has comparatively fewer dialectical words than several other UK dialects. There are, I am sure you will agree, far fewer words unique to Birmingham than there are words unique to the people of Newcastle.

Your research notwithstanding, I do believe that there is more than a cultural basis underlying the reaction to certain vowel sounds. That does not mean that culture does not reinforce or even subvert those reactions. But I think it is fair to say that some sounds are simply less attractive than others. Whether this applies to Brummie is a moot point.

This article is meant to be light-hearted and fun. If I have offended you, then I apologise. However, I do not believe that the article is badly researched. It has a limited objective - to give readers a sense of the phonetic differences between RP and Brummie - and in that I believe it is successful.

MDS

(Incidentally, the comment about the Black Country accent was inserted by the editor)

Pleased to see someone with such a positive and open-minded attitude towards Brummagem, Brummies and Brummie. I do, of course, realise that your piece was not meant to be deadly serious, and - not totally lacking in the humour department - did actually find it quite funny. I think it would be great if more actors learnt how to speak Brummie - it would be fantastic to hear more Brummie accents (whether natural or not) on the radio, reading the news and to see more Brummie characters in serious dramatic (maybe even heroic) roles on TV. That would certainly be one in the eye for John Honey, who unbelievably claims in his book 'Does Accent Matter?' that the reason why few people with Birmingham accents are employed in the media is because they are "unfamiliar with the characteristic intonation and phrasing patterns of reading aloud in standard English, with its different idioms, vocabulary, verb and preposition systems, and its differential uses of adverbs and adjectives." "It cannot be their fault if their diction is poor," he asserts, "since no one offers training in the diction of the Birmingham accent." So keep up the good work!

Incidentally, I've just finished a chapter of my PhD thesis on the Birmingham accent entitled 'Phonological Variables in Brummagem Articulation', if you'd like to see it. It gives a comprehensive analysis of the phonetic differences between Brummie , RP and the Black Country accent (amongst others) - including quite a few that you missed. I was also wondering whether you'd mind letting me know where you got that anecdote from about Olivier.
All the best.

Hallo. Anybody there?

Dear researcher 172157!
I would like to have a look at your PhD!!!
Im a student from Germany and very interested in the brummie accent! I just have to write a paper about it. Please get back to me! Caroline

I enjoyed your article very much. Being from (and in) the USA, I can't say that I am aware of the Brummie accent, but I DO know I found both Glaswegian and Geordie almost incomprehensible when I worked with folks from those areas. And in London, I often knew less after someone answered my questions than I knew before. I believe from my general experience that people DO assign higher or lower status to accentsn - or assume paersonality qualities therefrom - and I believe that it is equally true that people of superior character and intelligence are found among any group with a particular accent. Certainly here in the USA, a 'Brooklyn' or 'Joisey' accent oftens leads people to anticipate truculence, rudeness and 'in-your-face' behavior. Boston ('Bahston') accents - best known because of the Kennedy family - are to some signs of culture as are some of the gentler Southern accents. (Both Brooklynese and Bostonian are derived from the accents of Irish immigrants, by the way, despite the fact that many think of the New York city sound as 'Jewish'.) Black American accents - which drift almost into dialect - are unfortunately so often equated with ignorance -as are White mountain accents (example - from West Virginia), that many upwardly mobile Blacks learn to speak a more standard American English- which, sadly, probably does help their rise in society, unless they are in some of the arts. The accent of Western New York - my own home area - is extremely nasal and -to me - grating; and there has been a lot of humor involving the Dakota accent since the movie 'Fargo' became such a hit - a movie that showed both sides to the accent predjudice, since Frances McDormand's character sounded less than gifted to some of us, based on expectations of Dakotans, while the character was in fact sharper than the rest of the cast put together. I think humor based on expectations raised by predjudice based on accent is funny, and I think your critic's reaction to what was clearly a humorous and affectionate article was really extreme and humorless. It is riduiculous to carry on that people 'shouldn't' make cxertain assumptions, when in fact, they do. It makes more sense to just deal with it.

A recent survey examining the reactions of jurors to the accents of defendants in courts of law concluded that if you have a Birmingham accent you might as well just plead guilty. The stigma attached to the Brummie accent within British society is so great that Birmingham speakers are not even guaranteed a fair trial. Research carried out by the Aziz Corporation last year revealed that the Birmingham accent is a distinct disadvantage to people who want to succeed in business or any other kind of employment. Another survey conducted by the Industrial Society this year summarised that having a Birmingham accent is enough to ensure a complete 'social death'. Other surveys have also indicated that children with urban working-class accents such as Brummie are consistently denied the opportunities and privileges granted to children with more prestigious accents.
I'm sorry, but I find it very difficult to just laugh at these findings and 'deal' with them. Clearly something must be done to combat this prejudice, and my PhD thesis is geared directly towards formulating a framework to teach greater awareness and tolerance of accent and dialect variation. I'm not humourless - 'Fargo' is, in fact, one of my favourite films, but we, as a society, have learnt to stop laughing at others because they look or act differently to us. We must also learn to stop laughing at others because they sound different to us.

Dear MDS

If, as you claim, "some sounds are simply more attractive than others," then people from outside the socio-cultural milieu where stigmatised accents like Brummie are recognised would also discriminate on these grounds. A survey I have just conducted (Thorne, 2001), comparing the reactions of native and non-native English speakers to 20 different regional varieties of English including Brummie, has proved that this is most certainly not the case. Brummie came higher in the non-native respondent's estimations than supposedly more 'musical' and 'melodious' accents like Welsh, Edinburgh Scots and Southern Irish.

There is therefore no evidence to support your theory that some accents are more aesthetically pleasing than others. The linguistic consensus is that judgements of the quality of certain language varieties are based almost entirely upon a knowledge of the social connotations which they possess for those familiar with them.
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