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Lifestyle

01st May 2020

Teaching Sunderland slang to a Londoner

Reuben Pinder

 Ha’way!

One of the most astounding things about the United Kingdom as a nation is the variation in accents and dialects, given the relatively small size of the country. You drive an hour north of London and suddenly everyone writes “mum” as “mom.” You drive a few more hours north and it becomes “mam.”

One of the most poetic and distinct accents in the UK is that of Sunderland. Tucked away on the coast in the north-east of England, it is similar to Newcastle, or ‘Geordie’, but – ask anyone from the region – they are not the same.

My significant other is from Sunderland, where the the locals speak using ‘Mackem’ slang. I am from London. So we did the obvious thing, and got her to teach me some Mackem slang. Crack on watching the video, I’m garn yem.