New research aims to discover just how much the way we speak and the words we use are influenced by living on or near the border between England and Wales.

The linguistics survey is being undertaken by Swansea University researcher Brian Kelly who aims to present the findings to the Welsh Assembly.

Brian is particularly interested in finding out to what extent English is influenced by Welsh and whether Wales is becoming more Anglicised.

The online survey is directed at people living within 25 miles of the border - an area from Merseyside to the Severn Estuary with an estimated population of four million.

Given that Monmouthshire has at various times ’belonged’ to both Wales and England, the results from this area should prove of particular interest.

Place names in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire such as Llangarron, Ganarew and Pontrilas have an obvious Welsh derivation, even house names like Arosfa - the Welsh equivalent of ’Dunroamin’.

But the way residents of the area pronounce such words will tell its own story.

The 10-minute survey covers personal details, border questions, pronunciation, and, for those who know any Welsh, questions to test their level of knowledge. Obviously you can cheat at the latter by looking up the translations but Brian urges people to be honest!

Born on the Welsh side of the border between Wrexham and Chester, Brian has lived most of his adult life in London.

"Students who detect a slight accent often ask where I’m from and that got me thinking," he said.

"I’m fascinated by isogloss - the imaginary line between one accent and another.

"The aim of the survey is to draw the isoglosses along the border, showing how far English has penetrated into Wales and vice versa. My feeling is there is an overlapping area which is wider than the border itself.

"The survey, which is anonymous, may show that Wales is more of an influence on England than people on the English side realise.

"I’m also interested in finding out about words that people think are local to where they live or even to their own family but which are actually derived from Welsh."

Word derivation can be complex but some words, in common use throughout the UK, are widely accepted as having their roots in Welsh.

Penguin is believed to originate from the Welsh ’pen’ (head) and gwyn (white), Dad from the Welsh ’tad’ (father). Car, corgi, crag and flannel are among others.

"Language is so interesting - it changes all the time. We don’t speak the same now as even 20 years ago," he said.

Brian takes a keen personal interest in the language and culture of Wales and feels it’s important to resist further Anglicisation. But he also thinks it’s important to have up-to-date, unbiased information.

He’s dubious, for example, about the accuracy of the figure frequently quoted that 20per cent of the population of Wales currently speak Welsh .

To take part in the survey click here.