The North West risks losing its beloved words with a huge number of residents turning their backs on the famous regional dialect, while Manchester looks to have proven itself to have a more northern dialect than Liverpool.
A staggering 65 percent of people in the North West say that they don’t think it’s important to continue using local words for items, according to research.
The survey, Words That Suit Your Region by Suit Direct, gathered results from 2,000 participants from around the country to determine the most popular words for items that spark debate across regions, and to see what the existing attitudes are towards regional words.
Further findings show that more than a quarter of people in the North West (27%) believe that they have lost part of their accent since moving location, while 16 percent revealed that they have had to defend their regional name for an item during a debate.
Despite the phasing out of regional words, people from the region are also unwilling to use words that are believed to have originated in the south.
Thirty-six percent of those surveyed claim that they refuse to use ‘southern’ terms for items with 38 percent of Manchester’s surveyed residents opting against the use of words originating from the south, while Liverpool appeared more willing to use southern terminology (32%).
This trend is further seen with some of the region’s selection of words that cause debate across the country.
Across the North West the choice of words goes against the majority of the UK. Starting with what to call the main evening meal, ‘tea’ is the region’s favoured choice with 64 percent selecting this ahead of ‘dinner’ (31%), which saw 53 percent of the nation’s vote.
One of the most fiercely contested national arguments is regarding the name for certain bread, and this looks set to rumble on as the region sticks to its traditional choices.
Half of the country say that the small, white, round-shaped bread is a ‘roll’ but the North West’s most popular name is ‘bap’ with 36 percent choosing this ahead of the area’s unique use of ‘barm cake’ (31%).
Elsewhere, Manchester and Liverpool’s dialect holds firm with regards to certain words. When asked which words they used for the name of the schoolground catch game, Manchester chose ‘tig’ (39%) and Liverpool went with ‘tick’ (36%), instead of the UK’s most-common choice ‘tag’.
Liverpool went further to showcase its unique dialect in choosing ‘couch’ (45%) rather than ‘sofa’ and the use of word ‘boss’ (23%) to describe something ‘very good’ rather than opting for the UK’s favourite ‘ace’.
A spokesperson from Suit Direct said: “Regional dialects are a major part of the country’s heritage and these findings give an interesting and potentially concerning insight into the future of the UK’s regional words.
“The research has also taken on a fun element and we hope we’re able to settle a few discussions across the country.”
What do you commonly call a soft, round, white bread roll?
Manchester – Bap (33.61%) Barm cake (31.93%) Roll (24.37%)
What do you usually call an evening meal?
Manchester – Tea (62.18%) Dinner (31.93%) Supper (5.04%)
What do you usually call the schoolground catch game commonly called tig or tag?
Manchester – Tig (39.50%) Tag (31.93%) Tick 9.24%
What would you most likely say if you found something ‘very good’?
Manchester – Ace (25.21%) Mint (19.33%) Bootiful (7.56%)
What do you usually call the television remote?
Manchester – Remote (78.15%) Zapper and Controller (7.56%) Thinga-ma-jig (4.20%)
What do you usually call the main reception room in a home?
Manchester – Living room (66.39%) Lounge (21.01%) Front room (10.08%)
What do you commonly call the two or three-seater furniture found in the living room?
Manchester – Sofa (41.18%) Settee (36.97%) Couch (21.85%)
What do you usually call a narrow walkway between or along buildings?
Manchester – Alley/alley way (41.18%) Ginnel (36.97%) Pathway (4.20%)
