Midlands English

Midlands English is a group of dialects of the English language. The largest cities where it is spoken are Birmingham and Wolverhampton. The traditional Black Country dialect is very old, and can be very confusing for outsiders. The language is said to be a throw back to Middle English and still contains words such as Thee, Thy and Thou. "'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".

Inhabitants are proud to be known as Black Country "folk" and resist hints at any relationship to people living in Birmingham, calling Birmingham "Brum-a-jum" (Birmingham's colloquial name is Brummagem). Residents of Birmingham (Brummies) meanwhile often refer to their Black Country neighbours as "Yam Yams", a reference to the use of "Yow am" instead of "You are".

Black Country folks take pride in being simple, hardworking people. The thick Black Country dialect however, is less commonly heard today than in the past. Midlands English is not similar to Australian English. Midlands English is among the major groupings of British English, the others being Southern English, Northern English, Scots language and East Anglian English.

In the East Midlands of England, (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire) a distinctly different dialect of Midlands English is spoken which is often mistaken for the Yorkshire or Tyke dialect, to which it is closely related. Traditionally it is spoken in those parts of Mercia lying East of Watling Street (the A5 London - Shrewsbury Road). Like that of Yorkshire, the East Midlands dialect owes much of it's grammar and vocabulary to nordic influences, the region having been incorporated in the Norse controlled Danelaw in the late 9th century. For example, the East Midlands word "Scraight" is thought to be derived from the Norse, "gråte" (Both words meaning To Cry).

Though spoken less commonly today, the dialect of the East Midlands has been investigated in noteable texts such as the affectionately titled "Ey Up Mi Duck" series of books by Richard Scollins and John Titford. "Ey Up" is a greeting of uncertain origin used widely throughout the North Midlands and South Yorkshire, and "Mi Duck" is thought to be derived from a respectful Anglo Saxon form of address, "Duka" (Literally "Duke"), and is unrelated to Waterfowl. Non-natives of the East Midlands are often suprised to hear men greet each other as 'Mi Duck.' The romantic English novellist, and East Midlander, DH Lawrence wrote in the dialect of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield in several dialect poems as well as in his more famous works such as Lady Chatterley's Lover and Sons and Lovers