How do you recognise a Black Country accent?

“Yow am” for “you are” — the source of the “Yam Yam” label. “Bin” and “bay” for “been” and “isn't”: “I bay gooin”. No foot–strut split, so “put” and “putt” match. “Singer” rhymes with “finger” — the hard G is pronounced.

How do I test whether I have a Black Country accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the Black Country English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton

The Black Country accent

The Black Country accent is not the Birmingham accent, and telling anyone from Dudley otherwise is a reliable way to be corrected. It is the more conservative of the two: it keeps grammatical forms Middle English speakers would recognise, including “am” where standard English has “are”, which is where the “Yam Yam” nickname comes from.

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How to recognise a Black Country accent

“Yow am” for “you are” — the source of the “Yam Yam” label.
“Bin” and “bay” for “been” and “isn't”: “I bay gooin”.
No foot–strut split, so “put” and “putt” match.
“Singer” rhymes with “finger” — the hard G is pronounced.

Also known as Black Country accent, Yam Yam accent, Dudley accent, Wolverhampton accent. Spoken in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, England.

The Black Country pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a Black Country speaker on its 27 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat” — no trap–bath split
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
non-rhotic — “car” ends in a vowel, with no R sound
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a clear T in the middle of “bottle”, or a glottal stop in “bottle” — “bo’le”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound different
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” is one flat sound — deh
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” is one flat sound — gaw
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
yod-coalescence — “tune” sounds like “choon”, or “tune” keeps its Y — “tyoon”
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
yes — “singer” has a hard g
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” hold two distinct vowels apart
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” sound the same — no foot–strut split
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
a true TH at the start of “three”, or TH-fronting — “three” sounds like “free”
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
H-dropping — “house” sounds like “ouse”
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a short “-ih”, or “happy” ends on a long “-ee” — happy-tensing
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” keeps its voiced ending, apart from “bet”
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
an approximant R, made without contact
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton

Expected everyday vocabulary for a Black Country speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Pop
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Trainers
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Tea
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Cob
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Chips
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Sweets
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Trolley
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeaway
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Drinking fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Corner shop
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	You lot
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Bin
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Jitty
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cool box / cool bag
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in the queue
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Traffic lights
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Roundabout
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use