For the first time in England, Talk Dialect records and revitalises the dialects of our 39 historic counties in one central community, time and place.

Here at Talk Dialect we believe how we say things is just as important as what we say.

As a response to the homogenisation of many regional dialects and accents, we have set up this project to record and revitalise England’s dialects.

While some specific, localised or rural dialects are disappearing, they are not necessarily dying out. It is more like they are shifting and merging with new, broader ‘standardised’ urban voices like Estuary English emerging in their place.

This has led to concerns that distinct, local speech forms are fading or becoming less common due to increased social mobility, media influence and urbanisation.

There is hope, as research by the BBC Voices 2004/5 also shows that dialects demonstrate remarkable resilience and character.

However, that was more than twenty years ago.

Many people and words have been lost to the mists of time.

These days, the very technology that was once part of the problem is now – with the advent of AI – helping us stymie the loss.

Everyone feels in their bones that the local natural words we use every day with each other have a powerful way of personally connecting us and our community.

All of us here at Talk Dialect Team hope you will join us on this language journey.

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What Makes Talk Dialect So Unique As a Language Project?

• Preservation of the Past
• 360° Approach to the Present
• Contributor-First Model
• First Public National Central Digital Resource
• Inclusive, Interactive & Immersive
• Community Driven
• Attributions to Real People
• Word Count County Challenge
• Dialect-Revitalising Workshops
• Talk Dialect Bus Tours
• Global Goals
• Forward Thinking For Future Generations

With your help, we’ve launched the first national people-powered project to create a digital dialect resource for everyone in England.

With support from local individuals, local governments, multicultural groups, researchers, academics and dialect groups – literally all talks of life – we’re building a living, talking dialect dictionary for everyone for ever.

Together, we’ll initially collect and collate 1,000 dialect words, phrases and family sayings from each of our 39 historic counties.

That’s 39,000 entries, freely accessible in one time and place for everyone.

And that’s just the beginning. Today, the historic counties of England. Tomorrow, the world.

Come join us. We look forward to talking with you.

TTFN, The Talk Dialect Team