A regional speech variety from England’s southern shore is starring in a nationwide inquiry into local bad language and colloquialisms, with The Argus inviting readers to share their favourite swear words.

Scholars at the University of Sheffield are building an interactive UK Swear Map intended to record differences in slang and crude expressions across the nation before unique local ways of speaking disappear.

Dr Chris Montgomery, who leads the project together with creative group Modern Toss, said the team are concentrating on anything vulgar, slightly naughty, or potentially categorised as profanity or informal language.

The work recognises that understanding English as people actually use it every day means including all of it, not just the refined or textbook versions.

Some old-fashioned local speech forms may be dying out, and this venture seeks to celebrate the authentic linguistic diversity people employ while maintaining a historical archive.

The purpose involves giving children of the future an insight into how people spoke in 2026 while showcasing the range of regional language across Britain.

Dr Montgomery noted that swearing forms an important part of how people communicate emotion, character, humour, and social connections, yet language documentation typically ignores it.

Participation is welcomed from every area.

Whether someone lives in Glasgow, Sheffield, Cardiff, or a small Cornish village, their contribution matters.

Readers sent in various Sussex terms specific to the county.

Dinlow, meaning fool, proved a popular pick among The Argus audience.

Timmy posted that he uses the word constantly.

Sharon Fuller said her grandfather labelled wasps as wapsies or jaspers, while spiders were known as wincies or Borises.

Respondents also frequently suggested twitten when discussing narrow pathways.

One reader observed that twittens were definitely the alleyways.

Louise Potter stated that in Sussex, footpaths and alleyways are called a twitten, and wasps are referred to as jaspers.

Richard Gurner, a former Argus reporter, assisted in investigating the hard-to-catch Sussex burr.

Readers additionally put forward other insulting terms.

Mark Harding submitted that wassock means fool or simpleton.

Participants also swapped weather-related sayings.

Drusilla Whittington noted that when rain is coming, Sussex people say look over Wills Mothers.

Simon Lewis remarked that conditions are described as a bit hutchy out.

Readers likewise expressed fondness for the Sussex way of speaking.

Simon Cooper observed that mrrrrrrrrrr translates to mirror in standard English, and thankfully his father still has the Sussex burr.

Richard Gurner, previously with The Argus, investigated the search for the Sussex burr.

The research crew has created an internet page for people to submit their local crude language, particularly terms unique to their area.

Brighton has previously seen efforts to catalogue local speech, including a 2001 online project to devise and promote Brightonisms.