Any British English speakers here?

[cecilia_writer]

We don't say this where I live (in Edinburgh - not that our grammar is perfect, I hasten to add!) - I think it's more a North of England thing.

[VanessaC]

Also living in Scotland, and I wouldn't expect to hear that here - but there is a lot of "local" variation across the UK as a whole - for example, in Glasgow people often ask "where do you stay?" meaning "where do you live?" - I think that's a Glasgow / west coast thing, as I don't remember hearing it elsewhere.

[Tafkal]

I believe it's a Yorkshire thing.

[Reveries]

It's regional phraseology. Used in northern England and some bits of the midlands, with a link to the old mining areas, and of course class sneaks into it a little in that anyone who went to posh schools would be less likely to use it.


There are far more fun phrases, such as:- It's looking black over Bill's mums.

[JackT]

"He were a great baker were our dad."

From the old Hovis advert. Definitely Yorkshire, that one!

[spin52]

It's not just a northern thing. My husband informs me, when he reverts to his countrified accent, "I were drug up in Chippy." Translation: He was born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

[Gerri Attrick]

Definitely regional - Yorkshire, Derbyshire (my county!). Wasn’t aware it was used as far south as Oxfordshire, but I’m not surprised.

I love our English regional sayings, everything from: It’s getting black over Bill’s mother’s, to Well, I gutta ( go to) the foot of our stairs, and She were a sandwich short of a picnic.

The late Fred Dibnah, a steeplejack from Bolton in Lancashire, once claimed there were ten (?) ways to say “house” in Yorkshire. In somewhere like York, they lived in a semi-detached hice, while those in Sheffield had a semi-detached arse. 

[CoraBuhlert]

It's not just a northern thing. My husband informs me, when he reverts to his countrified accent, "I were drug up in Chippy." Translation: He was born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

If someone said that to me, my first instinct would be to call the police, because I'd assume they were drugged in a chip shop.

[Paranormal Kitty]

Technically that indicates the subjunctive mood, so perhaps whoever started it was just unsure of himself all the time so he only spoke in hypotheticals.

[Tafkal]

I have no idea whether this is correct, but I wonder whether it isn't "were" as such but rather "was" with the s left off.

[spin52]

I don't think so. It's a definite 'werrre'.

[Tafkal]

I don't think so. It's a definite 'werrre'.

Ah, I suppose that would be clearer in that part of the country, where they have a rhotic pronunciation. Up north it isn't so clear.

[munboy]

North of England

Being a dumb American, I'm curious about this. You're in Scotland, which is north of England...but, I also know that the Irish refer to Northern Ireland as North of Ireland...so, what is North of England if not Scotland? 

EDIT: Oh wait...do you mean the north part of England? Again...sorry, dumb American 

[cecilia_writer]

North of England

Being a dumb American, I'm curious about this. You're in Scotland, which is north of England...but, I also know that the Irish refer to Northern Ireland as North of Ireland...so, what is North of England if not Scotland? 

EDIT: Oh wait...do you mean the north part of England? Again...sorry, dumb American 

Yes - for a relatively small country there are quite a lot of regional variations, some rather subtle.

[Kathy Dee]

A lovely thread and the question has been answered by a lot of Brits above. But I just wanted to say to the OP that those two films are absolute classics and Brassed Off is one of my personal favourites.

AYE, IT WERE REET GUD!

[Harry J Langley]

Britain is big on its regional nuances and even then it gets even messier within regions....Yorkshire for example (where I live but don't originate from) have all sorts of different phrases and variations on their accents in specific towns - some of which are no more than 10 miles apart!   

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

A lovely thread and the question has been answered by a lot of Brits above. But I just wanted to say to the OP that those two films are absolute classics and Brassed Off is one of my personal favourites.

AYE, IT WERE REET GUD!

Aye. It were grand.