Draft:Forest of Dean English

{{Short description|An English Dialect}}

{{Draft topics|northern-europe}}

{{AfC topic|soc}}

{{AfC submission|||ts=20250624234356|u=RajhaSlavari123|ns=118}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Vorest
Forest of Dean English

| states = United Kingdom

| region = The Forest of Dean

| ethnicity = Foresters

| familycolor = Indo-European

| fam2 = Germanic

| fam3 = West Germanic

| fam4 = Ingvaeonic

| fam5 = Anglo-Frisian

| fam6 = Anglic

| fam7 = Old West Saxon

| fam8 = West Country English

| ancestor = Old English

| ancestor2 = West Saxon Old English

| ancestor3 = Middle English

| ancestor4 = Early Modern English

| script = Latin (English alphabet)
English Braille, Unified English Braille)

| nation =

| agency =

| isoexception = dialect

| map =

| notice = IPA

| iso3 = none

}}

Forest of Dean English, also known as Vorest{{Cite web |title=BBC - Gloucestershire - Voices - Gloucestershire Glossary |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/voices2005/glossary.shtml |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}} ({{IPA|En|vɒrɛst}}), Vurust{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=Janet |date=2020-09-06 |title=Ow Bist? How to speak like a proper Forester |url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/forest-deans-use-b-words-4481688 |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Gloucestershire Live |language=en}} or Varest{{Cite web |title=English Bicknor Local History Group - Forest Dialect |url=https://www.englishbicknorlhg.co.uk/previous-talks/forest-dialect |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=www.englishbicknorlhg.co.uk |language=en-US}} within the dialect itself, is a dialect of English spoken in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, in the West Country of England.{{Cite web |title=On "Umbug" |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/157820/bethany-handley-onumbug |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=The Poetry Foundation}} The dialect is distinctive for its notable way of speaking, such as: a continued use of 'thee' and 'thou'{{Cite web |last=Boz |date=2022-12-05 |title=Zurree! : Forest Talk |url=https://bozmuse.wordpress.com/2022/12/05/zurree-forest-talk/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Boz's Gaff |language=en}} and a lyrical manner of speech, reminiscent of iambic pentameter. The dialect is in danger of assimilation into West Country English, or outright extinction, due to discrimination against speakers, mass media and social media. Vorest receives no formal recognition from the UK Government or any other authority. It has no written standard form, nor is it formally taught in schools. Despite this, Vorest has been experiencing conservation efforts and attempted revivals over the past few decades.{{Cite web |title=Forest Dialect |url=https://forestdialect.wordpress.com/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Forest Dialect |language=en}}