“Umbug” is written in Forest dialect, an ancient dialect from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. It’s a blend of Old English, Welsh, and mining dialect born in the Forest’s mines. The dialect remains on recordings and in texts, with only a few members of the older generations still speaking the dialect today.
I write in Forest dialect to keep the language alive for my generation so that we can continue to access our rich cultural heritage and enjoy the sounds and expressions so tied to our landscape.
(“Umbug,” or humbug, is a colloquial foresters’ reference for a baby wild boar, due to its resemblance to the boiled sweet. Whilst wild boar were native to the Forest of Dean before going extinct, the current population of wild boar originated from boar released into the Forest from captivity.)
Read the poem this note is about, “Umbug.”
Bethany Handley is a poet living in Cardiff, Wales. Her work explores disability and dialect from the Forest of Dean.