Talk:Cockney

Within earshot of the bells
This section takes a simple idiom to absurd levels of literalness. Rather than describing a general area, it implies that the bells make people speak Cockney, and then all but wonders aloud how the accent could exist when the bells didn't ring. I am deleting the paragraph. --99.24.170.188 (talk) 15:03, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Cockney area: original research
This article should probably be refocused to deal exclusively with the dialect. The cockney area section is original research and poorly sourced. MRSC (talk) 08:15, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

I agree with the above about Cockney area selection. The article implies that when the original church of St Mary-le-bow was destroyed there would have been no cockney area until a new church was built. Likewise, if a new, bigger bell was installed the area would increase in size. Both of these conclusions I think are wrong. My father was born into the East End in 1908, and he and my grandmother both used to say (back in the 1950s) that a cockney was someone born with the sound of the bells of the original (destroyed) church of St Mary-le-bow. So as far as they and other residents of the area were concerned, even though the church no longer existed it was a clearly defined area - and quite a small one at that. Pvandck 09:59, 21 October 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pvandck (talk • contribs)


 * The concept of a 'cockney area' is flawed anyway. The trouble is that most definitions of such come from somebody's grandad - and there are many contradictory definitions. pablo 10:09, 21 October 2010 (UTC)


 * The origins of cockney lie outside the old walls of the City of London in the fifteenth century, in the marginalised criminal elements not allowed into town, specifically in the brothels of Southwark and the romany Tower Hamlets. A tentative collaboration broke down severely in the early sixteenth century, and the resulting crime war split North and South of the river: as recently as the 1960s, it was resurgent in the war between the Krays(North) and Richardsons(South). Following the bombing of the docklands in 1940-41, the previously tightly-knit communities were forced apart into suburbia, further along the Thames estuary.
 * The dialect itself is made up of three subgroups, rhyming slang, cant, and backchat. Rhyming slang is known as the "apples and pears", cant is derivative from romani and thieves cant, and backchat (which does not seem to have a meme). Backchat is a culturally-referential slang, typified by Roger Lloyd Pack's character's nickname "Trigger" in Only Fools and Horses: although with a face as long as the Lone Ranger's horse, he's far less intelligent. Backchat can be very specific, even down to a family in-joke, but usually refers to something in common, even a TV show: someone termed a "Del-boy", for example.
 * The criminal origins of the class are shown in the presence of thieves cant in the language: the focus on St Marys simply because the church was on common ground between the groups. Sociologically, the dispute explains why until very recently it was uncommon for people from south of the Thames to move north, and vice-versa: there is also a distinctive difference in tone between the South London cockneys, whose accent is higher and more nasal (for example Michael Caine and Jude Law), than the gruffer east-enders (Mike Reid, Bernard Bresslaw).

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.121.173.156 (talk) 14:23, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

Example farms
I trimmed some unreferenced lists form this article. There are a number of problems with this type of material. WP:V is the most basic one; if there are references to somebody being a "notable cockney" or whatever then we cold consider it, but we can't just list unverifiable info like this. --John (talk) 18:36, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

¶ Should the actor Bob Hoskins be on the list of famous cockneys? He certainly has made a career of the speech pattern even if he wasn't born & raised in the right neighborhood. Sussmanbern (talk) 07:10, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

Sound examples
The article ought to have audio examples of the features mentioned. For us who are linguists or professional language users already, the IPA won't pose any problems, but for the layman they would. Ideally therefore, for instance, the T-glottalization should have an accompanying audio file playing both the RP pronunciation and the Cockney. After all, aren't we writing for the general public? :) --NuclearWarhead (talk) 20:44, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

As a layman, I would greatly appreciate that. XD 98.217.230.157 (talk) 01:27, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Cockney area section: forgets the Royal London
My mother was born at the Royal London Hospital on Whitechapel Road in the east end. I noticed that it was not mentioned in the "Cockney area" section, although it must be one of the closest hospitals to St. Mary-le-Bow. Is there not a maternity ward there any more? I had a look on the website, and it says that there is a "new maternity unit". I'm guessing that it was shut for a while. Unless anyone has any objections, I suggest that this hospital be added to the "Cockney area" section. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Epa101 (talk • contribs)

Cockney area section: forgets home births and midwifes
Home births and delivery by midwifes were very common until quite recently so the attribution of being born in certain hospitals is over emphasized. 198.144.208.148 (talk) 17:36, 14 October 2019 (UTC)

The elision or the r
Why don't you mention the elision of the r before other consonants? It is very important. I mean we are not talking about a stupid vowel that lack but we are talking about a consonant and one of the most used in the english language the R. You change entirely the meaning of phrases in english when you don't pronunce the R in english. I insert the r elision in the characteristics of cockney english and I put as the First characteristic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.1.36.241 (talk) 00:14, 23 September 2012 (UTC)
 * That's non-rhoticity. It's a feature of most variants of English in England.  It's a convention when describing British accents to compare them to BBC English, which is also non-rhotic.  Otherwise, the article would be very long from describing every sound in Cockney.  Epa101 (talk) 21:12, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Steve Harris
To my ears, the Iron Maiden bassist has one of the broadest Cockney accents amongst famous people. He was born in Leytonstone, which is not far from central London but it was in Essex historically. Does he count as a Cockney? Epa101 (talk) 10:47, 17 February 2013 (UTC)


 * I've noticed that he's been taken off. Is this because Leytonstone is not considered part of the core East End?  Purely in terms of accent, I cannot see how Steve Harris could have been anything other than a Cockney.  Epa101 (talk) 22:06, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

Famous cockneys: Jack White
There must be some mistake. Jack White (comedian) is mentioned, but the link goes to Jack White (musician) who was born in Michigan. On the disambiguation page of Jack Whites, there is none being english comedian. Gutek (talk) 17:00, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

Last section: spread of Cockney throughout England
Th-fronting is a core part of Cockney speech.[77] Th-fronting, L-vocalization and T-glottalization can now be found in every county of England (with L-vocalization being largely absent from Northern England),[78][79][80][81][82] whereas before the 1960s the only Cockney feature that was common to all of England, except for much of East Anglia, North East England, Yorkshire and Lancashire was H-dropping.[83][84][85] However, Clive Upton has noted that these features have occurred independently in some other dialects, such as TH-fronting in Yorkshire and L-vocalisation in parts of Scotland.[86]

I have several points about this:
 * I don't think that references taken from the British Library catalogue are appropriate. These are selected to be good examples of certain dialects, but they are not put forward as representations of how the majority of people in an area speak.
 * It's difficult to say whether TH-fronting, L-vocalisation and T-glottaling started in Cockney or not. L-vocalisation is probably the best candidate.  Przedlacka produced a paper on the spread of these features in the south-east, but this would not be an appropriate reference for England as a whole.
 * I find it very surprising that Yorkshire and Lancashire are included in the area where H-dropping did not occur. These are two very large counties, and I guess that there were some parts of the rural northern fringes of each where H-dropping did not occur, as these parts bordered on the north-east.  However, H-dropping is definitely common in the urban speech of both areas.  For example, see the SED, G Shorrocks for Bolton or KM Petyt for West Yorkshire.  Epa101 (talk) 11:10, 15 September 2013 (UTC)


 * H-dropping has indeed been a feature of Yorkshire English for many years - decades in my own experience, as older residents of Ull, Alifax and Eckmondwike would confirm. pablo  11:37, 15 September 2013 (UTC)


 * I have altered this section. It keeps the message that certain Cockney features have spread across the country, but I don't think that it's worth going into detail about which counties have and have not been affected by the trends.  I don't think that the comparison with H-dropping added much, so I've removed it.  The extent of H-dropping was determined very precisely by the Survey of English Dialects.  We've not had anything nearly as comprehensive since, so we don't know whether L-vocalisation has made it to the Yorkshire Wolds or whether TH-fronting is established in Herefordshire.  Epa101 (talk) 08:44, 21 September 2013 (UTC)

Recent edits - Cockney area
Jeffers772 has removed a number of notable cockney speakers without explanation, presumably because they do not originate from the area he/she has defined in a recent edit (without any supporting citation). This now contradicts existing material in the 'Area' section which defines the cockney area more loosely than the traditional definition. The way people speak, and how that evolves over time, is not constrained by artificial boundaries. The article does need to be consistent. Peteinterpol (talk) 11:37, 25 May 2014 (UTC)
 * The Cockney area section has been constantly doctored and reduced without sufficient justification, based on personal opinion rather than sources. I have restored its stable and well-cited December 11, 2013 version. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 14:03, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

Isle of Dogs
Is the Isle of Dogs as a whole in the Cockney area? It's in the east end, but parts of it are a long way from the Bow Bells. Millwall is listed in the article, but the other parts of the Isle are not. 84.103.11.17 (talk) 08:31, 19 November 2014 (UTC)

"Darker" for some speakers
Some speakers of this accent (as well as some other accents e.g. Scouse, Geordie) seem to be using variants of that, at least to my ears, are laminal, somewhat palatalized and somewhat lower-pitched in comparison to what one can hear in RP. In IPA, I'd transcribe these as or even. Acoustically, they are really similar to what one can hear in Netherlandic Dutch (especially Randstad). — Peter238 (v̥ɪˑzɪʔ mɑˑɪ̯ tˢʰoˑk̚ pʰɛˑɪ̯d̥ʒ̊) 16:28, 22 November 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 9 April 2015
Notable People Barry Sheene, motor cycle world champion. Born Grays inn Road, Holborn Elizabeth Stokes, 18th century female bare knuckle fighter .Born Clerkenwell Arthur Mullard,Comedy Actor Born Islington.

Terry Naylor, ex professional footballer. Born Islington. Charlie George ex professional footballer. Born Islington. Charles "darby" Sabini. British gang land leader.Born, Saffron Hill,clerkenwell. Daniel Defoe, Author, journalist ,spy .Born St Giles Cripplegate.

Norflondoner (talk) 11:13, 9 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. -- El Hef  ( Meep? ) 12:56, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 May 2015
Please change "...St Mary-le-Bow in East London's Cheapside district..." to "...St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London's Cheapside district..."

Johntetlow (talk) 09:03, 3 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done I've reworded it. Alakzi (talk) 17:24, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

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Billy Bragg
The scope for notable Cockney speakers seems to be broader than it used to be. Now that we are including speakers from east of the Lea, how about Billy Bragg? To my ears, he sounds very Cockney, but others might disagree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYgquyb20Vc (And after the four-minute mark here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M9DC2DFtGs ) Epa101 (talk) 16:46, 28 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Oi, luv, I ’eard your suggestion ’bout Billy Bragg soundin’ proper Cockney-like. Well, I reckon it’s a good point, but you see, us folks on Wikipedia, we gotta stick to the rules, innit? We can’t just say someone’s a Cockney without proper sources to back it up.It’s not about what me or anyone else thinks, it’s about ’aving them reliable sources to show that someone’s a genuine Cockney speaker. So, if you reckon Billy Bragg’s got that Cockney twang, it’s important to find them sources and cite ’em in the article. That way, it ain’t just a matter of what we reckon, but it’s based on proper research, like.So, keep diggin’ for them sources, and if they say Billy Bragg’s a Cockney, then we can all ’ave a good chinwag about it on Wikipedia. But until then, we gotta follow the rules and keep it all proper and reliable, right? Cheers, mate! – Mariâ Magdalina (talk) 22:16, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

Guy Ritchie
What about those Guy Ritchie gangster movie Snatch (film) and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels for the film section as more recent examples?--Kmhkmh (talk) 12:59, 19 July 2018 (UTC)
 * @Kmhkmh Alright, luv, I ’eard your suggestion, and it ain’t a bad one, I reckon. The list we got in that article is already a bit of a whopper, innit? So, it might be a good idea to trim it down a bit and make sure we’re gettin’ our info from them proper, reliable sources.Them Guy Ritchie flicks like “Snatch” and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” are bang-on examples of Cockney in films, but we gotta make sure they’re backed up by sources we can trust. So, maybe we could give the list a bit of a spring clean, keep the best bits, and make sure it’s all legit. That way, our readers can trust what we’re sayin’, and it’ll be spot on. – Mariâ Magdalina (talk) 02:14, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
 * You got it, luv! Just to clarify, I reckon we should first give that list a proper clear out, make sure it’s all shipshape and Bristol fashion with reliable sources. Then, once we’ve got it sorted, we can think about adding them Guy Ritchie films to the list. Sound like a good plan, innit? Cheers, mate! – Mariâ Magdalina (talk) 02:20, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

broad Cockney
Could somebody please add a brief explanation of what "broad Cockney" means? --Backinstadiums (talk) 11:11, 2 October 2019 (UTC)


 * The word "broad" is used in England just to mean a dialect that is far away from Received Pronunciation. Some might see it as a "pure" form of the dialect, but no language/dialect is ever pure really.  Epa101 (talk) 11:03, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins was actually born in Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk, but this seems to have been a result of unusual circumstances for a couple of weeks. Even as a very young child, he lived in London. He is widely cited as an example of the cockney accent. Can we not allow him?

Here are some references for this:
 * https://www.gazettenet.com/Archives/2014/04/hoskins-hg-050114#:~:text='Who%20Framed%20Roger%20Rabbit'%20actor%20Bob%20Hoskins%20dies%20at%2071&text=May%2022%2C%202014-,LONDON%20%E2%80%94%20Bob%20Hoskins%20never%20lost%20his%20Cockney%20accent%2C%20even%20as,was%20a%20remarkably%20versatile%20performer.
 * https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/bob-hoskins-accent-on-the-cockney/news-story/3b06c1f4cb81e57b386ee6a97a25b015
 * http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/480058/index.html
 * https://www.itv.com/news/london/story/2014-04-30/actror-bob-hoskins-dies-of-pneumonia-aged-71/
 * http://home.bt.com/news/showbiz-news/bob-hoskins-from-big-top-to-big-time-11363897583559
 * https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10798615/Bob-Hoskins-obituary.html

With so many references, I'd say that we shouldn't exclude Hoskins just because something strange around his birth caused him to be born in Suffolk instead of where they were actually living in London. Epa101 (talk) 14:03, 8 August 2020 (UTC)


 * With no responses, I'm going to be bold and add him to the list now. Epa101 (talk) 11:54, 5 September 2020 (UTC)

Dry Slap
This is said to be slang for a punch. As I have heard it, it means a backhander, that is, a slap with the back of the hand. It it called that as in a regular slap with front of the hand, the palm is often moist. Could we have some references for the right definition, whatever it is? 5.148.149.200 (talk) 12:57, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

Cockney vs. London
Being a resident, rather than a linguist, I would argue that much of the discussion on this article describes features that are shared with various sub-dialects and accents of working class London - not all of which derive from East London.

North London and South London dialects in the '60s and early '70s were strongly distinguishable from East London and Cockney - though a lot of the dialect was shared - for instance, using a common verb regardless of subject and object e.g., "I'll learn you how to speak proper" (sort of "Ow lern ya æ te speek propa"), using -ed (sometimes redundantly) as a suffix for past tense structures: "He was dead-ed". "I learned-ed that off of my nan" (I need to learn IPA) - it was more like "ah lernded tha' offa mi nan"); all of these being common in both North and South London.

In fairness, there were distinctions to be made between various subdistricts of London - but I personally only developed any familiarity with those where I lived or worked: Tooting, Fulham, Pimlico, Brixton, Camberwell, and Holloway.

Each of these district accents and dialects was completely distinguishable. Brixton was the first place I heard "arks" for "ask" - which is now common MLE.

I know of know secondary sources for any of the above - just personal experience. But, and it's reasonable, given the population and area of London, it should come to no surprise that there have always been several dialects within it, many of which share commonalities with Cockney. (20040302 (talk) 09:52, 16 December 2021 (UTC))
 * @20040302 Alright, mate! First off, cheers for takin' the time to share your thoughts on the article. It's proper interestin' to hear about the different bits and bobs of London dialects from someone with first-hand experience like yourself. Big up for sharin'!Now, gotta have a bit of a chinwag about the Wikipedia rules, innit? Your input, while genuine and appreciated, falls into the "original research" turf, mate. According to the Wikipedia rulebook (WP:OR), we gotta back up our talk with reliable sources, ya know? It's not about mistrustin' your insight, but Wikipedia's all about verifiable info straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. – Mariâ Magdalina (talk) 11:51, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Once again, big thanks for sharing your own experiences and giving us a taste of London's linguistic tapestry. Keep your peepers open for them sources, and let's keep this Wiki ship sailing smooth! Cheers, mate! – Mariâ Magdalina (talk) 11:51, 28 November 2023 (UTC)


 * Hi, me old china - I reckon I Adam about them Reliable Sources - and they are there. The article's current 'RS' are pretty pants: when it comes to linguistic regional analysis they are a bit dodgy for the old reliability test - definitely fishy - albeit they are published and talk (often with no provenance) about the subject (in terms of London linguistics, rather than the cockney as a demographic). A well-known authority and solid RS on London linguistics is David Crystal - cf., for example, https://www.davidcrystal.com/Files/BooksAndArticles/-4073.pdf  20040302 (talk) 12:00, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
 * @20040302, thanks a bunch, darlin'! You're spot on, ain't ya? Proper helpful info there. Gonna take a butcher's at that David Crystal link when I've got a bit of time. Catch ya later when I've had a gander at it all. Toodeloo for now! – Mariâ Magdalina (talk) 16:00, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

Shouting
Why the overformatting with italics and bold? Near "The definition" and "Cockney is a dialect".

The same on the disambiguation page.

--Mortense (talk) 00:01, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

Reverted removals
In response to the undo of this edit, Looking back at it, I realize I could've been more specific with my edit summary, though I probably kept it short just because of how much was changed. Looking back at it, I do think "Shortened descriptions" gets the basic point across that some of those are too long; I'm looking at DABSHORT and SDSHORT as examples for how best to handle this. On top of that, some entries are non-neutral (e.g. Michael Caine's "legendary award-winning actor considered a film icon" is a lot of praise which should be saved for the appropriate section of Caine's article, with proper sourcing and attribution) and definitely need the cleanup. I don't see this as "key info" as you put it, hence why I removed it and why I still think it shouldn't be there. QuietHere (talk &#124; contributions) 22:11, 20 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Oh, and there were also several cleanup edits in there, mainly CURLY and PIPE, which you undid as well which you really shouldn't've. QuietHere (talk &#124; contributions) 22:23, 20 May 2024 (UTC)