English to Suffolk Translator
Explain like I'm 5 (what even is this tool?)
Type any English sentence. This tool swaps words for their Suffolk dialect equivalents: "friend" becomes "owd bor", "nothing" becomes "nuffen", "old" becomes "owd", and so on. Not a real translator, more a vocabulary filter, but it captures the flavour.
Suffolk translation
Numbers
- Words translated0
- Total words0
- Percentage changed0%
Show workings
How the translation works
The tool applies two passes to your text. First, contractions like what's, don't and it's are matched as whole units and swapped for Suffolk equivalents (woss, dornt, tis). Then single words are matched on word boundaries and substituted: the to tha, old to owd, nothing to nuffen, and so on. Original capitalisation is preserved, so "The" becomes "Tha" and "OLD" becomes "OWD".
Because it works word-by-word, the output is a Suffolk-flavoured English rather than true Suffolk syntax. Real Suffolk speech has its own grammar, rhythm and intonation that no substitution table can capture. For the proper thing, read Charlie Haylock or listen to recordings from the British Library's sound archive.
Vocabulary sources
The dictionary behind this tool draws on Charlie Haylock's books, particularly Larn Yarself Silly Suffolk and Sloightly on th' Huh, and on the broader East Anglian dialect tradition. Words included cover:
- People: bor (friend, "boy"), mawther (girl or woman), owd partner (friend), farther (father), nippers (children), together (address to a group)
- Everyday verbs: mardle (chat), graft (work), kip (sleep), mek (make), tek (take), chuck (put), sup (drink), knaw (know), rekkon (think, reckon)
- Adjectives: owd (old), rum (strange), on tha huh (crooked), parky (cold), narky (angry), chuffed (happy), kaylied (drunk), gert (big), titchy (small)
- Exclamations: blarst me, cor, hulloo, fare ya well, hold yew hard, get a wiggle on
A word on dialect
Suffolk dialect is affectionately pastiched here, not mocked. It is a living part of East Anglian identity, and writers like Charlie Haylock have spent years documenting it so it doesn't disappear. If this tool sends anyone off to read his books, that is the best possible outcome.
Related calculators
Dialect aside, these are the everyday writing tools.
Common questions
Is this a real Suffolk translation?
It is a vocabulary swap, not a full translation. The words are real Suffolk. The syntax is still English. Read the output aloud in a Suffolk accent and it will sound closer to the real thing.
Who is Charlie Haylock?
A Suffolk-born dialect coach and writer whose books and recordings have done more than most to popularise the dialect. Worth looking up.
Does my text go anywhere?
No. All translation happens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged or stored.
Why doesn't every word get translated?
Only words with a known Suffolk equivalent in the dictionary are swapped. Everything else passes through unchanged. The dictionary focuses on high-frequency words and distinctive Suffolk vocabulary rather than trying to cover every English word.