The North East word 'scran' is in the clarts, says study

A new study has raised eyebrows by claiming that commonly used North East slang terms "are among those most at risk of dying out, with the use of some Mackem words decreasing by up to 96%."

Aata and AI company SAS has analysed 100 popular regional terms from different UK local authorities, using Google Books to establish when certain terms could become obsolete, based on the usage of each word from 1919 to 2019.

Researchers say North East usage of the word "scran", meaning food, "has declined by 96%" causing much alarm among the peckish.

Meanwhile "parky", meaning fussy and "grand", meaning great, have decreased by 84% and 68% in usage respectively, although discussions among Echo staff suggest that neither word is specific to this region.

The research also suggests the expression of surprise "blimey" is a North East word which has risen in usage by 3,026% over the century.

Readers of the findings might also be surprised to discover that the ubiquitously used "bonkers" and "titchy" are apparently Midlands words, whereas "noggin" is from the North West.

The report claims usage of Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant can also affect the way we speak.

Dr Iain Brown, head of data science at SAS Northern Europe, said: “The UK’s regional dialects have such a richness and uniqueness that some localisms are well known in certain parts of the country, but as the research suggests they also are vulnerable to falling out of use in the face of a broader digital language reflecting more widespread use of online services."

The Echo has consulted Alexis to see if the findings could be considered as in any way "radged", but she was unable to help.