The humble chippy is the saviour of dialect

A study into chip eating habits, commissioned for National Chip Week, shows that the chip shop provides more than just a great portion of chips.

In fact, the research showed that one in six people claim the chip shop is actually the place they are most likely to hear regional words and phrases.

Chips, for example, are also known as tats, tatties, taters, tatoes, or even teddies.

Would you know the difference between a poke of chips, potato dabs’ and a scallop? And what are you getting with your chips when you order patties, rissoles, or a white pudding supper?

Jonathan Robinson, a sociolinguistics expert at the British Library said: “No-one’s really focused on the language of chips before, but there are many different words and phrases associated with our nation’s favourite dish.

Whether it’s ordering fish and nerks in Leeds, buying a poke of chips in Glasgow, it’s good to see that local expressions are still widely used in chip shops. Contrary to popular opinion, regional speech in the UK remains extremely diverse and the local chippy is a shining example of this.”

Some words and phrases appear predominantly in one region only, with white pudding supper, for example, almost unheard of outside Scotland.

Other phrases appeared across different regions, but meanings can vary from place to place.

For example rissoles sold in chip shops in South Wales and North-East England contain meat, while in Yorkshire these are fishcakes containing a large slice of potato.

Clive Upton, Professor of modern English language at the University of Leeds said: “It’s interesting that the word ‘chip’ is almost universal across the country (except where it’s been Americanised as fries), but it is in the language surrounding the chip’s accompaniments and serving methods that regional phrases appear.

“Some are unexpected or unusual phrases — such as in Plymouth where they refer to scratchings as screeds. Others are more common — for example what they call a chip butty in the south of England, will be known as a chip cob in the Midlands, and chip barm in Manchester.”

And it is not just the name that depends on the region — there is also a divide on which dishes are being enjoyed.

For example, whether they call it a butty, bap, cob, stottie, muffin, batch, bechdan or barm, the North and South clearly differ on the popularity of a chip sandwich.

Thirty per cent of people from Southampton and 27 per cent of Londoners have never tried one; where as up North a staggering 94 per cent of people from Manchester and 93 per cent of people from Leeds have.

To help ensure that, no matter where you are in Britain, you can order your perfect portion of chips using the local lingo, the Potato Council has created a simple chip dictionary. The full dictionary will be available on www.lovechips.co.uk