What does it take to become a Brummie? We ask the people of Birmingham & got some top tips bab!

Birmingham may be a city diverse in culture, but hopefully there is also something unifying the people living here. The term Brummie encompasses far more than just the geographical location, so I'm here in Birmingham to find out the rites of passage to becoming a bonafide Brummie.

Catherine says: “What does it take to be a Brummie? Well, I suppose you've got to be born in the area, first of all. Live in the area, be familiar with it. So I'm not from here, so my observations are - actually I find Brummies to be friendly. Pretty direct and friendly. 

Seamus says: “Well the first thing I'd say about Birmingham is there are no rights of passage. Birmingham is a very welcoming city, just about anybody can arrive here and you're made to feel welcome.

“That to me is one of the strengths of the city, it's diversity, and that in the main it's comfortable with that diversity. Not everybody is, but the vast majority of people here are. It's a great city, it doesn't sing its praises, it's laid back about its great history and doesn't always appreciate that. And I think that's why the rest of the country is comfortable about ignoring Birmingham, pretty much.”

Tom says: “So you can identify a Brummie fairly easily from the way that they talk, the way they speak, and the way that they sort of describe things and use unique words to explain how things work in a Brumie way. I think that's probably the easiest way to identify someone that's from Birmingham, and the way that you know that that's where we're from, I'd say.

Ibrahim says: “I think people around here are quite open and are quite nice, so people are nice, so not everyone is just closed down. Let's say you wanted to ask a question to someone, people are quite open and friendly. Rather than if you go to London or Manchester, people are a bit closed down, you know what I mean? Yeah, from my experience.”

Stuart says: “Brummies, when they're talking about their mum, it's always M-O-M mom, whereas everywhere else it's M-U-M mum.”

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