h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you are going to be enough of a prat to try a bit of rhyming-slang, remember that you are not supposed to say "Chevy Chase" instead of "Face", just say "Chevy".

The slang started as a way of talking in front of outsiders without allowing them to understand what is being said. Say it fast enough and they are still trying to work out what you have said by the time you have logged off and gone for a pony(*).

Another thing, when you are annoyed at something you are "P*ssed off" at it, not "P*ssed". "P*ssed" means drunk.


(* hint = "pony and trap")

When I lived in Thailand I showed a Canadian friend of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - He didn't understand a word, but enjoyed the film immensely!

When I visited Denmark for a conference, the reception lady told me that my English sounds pretty cockney-ish and asked me whether I'm from England. I said no (that's true since I'm a Finn).

But since that I've been wondering:
a) how on earth did I manage to sound cockney speaking?
b) how could I improve my skills in doing that?
c) where do the cockney speaking people actually live in?
d) is that place worth visiting?

Yours,

Aukusti

There is a cockney accent as well as slang - common. Dropping h's, f instead of th, and that one where you don't pronounce the tt in words like bottle properly, so it comes out sort of bo-el.
Rhyming slang is also attributed to criminals being able to discuss crime without worrying about eavesdroppers.

Cockney is an accent from London. Think Eastenders. As for whether or not that part of town is worth visiting, I wouldn't know, never having been there. I'm sure there are plenty of folks here, though, who could give you that information.

Myjo

A true cockney is defined as being someone who was born within the sound of Bow bells, Bow being an area of the East end of London. I don't know which bells are being referred to, and the use of rhyming slang is fairly prevalent now, but there can't be many genuine cockney's around. I can't say that Bow is worth visiting but I've only been there once so I can't really judge. I used to have a strong south London accent which many people referred to as cockney, although I did once meet a gentleman from Ohio who was convinced that I had a New York accent..I don't know how that happened but accents seem to be very easily misinterpreted by others.

Mokey

many ignorant people here in america get accents confused. neither my boyfriend, nor i, have an english accent, but several of the people we know think we both do. this is all despite the fact that we've both lived in the midwest all our lives...

The bow Bells are in fact at the church of St.Mary le Beau, which is in the Strand, NOT in Bow, East London.

That's St Mary le Strand - we can see it from our windows in the towers.

http://www.hiddenlondon.com/stmlestrand.htm

I'm not sure where you got that name from.

I forgot to add this plug, er, I mean link. - A696125 Have a read under "Great bell at Bow". I did a lot of research for this entry, so I'm very convinced that I'm right.

Mina is absolutely right, and no, I don't know where the 'Beau' came from either!

As a true cockney myself, I have to say that the accent is pretty much gone now. You can certainly detect it in my grandmother's speech, and it's quite distinctive, but the likes of Eastenders have convinced us that a London accent that drops half its letters and pinches the end of words closed is, surely, cockney. I'm afraid to say that cockney has, really, become a thing of the past, and only exists in people's imaginations. But I think that being cockney is more than just speech. It's more an attitude that stems perhaps from the blitz and the war years. It suggests togetherness and tenacity in the face of adversity. It is, perhaps, more a badge of honour more than a physical thing. It's certainly not really noticeable now in speech, and as a linguist, I have made a lot of study of the accent.

As for cockney rhyming slang, it's now nothing more than a plaything in everyday speech. It features not only in London, but all over the country; there has always been a form of rhyming slang present in North Yorkshire and in Scotland.

What about the Pearlie Court? My mother informs me that it is a real entity among the Cockneys, but I am not certain of the reliability of her information.