Voices

Janet, George, Craig and John

Wolverhampton

Janet Johnson, George Edwards, Craig Horton and John Knowles are all regulars at a pub in Wolverhampton city centre. They met a BBC interviewer to talk about language and accents in the Black Country.

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Janet and George are partners. They were both born in the West Midlands and live in Wolverhampton, although they have also lived overseas through their connections with the Forces. They know Craig and John from the pub where they all socialise.

The Stile pub

John was born in Cheshire and he talked about his impressions of Wolverhampton, the kind of people who live there and the way they speak.

Janet and George told the group about traditional Black Country words and culture.

Find out more about the group below. Click the links to listen to them talking and hear the whole group in discussion in the 'best bits'.

Contributors
George Edwards
Janet Johnson
Craig Horton
John Knowles

Best bits
'Bostin'
'The cut'

Name: George Edwards
Age: 67
Lives in: Wolverhampton
Lived here: More than 10 years
Born: Wolverhampton
Describes own accent as: "Local to Wolverhampton"
Languages: English (mother tongue)

Listen to George
George remembers that every street used to have an "unofficial midwife" who helped women in labour until the real midwife arrived.
Listen to the clip	Read the transcript

Name: Janet Johnson
Age: 57
Lives in: Wolverhampton
Lived here: All my life
Born: Wolverhampton
Describes own accent as: "West Midlands (originally South Staffordshire)"
Languages: English (mother tongue)

Listen to Janet
When Janet lived in Germany, she was ridiculed for pronouncing bus as "buzz" - people thought she was asking about bees!
Listen to the clip	Read the transcript

Name: Craig Horton
Age: 29
Lives in: Wolverhampton
Lived here: More than 10 years
Born: Newport, Wales
Describes own accent as: "Mixed"
Languages: English (mother tongue)

Name: John Knowles
Age: 35
Lives in: Dunstall, Wolverhampton
Lived here: Less than 10 years
Born: Cheshire
Describes own accent as: "North-West"
Languages: English (mother tongue)

Best bit: 'Bostin'
The Black Country's world-famous "top word". The group explain what it means.
Listen to the clip

Best bit: 'The cut'
Locals have their own word for the canal - the "cut" (possibly because the canal was a cutting in the ground and through the hills). George says he used to swim in it when he was a boy and he'd get told off by men on the coal barges which went past!
Listen to the clip

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