From chip cobs, manny women, mardy children, jennels, jitties, tig and dobby, suckers and oppo's I didn't realise we spoke so strangely here in Nottinghamshire! In 2005 I got out and about recording local people and their thoughts on how we speak in our county. It was all part of a huge BBC project to celebrate the diverse languages, dialects and accents of the UK. It was the most ambitious, exhaustive investigation ever into the spoken word in the British Isles. Hundreds of people from all over the UK have taken part from Welsh funfair owners to fisherman and farmers. Here in Nottinghamshire we asked you to take part. We wanted you to tell us about the languages, words, accents you use, your styles of talk and how the way you talk has shaped your life.
 | | Rosalind Buchanan from The Meadows |
I've spoken to pub landladies, ex miners, gay men and a family from the Meadows. What I've really noticed is how differently people speak even when they're only a few miles apart. Suttoners and Mansfield people have a very different accent whilst Eastwood-ites and Meadows dwellers have completely different words for certain things. Some of my favourite words and phrases so far have included scroddy, gormless, piggling and scrating as well as words like 'dan dan' and 'pickney' which seem to have been passed down in families where grandparents were brought up in the Caribbean.
 | | Rita Smedley, Mansfield landlady |
In the Meadows area of Nottingham I met Rosalind and her two sisters who told me what a Nottingham accent sounds like. Whilst in Eastwood I met a group of local writers who told me about local words and saying which others might not understand. I've spent a few hours in a Mansfield pub with local landlords and ladies. Rita Smedley told me how she feels about the Mansfield accent. Listen to some of the highlights from Voices 2005 by clicking on the audio links found in the top right hand corner of this page. | 
