The Birmingham accent is by far the worst in the country

Like thousands of others I am proud to say that I go to The University of Birmingham. It was voted the best university in the country by the Sunday Times in 2014 and holds the best timepiece on campus in Old Joe. But there’s one thing I will never be able to love about this place: the accent.

How is it possible to sound that thick? Don’t get me wrong, the Brummie’s are a great bunch of people: they’ll get involved in topical debates in the Goose, tell you how stylish you are in Topshop and kindly show you round campus. But why do they insist on speaking in such an ear-aching dialect?

My accent is so bad everyone has left…

My first experience of the Brummie accent was when I was 17, I was seeing this girl and she was nice enough. But listening to her was like dragging my ear hole through broken glass. She was supposedly quite intelligent, but you never would have guessed. It was just never going to work.

I’m not alone in thinking this. A survey on yougov in 2014 also concluded that the Brummie accent was the least attractive in the UK. It even suggested speaking with a Brum twang is less intelligent than remaining silent. This information is from the government and they wouldn’t lie, would they?

Compared to other regional accents, Birmingham hands down can’t compete. It doesn’t have the soft kindness of the Geordie accent, the sexiness of the Irish, the hidden charm of the scouse or the supposed intelligence of the South. Instead, it evokes images of an old bygone era, in danger of letting Manchester take over as England’s second city.

But as fun as it is bashing the terrible Brummie broge, I have come to find it endearing. There is something innocent in their peculiar delivery.  Brummies know that there accent is the worst in the country, but they are willing to laugh at themselves. If you can’t admire their accent, admire their character.