A traveler stumbling through the British Isles once encountered a specific, localized vocabulary of insults that served as a geographic marker. In Merseyside, they might be a “divvy”; in Leeds, a “pillock”; in Portsmouth, a “dinlo.” Now, those regional markers are fading, replaced by a standardized English that threatens to leave the wandering idiot as simply an “idiot” regardless of their coordinates.
Linguists at the University of Sheffield are attempting to freeze this linguistic decay. They’ve launched the first national census of swear words, calling on the public to submit “salty language” that is specific to their towns or cities. The goal isn’t to build a dictionary of filth, but to capture a snapshot of how English is actually spoken in 2026 before hyper-local dialects vanish entirely.
Linguists are fighting the homogenisation of British English
Regional phrases are disappearing at an unprecedented pace. Dr. Chris Montgomery, a senior lecturer in dialectology and the project lead, notes that even as researchers possess vast amounts of data on general swearing from the 1990s through the 2010s, the nuances of regional swearing remain a blind spot. We don’t grasp what’s being lost because we never bothered to map it.
The project emerged when the art collective Modern Toss approached the university to help create a comprehensive map of British profanity. This collaboration bridges the gap between academic record-keeping and public art, treating the “unpolite” side of language as a legitimate cultural artifact.
Submissions already reveal a stark diversity. In Liverpool, “arl arse” remains a common jab. Scotland has contributed “bampot” and “radge bampot,” while the North East has offered “proper radgie bastard.” Even rarer terms are surfacing, such as “prannet”—a word for a fool that once held a stronghold in the South East but is now seldom heard.
Why the project focuses on non-standard language
Formal records of language typically ignore the gutter. Dr. Montgomery argues that this exclusion creates a distorted view of human communication. Swearing isn’t just about aggression; it’s a productive tool for expressing emotion, identity, and humor.
It’s often a sign of social solidarity. When people apply these specific, localized insults, they aren’t just attacking someone—they’re signaling membership in a community. These expressions carry cultural meaning rooted in local history and a specific brand of regional wit that standardized English cannot replicate.
The team isn’t promoting offensive speech. They’re treating it as a living record. By documenting the “unstandardized” forms of English, they hope future generations can see how people in a small village in Cornwall or a street in Glasgow actually communicated in the mid-2020s.
Regional speech gaps hinder AI development
The stakes extend beyond cultural nostalgia. Artificial intelligence currently struggles to process regional accents and non-standard English. This technological failure creates a systemic exclusion, where those who don’t speak “proper” or standardized English are less understood by the tools that increasingly govern modern life.
Capturing regional variations in language provides the raw data needed to improve these systems. If AI cannot recognize a “mardy arse” from Yorkshire or the Midlands, it remains blind to a significant portion of the population’s lived experience. Linguistic diversity is a data problem as much as a cultural one.
From the data comes a series of national exhibitions
The census won’t complete in a dusty archive. Modern Toss plans to transform the submissions into a series of public exhibitions across the UK. These displays will showcase the reality of contemporary speech, stripping away the polish of formal language to show how people actually talk.
One proposed feature is an interactive map of swearing. Visitors would be able to press a button for a specific region and hear a local insult spoken in the authentic accent of that area. It turns a linguistic survey into a sensory experience, allowing the public to hear the disappearing sounds of their own neighborhoods.
Language evolves. Some words die so others can be born. But by recording these insults now, the University of Sheffield is ensuring that the “salty” history of British identity isn’t erased by the tide of linguistic uniformity.
How can the public contribute their local insults?
Individuals from across the UK, including those in small villages or major cities, can submit their regional swear words and phrases via the project’s online portal at http://tinyurl.com/swearmap.
Is the goal of the project to encourage offensive language?
No. The researchers emphasize that the project is not about promoting offensive language, but rather providing a vivid, honest record of the English language as We see spoken in 2026 to preserve cultural identity and aid technological development.
