Janner is an English regional

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

associated with

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

both as a noun and as an adjective for the local accent and

colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...

s. In 1987

Cyril Tawney Cyril Tawney (12 October 1930 – 21 April 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and a proponent of the traditional songs of the West of England, as well as traditional and modern maritime songs. Biography and notable works Tawney was born in ...

, in his book ''Grey Funnel Lines'', described its meaning as "a person from

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

", deriving from Cousin Jan (the Devon form of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

), but "more particularly in

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

circles anyone from the Plymouth area". From March 1902 until November 1905 the ''Devon and Exeter Gazette'' ran a series "The Talk at Uncle Tom Cobleigh's Club", partly comic, partly serious, written in the Devonshire dialect. A second series was created by A. J. Coles and published in the ''(Illustrated) Western Weekly News'' from July 1905 until the paper ceased publication in October 1939. The series was continued in the ''Western Times and Gazette'' until 1964. Both series included the character

Jan Stewer Albert John Coles (also known as Jan Stewer; 14 March 1876 – 18 August 1965) was an English author. Jan Stewer is generally known in the South West of England as a character in the song "Widecombe Fair", the chorus of which ends with 'Uncl ...

(a character from

Widecombe Fair Widecombe Fair is an annual fair in England, held in the Dartmoor village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor on the second Tuesday of September. It is well known as the subject of the folk song of the Widecombe Fair (song), same name, featuring Uncle Tom ...

) who recounted his experiences of the modern world in Devon dialect. Coles's mother was from

Willand Willand is a village and civil parish within the Local Government district of Mid Devon, England. It is about north of Exeter and north of Cullompton. In 1991 the population was 3750 although recently this has grown considerably. The Nat ...

in Devon. The first series sparked a popular correspondence from Devon natives around the world written in affectionate dialect as recollected at the time, the character even appearing on the BBC in the 1920s. Because of the changes in the local economy in Plymouth over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

being the major employer to Plymouth being a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

city housing a large number of students from outside the city, the term has developed an additional secondary

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

sense describing the locals. The

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Plymouth, Devonport,

Alison Seabeck Alison Jane Seabeck (née Ward, 20 January 1954) is a former British politician. A member of the Labour Party, she served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Devonport from 2005 until 2010 when she won the new seat of Plymouth Moor ...

, showed her ignorance of the term in 2005 when, while still a candidate, she was asked by the local paper: "What is a Janner?" The ''

Express on Sunday The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' reported her reply:

The flustered candidate wailed: "I don't know. You're not going to print this, are you?" Unfortunately they did. The answer is a "Plymothian".

For many years there was a cartoon in the ''Plymouth Evening Herald'' entitled 'The Janners'. Many pamphlets circulate with mischievous amusing and sometimes erotic anthologies and there are short dictionaries of Janner vocabulary, e.g. the Janner TextBook. The term features in the football team

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

supporters' chants, particularly its variant on the folksong ''Oggy Land'', and in 2010 it was used in a television advertisement for

Aviva Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 18 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...

Car Insurance in which

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows '' Harry & Paul'' and ''Harry ...

as a Plymouth Argyle supporter driving to an away match exhorts a potential passenger to "geddon you Janner". In April 2012 a new

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

trophy called the Barum Janner cup was introduced for competition matches between Barnstaple's

North Devon Raiders North Devon Raiders are a rugby league team based in Barnstaple, Devon. They play in the South West Rugby League. History The ''North Devon Raiders'' were formed in 2009 and joined the South West division of the Rugby League Conference for the ...

and the

Plymouth Titans Plymouth Rugby League Football Club is a rugby league club based in Plymouth. The club is a member of the South West Rugby League, playing home matches at Horsham Fields, Plymouth. History History of rugby league in the South West The fir ...

. The cup's name is a combination of the nicknames for inhabitants of the two places.

References

{{Reflist, 40em English language in England Languages of the United Kingdom Plymouth, Devon Pejorative terms for European people British regional nicknames

See also

References