On the drag, on the huh, driv for drove and writ for wrote – most of these sayings will be familiar to anyone who lives in Suffolk.
Student David Heffer, born and raised in Bramford Lane, Ipswich, is interested in their origins and why they are used by so many people on a daily basis.
The 28-year-old is carrying out a study into the accents and dialects used by people in both Wigan, where his partner grew up, and Ipswich, where he grew up – and is inviting people living in his home town to take part.
Participants are asked about their attitudes towards their hometown and its speech – for instance if they like it, and would they change it.
“Since moving away from Ipswich, living in Liverpool, Australia and finally Manchester, I became aware of the big range of accents and dialects, particularly the UK,” said Mr Heffer. “In Manchester there is a huge range of strong accents, however I always knew that I didn’t have a particularly strong Ipswich accent even before I moved away.
“When I moved to Manchester I met my partner David Aspinall, from Wigan, and noticed that even young people in Wigan have a strong accent and dialect, using words and expressions particular to Wigan like ‘jackbit’ or ‘scran’ for food and ‘klempt’ for hungry.
He added: “I wondered why in my experience, younger people in Ipswich seem to have lost the accent compared to older generations.”
With the data Mr Heffer has collected so far, he has realised putting an extra syllable in words like town to become ‘tow-an’ and down to become ‘dow-an’ is something unique to Ipswich and the Suffolk area.
He has also discovered most people like their accent and would prefer not change it, but younger people are less likely to be happy with their accent.
The survey, which forms part of Mr Heffer’s undergraduate dissertation at Manchester Metropolitan University, takes around 20 minutes to complete.
Click here to take part.
Words and phrases unique to Ipswich and the wider Suffolk area
• On the drag
• On the huh
• Bah or buh as term of address
• Driv for drove
• Writ for wrote
• Town becomes tow-an
• Down becomes dow-an
Can you think of any more? Let us know in the comments below
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