Gallery Talk: Pit Talk in the East Midlands

Join us for a talk with linguistics Professor Natalie Braber to learn about ‘Pit Talk’ the language used by coal miners in the East Midlands.

Snap, motty, black damp, and noper are just a few examples of words you might have heard in coal mines in the East Midlands. This distinct language was part of Nottinghamshire’s local identity and culture, but is now at risk of being lost.

Professor Braber has conducted extensive research and oral history interviews into the topic of ‘pit talk’ and will share stories about the terms used underground, how these changed, and why the words of miners matter as part of the East Midlands’ heritage.

This talk forms part of our exhibition which explores the legacy of coal mining in Nottinghamshire through immersive floor-to-ceiling collages.

Natalie Braber is Professor of Linguistics at Nottingham Trent University. Her research focuses on the accents and dialects of the East Midlands, including pit talk.

Her publications include East Midlands English (2018) and Lexical Variation of an East Midlands Coal Mining Community (2022). She works on language as heritage, accent discrimination and language and memory. Her projects include collaboration with those in the fields of creative writing, poetry, photography, art and theatre in order to co-create with local communities.

Meet for this talk in the Harley Gallery.

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