Beg your pardon! Swear words wanted to map regional dialects

Linguists have appealed for the public’s help across the UK in creating a national list of regional swear words.

Experts at Sheffield University want to create a snapshot of how English is spoken in 2026 at a time when, they say, the language is evolving faster than ever.

The purpose is to record contemporary speech before regional dialect words and phrases may disappear.

The academics have set up a link for people to contribute their local salty language, particularly if they are specific to a town or city and which may not be known elsewhere.

The researchers believe these hyper-local expressions can have cultural meaning, based on the history and local humour of their communities.

Some of the milder examples seen so far include “Arl arse” from Merseyside; “Radge Bampot” from Scotland; “Mardy Arse” from Yorkshire and the Midlands; and “Proper Radgie Bastard” from the North East.

An example of a word seen less frequently would be “prannet”, meaning a fool, which was once commonly used in the South East.

The Sheffield team has stressed the project is not about promoting offensive language, and it instead aims to record how people speak across the UK.

Project leader Dr Chris Montgomery, from the university’s School of English, said: “Swearing is a fundamental part of how everybody expresses emotion, identity, humour, and social connection, yet it is often excluded from formal records of language.

“We also know very little about how swearing varies in local areas.

“This project recognises that to truly understand English as it is lived and spoken, we must include all of it – not just the polite or standardised forms.

“Some traditional regional dialects might be disappearing, and this project is about celebrating the regional language that people actually use and preserving a record of it, so future generations can get a real insight into people’s lives in 2026 and how people communicated in towns and cities across the country.

He added: “We want to hear from everyone. Whether you’re in Glasgow, Sheffield, Cardiff, or a small village in Cornwall – your voice matters.

“This is a chance to contribute to a living record of language and culture.”

Artists Modern Toss will use the data to create exhibitions including a map of swearing.

To make a contribution to the swearing repository, visit http://tinyurl.com/swearmap.