Introduction to the scouse language and the word "scouse"

The city of Liverpool has a population of approximately 500,000 people and is a city that is recognised worldwide for it’s diverse culture and the diverse make up of inhabitants that live there. Liverpool is the home of three universities, two world famous football teams and a city centre that is full to the top of bars and shops that attract tourists from all over the world.

Aside from all of this, the people of Liverpool are commonly referred to as “Scousers”. The term “Scouser” refers to people who are born and raised in the city of Liverpool. Scousers incorporate their own culture into the English language in the form of their own dialect. This dialect represents the people of Liverpool and through this webpage I aim to provide an insight into the words that the scouse use for items of food and drink.

Traditional dish of "Scouse" Copyright Theguideliverpool

Scouse – The term “scouser” originally comes from a meat dish called “scouse”. Scouse is what people who are not from Liverpool know as a stew. Scouse is a hot meat dish which includes vegetables and gravy and is traditionally served in the winter time with a slice of bread as it is a warm and hearty meal. Scouse reveals a lot about Liverpool’s origins as it was a meal that was served up on the docks and on the port in order to keep the sailors and the workers warm in the winter working months. The people of Liverpool enjoyed scouse so much that the rest of England who visited the ports and the docks started referring to them as the scousers and this nickname has stuck with the habitants of Merseyside right up until this present day.