Brummies and Black Country locals share views on what sets them apart

National World - LocalTV

Locals in Birmingham and Wolverhampton share what they think separates Birmingham from the Black Country. From accents to attitudes, we explore the playful but proud divide across the West Midlands.

Transcript

00:00I'm here in Birmingham where people are quick to point out what makes them different from

00:08their black country neighbours. A lot of it starts with the accent, something that's often

00:13joked about, but it doesn't stop there. There's a sense here that Birmingham is bigger, more

00:18diverse, more fast paced. Some side Brummies have a different kind of humour, others reckon

00:23they carry themselves with a bit more polish. But beneath the banter, there's a real sense

00:28of pride in being from Birmingham, so I've been here asking what do people here think

00:32truly sets them apart from the black country?

00:37The accent, definitely. I get really friendly if someone says, oh you're from the black

00:42country. No, I'm from Birmingham. It's a completely different place.

00:48To be honest, I don't really know much. I have been to the black country a few times

00:53and the only thing I can really think of is just some of the words that they say, some

00:58of the slang. But I get the impression that people from the black country are very family

01:06oriented and it's based off a few colleagues I have from the black country. They can never

01:12picture themselves living anywhere else. So I guess it seems like a more tight-knit community

01:19in the black country.

01:21The only three are different in accents.

01:26Now I'm in Wolverhampton and here in the black country, the view is just as strong but very

01:32different. People here tell me they're more down to earth, more straight talking and proud

01:37of their roots. Some say Birmingham tries too hard to be something it's not, while the

01:41black country keeps things real. Others just see Brummies as neighbours with a slightly

01:46odd way of talking. But what's clear is that people here feel a strong connection to their

01:50identity and they're happy to stand apart. So I've been asking how do people in the black

01:55country see themselves and how do they view Birmingham?

01:58Different, I'm not quite sure because I don't go to Birmingham very often. I know when I

02:04do it's quite different in the way people act. I mean, here you smile at someone, they'll

02:09probably smile back. You go to Birmingham, they'll just give you a weird scowl. So it's

02:13not as friendly, I don't think, personally. At least it's central Birmingham for me, I

02:18guess.

02:19As I said, what makes it different? I can speak for here, Wolverhampton, and say it's

02:24just calmer. Everywhere else people got time for each other. Here, that's my personal view.

02:29Outside that realm, it seems to be more busier. People ain't got time and that's it.

02:36So I'm not actually from Birmingham, I'm from Wolverhampton. So the one thing that doesn't

02:41separate us is the kindness that I've just seen down the street. But also it's just the

02:46way we are, we're just very different to other people, especially down south. But we're

02:51just more friendly and we're just, we don't, we're not biased to anybody really. But yeah.

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