Celebrating the West Midlands accent

"They assumed I was thick because of my accent, so all I had to do to impress them was string a couple of sentences together," said the former Stourbridge schoolboy, referring to his early days at the BBC's business unit.

However, many are not so lucky. According to law firm Peninsular, more than three quarters of employers admit to discriminating against people based on their regional accents.

Now, employment minister Esther McVey, who is well-known for her Liverpool brogue, has waded into the debate saying that young people with strong regional accents should not have to change the way they speak when trying to get a job.

"There is a whole host of people that have got got accents like mine," she said. "We just need people who reflect other people."

And Paul Bennett, past president of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, agrees.

"I think it's good, people should be proud of their accents and where they are from," he said.

"I think local people like buying from local suppliers and if you have got a local accent that can help.

Mr Bennett, a who is senior partner in Black Country law firm George Green, does however acknowledge that people with West Midlands accents can suffer prejudice in some quarters.

"There are some businesses where they want a certain type of person who speaks a certain type of way, but that tends to be in businesses which are focused on a very narrow area.

"Unfortunately, there still seems to be a negative spin which sees the Black Country and Birmingham accents viewed as disadvantageous or unfashionable."

Miss McVey insists that her Liverpudlian tones have never placed her at a disadvantage in the workplace.

"Has my accent held me back? I don't believe it has at all. I think it can be a colourful accent.

"If people want to change it because they don't feel they like their accent, then that's fine – so long as you are doing it for you and what you want to do. But do I think you need to do it? No I don't."

But of course, that surely depends on the line of work. A distinctive regional accent is probably an advantage in politics, adding an air of authenticity amid the plummy tones of her fellow front-benchers. But there are surely other professions where regional accents can be a problem?

Veteran broadcaster Joan Bakewell recalls how she was turned down for a role making radio announcements across the Iron Curtain during the Cold War due to her northern accent.

"You had to audition to see if your voice was suitable and I failed," she said.

While former BBC Radio WM and BRMB presenter Tony Butler, whose strong Black Country accent made him one of the most instantly recognisable broadcasters in the Midlands, was once sent to elocution lessons.

"The main thing I learned was to pronounce 'a's as 'e's," he once remarked. "West Bromwich Albion became 'West Bromwich Elbion'."

Dudley-born broadcaster Sue Lawley is another well-known figure from the Black Country who made a very conscious decision to change the way she spoke.

Recalling a cold night from her university days when she was waiting for a bus with her new room mate from Surrey, she said: "I hopped up and down and said: 'Coom on, buzz'. Jenny turned to me and said 'what did you say?' After that it just hit me that I sounded quite different."

Indeed, it seems there is a growing industry of companies which provide 'accent softening' courses. Many of their clients are professional people who feel the way they speak puts them at a disadvantage.

Maureen Theaker and her daughter Joanne run Vocal Integrity, which provides training in voice presentation in the Wolverhampton area.

"Most people, don't want to completely eradicate their accent," said Maureen.

"They either want to do it because they feel that having a strong accent is a bit of a handicap at work or because they have reached a level where they are going to be travelling more and more."

She says that the increasing ethnic diversity of today's world means that it is important to be able to speak clearly to people who are not familiar with their accent.

Colley Lane Primary School in Cradley, near Dudley, hit the headlines last year when headmaster John White announced that it would be adopting a 'zero tolerance' on Black Country slang in the classroom.

Phrases such as 'gonna' instead of 'going to', 'wor' instead of 'wasn't' and 'cor' instead of 'can't' were banned.

The policy initially caused some controversy, but it appears to have paid off with the school this month reporting a sharp improvement in its literacy results.

Key stage two reading results at the school improved by seven per cent, while the number of children reaching the higher level five in reading also increased by nine per cent.

Mr White said: 'Our intention was not to remove any local culture or identity, but to give our children the spoken language skills to compete against the best."

Indeed, Mr Bennett says even he is sometimes perplexed by some of the rich and colourful expressions that come from different parts of the Black Country.

"My wife is from Lower Gornal and sometimes when I am in the Lower Gornal area I am running things through my head and translating them before I can understand."

But of course, there is a great difference between using incorrect grammar or slang expressions which are hard to understand outside a narrow geographical area, and merely speaking with an accent which belies where one hails from.

The move by the school sparked debate in the community.

While some argued it was damaging to the region's proud culture, others said it was important to help young people with their job prospects.

Steve Pitts owns Teet T-Shirts in Cradley Heath. He makes shirts with Black Country phrases and recorded a Black Country Alphabet clip.

He said: "This smacks against part of the curriculum which teaches children about their culture and history."

Dudley North MP Ian Austin said: "No one should change their accent, but learning how to present your argument properly and having a good vocabulary is important."

More than 1,000 Express & Star readers also went online to take part in the debate by voting in a poll.

A total of 65 per cent said the dialect shouldn't be banned in the classroom, while 35 per cent said it should. At the school gates at Colley Lane Primary School there was also a mixed response from parents.

And Joanne Theaker agrees, saying that learning to speak more clearly and with greater confidence does not need to mean losing one's accent completely.

"Our policy is to encourage people to respect and cherish their accents," she said. "We try to help them improve their intonation and diction so that they can be understood more clearly. Regional accents are part of our heritage."