I have contributed a number of limericks to the OEDILF in Black Country dialect. I thought I'd post the most recent ones here too, complete with the accompanying translations and author's note.

As ahm stood on the bonk wi' mi mutt,
Wi some bibbles poiled up by mi fut,
Yo might axe f'wot?
They'm ter chuck at the rot
In the werta, dahn theer in the cut.

This is another in my occasional series of limericks defining Black Country dialect words. The translation follows.

As I am standing upon the grassy slope with my canine companion
With a heap of largish pebbles gathered adjacent to my foot,
You may ask, what is their purpose?
They are to throw at the rat
Who is in the water, down there, in the canal.

As always the spelling is a little arbitrary and pronunciation should be as near phonetic as possible. Note that although the dialect normally lacks a rhotic "r" in this case there is an intrusive "r" in the phrase theer in making it similar to thee rin.


On 'er own, well 'er day goo no weer.
It wuz moo-er than a little bit queer
When we sid 'er wi'aht 'im.
We axed 'er abaht 'im,
'Er said, "He's sittin' awum wi' uh beer."
This is another limerick in my occasional series defining Black Country dialect words. The translation follows.

Alone, well she never went anywhere.
It was really rather unusual
When we saw her without him.
We asked where he was.
She said, "He's sitting at home with a beer."

As with all these dialect entries the spelling is somewhat arbitrary and should be read as near to phonetically as possible.

Note weer, queer and beer are pronounced wee-uh, kwee-uh and bee-uh. There is no rhotic "r" in the Midlands accent.

Oh, thank you for those, Bob. I love them!

Reading these is challenging, but fascinating. I wish there was a way to add audio to the text. Perhaps you can recite them for me when we meet . . . over a beer? Or maybe we should print them out and see how each person tries to read them . . . that could be fun!

As you seem to like them so much, here are all the others so far submitted to the OEDILF. I promise that when I'm over there I'll give you all a reading.

'Ad a bloke in ter mek me a wall,
Bu' 'e wore really right on the ball.
The bricks wuz skewwhiff,
An the gert 'inge wuz stiff —
It wuz cagmag, wore done right at all!


This is another limerick in my occasional series written in Black Country dialect. The translation follows.

I employed a tradesman to build a wall for me,
But he wasn't really up to the job.
The bricks were crooked
And the gate hinge was stiff—
It was shoddy and incomplete, it wasn't done properly at all.


Jus' yo look at the mess tha' 'e's med,
An 'ear 'arf the saft things tha' 'e's said.
Tho' 'e might p'r'aps be willin',
'E ay the full shillin'.
'E's a barmpot, 'e's saft in the yed.

This limerick is written in Black Country dialect. An approximate translation follows.

Just look at the mess that he's made,
And listen to half of the stupid things that he's said.
Although he may be willing,
He isn't very bright.
He's an idiot, he's soft in the head.


Ar wench knows 'er way rahnd a pon.
'Er's alles got summat grand on.
Fill yer boots 'n' yer bally,
Bostin' fittle, no tally.
Ah doe know why 'er cor gerra mon.

This another of my occasional series in black country dialect.

Bostin' is an all purpose term of approval in the black country. There has been a recent local campaign to have it included in the OED, so far with no success.

A translation of the limerick into standard English follows.

My daughter is a very good cook. (knows her way around a saucepan)
She is always preparing something good.
Eat heartily, fill your stomach.
Excellent food (victuals) with no charge.
I don't understand why she can't get a husband.


Bin yo gooin' or bin yo bay, ay?
Well, come on nar, ar kid, wot yo say?
Ay, yo might be arf jed,
But ge'r'aht uh yower bed.
Get yower coot on, we air go'r'all day!

This is another limerick written in the UK Black Country dialect. The following is a translation into conventional English.

Are you going or not, eh?
Come on now, my friend, what do you say?
You may be very ill,
But get out of your bed,
Put on your coat, we do not have much time.

As for pronunciation…just try it as phonetically as possible from the spellings!


Yo know worra mean, yo've all sin 'em —
Some on yer's even looked in 'em —
But if they doe stick aht,
Then yo con shaht,
"Them winders bay bay winders, bin 'em?"

This limerick is written in the English Black Country dialect.
Here, for the rest of the English speaking world, is a translation.

You know what I mean, you have all seen them. Some of you have even looked in through them. But if they don't protrude, then you can shout, "Those windows aren't bay windows, are they?"

Bay is a black country dialect word for "am not", "is not" or "are not".
Bay windows are windows that protrude from the outside wall of a building.

Sadly there are few dialect words in Southern English. Probably the nearest is Cockney.

I exclude, of course, street argot as used by some young people and the criminal classes.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard English:
Sadly there are few dialect words in Southern English. Probably the nearest is Cockney.

Whereas many consider the Midlands dialect to be closer to much older forms of English than most regional variations. When heard in its strongest form it certainly shows considerable variation from standard English in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

I agree, CW, I'd love to hear the limericks read. Let's do it when you come, Bob. I will print them out.

Bob, should I workshop them, or would that be better left to people from England?

Some of them are approved already and the most recent two (the first two I posted) haven't been moved out of "new" yet, By all means workshop any that are in tentative if you think you have anything to contribute on such unusual limericks.

Oh, sorry, I missed this post. Alright, I will, but my knowledge of this dialect is poor, at best.

I believe I have RFAd all the unapproved ones. I heard Bob recite these at our Wordcraft Gathering, and they are wonderful!

I didn't hear him recite them! Damn! We'll have to get together again!