Why Are Wolverhampton People Called Yam Yams?

The term Yam Yam, of course, comes from our way of condensing the words “yow am” (“you are” to the uninitiated), to yow’m or yam. It’s part of a dialect which is all the more joyous because it’s often incomprehensible to non-locals, making it even more fun to be part of our special clan.

Why are brummies called Yam yams?

Dialect and accent
People living in Birmingham often refer to Black Country folk as Yam Yams because they say ‘yow am’ or ‘yow’m’ instead of ‘you are’, whereas the term ‘Brummie’, used to refer to people from Birmingham, is derived from ‘Brummagem’ – traditional Black Country speak for Birmingham.

What is a Yam Yam slang?

Yam yam is a disparaging term that people from Birmingham commonly use to describe people from the Black Country.

Where does the word Yam Yam come from?

Shaun Harrison asked us where the phrase “Yam Yam” came from “referring to people from the Black Country“. The Urban Dictionary website said it derived from the Black Country dialect for “you are” – “yam”.

Why are brummies called Brummies?

In the case of Birmingham, ‘Brummie’ comes from Brummagem, a name for the city used by locals since the 1700s. When used to describe how Brummies speak, the term Brummie is used to denote the accent of people from Birmingham, as well as distinct vocabulary.

Is yam yam A Wolverhampton?

The distinctive dialect of the “Yam Yams” spoken in towns like Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Tipton and Dudley – though often only at home or between friends and neighbours – has preserved grammar from Middle English and its own vocabulary such as beesum (a pert young woman), blithyed (a fool), bonk (a small hill), broo’us

What is a person from Wolverhampton called?

At the 2011 census, it had a population of 249,470. People from the city are called “Wulfrunians“. Wolverhampton. City and Metropolitan borough.

What do we call yams in UK?

The American yam is not commonly found in the UK, yet the term is often used in the US to refer to what the British call a sweet potato; the Brits eat theirs roasted (as they do most things) and have not yet warmed to the American dish of “marshmallow yams.” 3.

What does it mean if a girl has yams?

slang She has large buttocks. A: “This friend you’re trying to set me up with, she got yams?” B: “Oh yeah.” A: “Nice, that’s just my type.” See also: she, yam. Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

What does yam mean in Nigerian?

For the Igbo and Yoruba people of Southern Nigeria, it symbolizes prosperity and fertility. For the Igbo people of South Eastern Nigeria, the yam crop is not just a harvest, but a symbol of hard work, wealth, and celebration. Since the early days, the harvest of yams represented the start of a new harvest season.

What Africans call yams?

nyami
Africans call yams “nyami,” which is where we get the word “yam.” They are cylindrical and vary in size. Some of the largest yams have weighed more than 100 pounds and have been several feet long. Yams have a dense white, purple, or red flesh and scaly brown skin with dark spots. A yam is starchy and dry.

What is Wolverhampton accent?

If you’re a new student and not from this area, you’ll most definitely notice the unusual accent – the infamous Black Country dialect! A term born of heavily industrialised 19^th century West Midlands, the ‘Black Country’ dialect covers the majority of 4 boroughs – Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Is yam an African word?

The word yam comes from the African words “njam”, “nyami, or “djambi”, meaning “to eat”.

How do you say hello in Brummie?

Brummies tend to use the word ‘alright‘ as a greeting rather than the usual ‘hello’. If we do say ‘hello’ then we end to drop the ‘h’ thus saying ‘ello’ instead.

Why do West Midlands say mom?

The Birmingham and West Midland area has retained vowel sounds from old English, where other areas lost them in a period called the great vowel shift from middle English to modern English. You can hear it in words like ‘you’ pronounced ‘yow’. The rest of England say BirmingHAM but people from that city say BirmingUM.

Who is the most famous Brummie?

The ten most inspiring Brummies

• John Cadbury. Founder of Cadbury chocolate company.
• Malala Yousafzai. Activist and Nobel Prize winner.
• John Taylor. Musician, Duran Duran.
• Dame Julie Walters. Actress.
• Carl Chinn. Historian, writer and broadcaster.
• Benjamin Zephaniah. Poet and writer.
• J. R. R. Tolkien.
• Joseph Priestley.

Is Wolverhampton classed as Black Country?

The Black Country, in the West Midlands, is roughly made up of towns within the four Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton – although you won’t find any official borders on the map, or any two Yam Yams that agree on it!

What language do they speak in Wolverhampton?

89% of residents speak English as their main language. There are over 88 languages spoken in Wolverhampton.

Why is Midlands called Black Country?

The Black Country gained its name in the mid nineteenth century due to the smoke from the many thousands of ironworking foundries and forges plus also the working of the shallow and 30ft thick coal seams.

What’s Wolverhampton famous for?

The City of Wolverhampton is known for its rich, cultural diversity and is a thriving centre, particularly for arts and live entertainment. It also offers a wide variety of delicious places to wine, dine and dance the night away!

What is the ethnicity of Wolverhampton?

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