The term Brummies refers to people from the city of Birmingham. Brummies have their own accent, which is a subject of debate all on its own. Many people confuse the Birmingham accent with that of the Black Country.
The word comes from Brummagem, the local name for Britain’s second city, from which the word Brummies is derived. Strangely enough, many foreign visitors to the city actually like the accent, but it does appear to carry something of a stigma within England. Surveys have shown it to be the least favoured British accent. If someone speaks with a strong Brummie accent, they are often perceived as not very bright, or as one academic study suggested, a police suspect with a Brummie accent can sound guilty.
Unfortunately, this stigma is often applied to the Black Country accent too. Speakers from Wolverhampton, Dudley or Walsall are frequently assumed to be Brummies by default, whereas in reality the accents are distinct. Figures such as Ozzy Osbourne, Carl Chinn and Clare Short have helped to make the Brummie accent well known, and there are many words that are unique to the city.
Brummies usually have the last laugh when it comes to hearing outsiders attempting to mimic the accent. It never sounds quite right, is almost always over-emphasised, and often unintentionally comical.
And remember this: the Industrial Revolution did not begin in the south. The great engineers, industrialists and workshops of Britain were rooted here. It took intelligence and organisation to make all that happen.
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