If your yeds aw muggl’t up…
…then fear not because help is close to hand. For an iPhone app has been launched to assist people struggling to understand the Wigan dialect.
Although the well-known northern town is acclaimed for its Rugby League side, impressive football club and pies, it appears some people are having trouble working out what the local folk are saying.
The Swantabrew! app lets users select from a list of common Wigan phrases and have them translated into “proper English”.
And there is no need to talk loudly and slowly when communicating with a Wiganer either because phrases can also be translated from English to the Wigan dialect.
The tongue-in-cheek application for Apple’s popular smartphone – the front screen of which shows a partially eaten pie – has been produced up the road in Manchester.
Daniel Atherton, managing director of app creators Athernet Web Solutions, said the idea came when the company employed Wiganer Martin Bradley as its new digital marketing manager.
“We had real problems understanding what Martin was saying”, says Mr Atherton.
“It came to a head when he came out with Swantabrew! We thought he was swearing but he was actually asking if anyone wanted a cup of tea.”
Some other choice phrases include “Ah’mfurclemt!Weersmijackbit” (“I’m rather hungry, where is my food”) and “Gerreminagen” for when another round of drinks is called for in the local pub.
Although the app is purely for fun, accents and dialects can cause problems for some people. Geordie singer Cheryl Cole was ousted from US talent show The X Factor when executives became worried that viewers could not understand her.
A documentary on Channel 4 about the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews was subtitled so that viewers could better understand their Yorkshire accent and dialect.
Tagged in: Swantabrew app, WiganMost viewed
|
|
LATEST NEWS
Latest from Independent journalists on Twitter