The West Midlands spelling quirk that confuses Britain

National World - LocalTV

Why do people in the West Midlands write 'mom' instead of 'mum'? We hit the streets of Birmingham to ask locals how they spell it - and what makes the Brummie accent stand out. This regional spelling quirk runs deeper than most think, rooted in local dialects and phonetics rather than American influence. We also asked what people think defines the accent - and whether it still carries an unfair stigma.

Transcript

00:00This one of the clearest markers of a regional identity and one of the most misunderstood.

00:06While the rest of the UK clings to Mum, people across Birmingham and the black country stick

00:11to Mum and I've been doing so long before Hollywood scripts or Instagram captions came

00:17along.

00:18Linguists cite it's rooted in the rounded Midlands vowel sounds not borrowed from across

00:23the Atlantic.

00:24In fact the Mum spelling is a direct reflection of how it sounds when spoken locally.

00:29It's an audible quirk that ended up on paper, but is it just instinct or a small act of

00:35local pride?

00:36We asked people right here in Birmingham how they spell it and why.

00:40Yeah, so I'm in Aycock's Green, Birmingham and I always spell Mum, M-U-M, that's always

00:46been the same for me.

00:48I know is the correct way to spell Mum, M-U-M in the UK, but like on text I say M-O-M, maybe

00:57because I'm exposed to like a lot of American like media, so yeah.

01:02I'm from Stoke-on-Trent and I spell it M-U-M and it's always been that way in Stoke.

01:10All my friends who live south of Stafford who say Mum, we mock.

01:16I think I say Mum or I think I write M-U-M Mum and I think it was Mum when we were kids

01:27and I think it was Mum now I'm grown up and I don't know why, I haven't thought about it

01:31really.

01:32This accent doesn't just shape how we spell, it warps how we hear the entire English language.

01:38The Birmingham and black country dialects have a distinct rhythm, a weight to certain

01:43vowels and a habit of shortening or swallowing others.

01:47Outsiders call it flat but locals hear depth and familiarity.

01:50It's been softened by the media over the years but the chorus still there, the melodic

01:55lift, the clipped consonants, the famous dropped G. But what do people here think actually

02:00defines a Brummie accent, is it just how it sounds or is there more to it?

02:05The Brummie accent, erm, what do I say?

02:09I think it's like the N pronunciation of the way they say some words, I think they like

02:13long it out, I don't even know how to do it, like maybe they'll be like Mum or Bath, like

02:22they pronounce some words, like maybe the A and the O, like they pronounce it longer I think.

02:28There's little nuances isn't there, erm, because I think for a long while I thought anybody

02:33who was from Cannock, Rugeley, Walsall, Birmingham all sounded the same, erm, but the Birmingham

02:41accent I find a bit softer than those South Sass accents and it's just how things are pronounced

02:47and yeah.

02:48I've no idea because I'm not from Birmingham originally, erm, a mishmash of all sorts coming

02:55together in the Midlands perhaps?

02:56I don't know.

02:57people's ears in the Norse, but they always squib interruption.

03:10That's right.

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