Introduction

In this chapter, we give examples of words which may be perceived to be declining in terms of attrition and loss of lexical variation, and the restriction of lexical items to specific contexts. We also, to some extent, debunk the myth that lexical variation is declining on an unprecedented scale. Instead, we point to lexical revitalisation, despite the fact that words which are no longer in use due to changes in working practices are in use by even the youngest working generation. For example, although there has been attrition and loss in the words related to highly specific cottage industries such as nail- and chain-making in the Black Country and glass-blowing in Birmingham, lexical phrases such as ‘all around the Wrekin’ for talking in a circumlatory way, or ‘bostin’ to denote ‘very good’, are still very much in use. It is our contention that, rather than lexis being as closely associated with regionally based working practices as it once was, certain words and phrases continue to be used, and enregistered as emblematic of the region, as Chapter 1 has discussed. This is particularly the case in performance events, where regional variants of words and phrases are used as emblematic of, and markers of, a specific regional variety, used in a self-reflexive way.