A retired paramedic whose family moved to Birmingham in 1767 has been chosen as the voice of the city. Alan Dugmore, 65 will feature in a new mobile phone App which helps people understand the Brummie dialect.

Alan who lives in Quinton was chosen after a series of test recordings and interviews. He has lived in Birmingham since he was born and has traced his roots back to 1746 in Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire before his family moved to Birmingham in 1767.

The App, developed by a Manchester based IT company, follows on from a similar one which translates from Wiganese. The latest version, iBrummie, will allow users to play phrases in Brummie and translate them into the Queen’s English. The App will also translate common phrases into Brummie.

Director of Athernet Web Solutions, Ajay Kapadia says that Alan’s voice was chosen as it was rich and natural. “We had a number of applicants and it was a very close thing,” explained Ajay. “Some people we listened to seemed to be trying too hard and in the end we felt that Alan’s is a genuine dialect that has been developed over many years. Other applicants auditioned by sending computer files, but Alan’s first test was done over the telephone. We knew it was something special straight away.”

Alan, who is married and has two children and three grandchildren, was delighted when he was chosen. “It’s bostin!” he exclaimed. He was keen to get involved in the project and provided a number of extra phrases that he has used over the years and corrected some errors. “Some of the phrases were more Yamyam than Brummie so I soon put them right on that,” he said. “It’s great being involved in the iBrummie App as I’m keen on local history and something like this really brings it to life.”

Alan joined the ambulance service in 1983 and was recruited as one of Birmingham’s first paramedics in 1990. He spent more than 20 years with the service until he had to retire through disability in 2004. One of his legs was affected by chemotherapy treatment after he was diagnosed with cancer. He still misses the service but doesn’t dwell on his disability. “I’m still here,” he remarks. He recalls one Christmas morning when his first call was to a cot death. He says his career was harrowing but often enjoyable, “I delivered 34 babies in my 20 years.”

The iBrummie App will be available for free download on iPhones and Android phones in the next two weeks and the phrases will also be available at a special website, iBrummie.com. The company is also looking at the possibility of doing a yam-yam app in the near future as well as other regional dialects.