Talk:Cockney/Archive 1

Raising of /ɑ/?
I'm basing this more of my own observations than outside sources, but there seems to be a tendency to raise /ɑ/ to something like /ɔ/ in Cockney and Southern British English in general, eg. "can't" [kɔːnʔ]. The change is consistent with the tendency of the rest of the southerm shift (rising-then-diphtongisation, cf. the Great Vowel Shift), but I'm not sure if it's standard or documented. If somebody has any sources on this or other non-diphtongising changes of long vowels, that'd be nice. --87.205.39.199 (talk) 23:29, 14 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm assuming you're American. I think what you're hearing is the backness of the vowel.  Everywhere I look, BATH is transcribed as  for London and Southern English English.  In America, LOT/PALM (as long as the "l" in palm isn't pronounced) is often more centralized, so it is pronounced  or .  So if you're American, a pure  might sound different to you. Thegryseone (talk) 07:45, 20 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Alright, ignore what I wrote earlier. I found some sources on this change now.  I know you wrote that a long time ago, but I'm writing this just in case you come back or if someone else happens to be curious.  William Matthews in his 1938 work Cockney Past and Present and J. Franklyn in his 1953 work The Cockney.  A Survey of London Life and Language say that in Cockney,  is raised to .  It's possible that this is what has caused  to become more raised and rounded toward, according to Gudrun Parsons in his work from From "RP" to "Estuary English". Here's the PDF version of that work.  If this is true, then it's similar to the low back chain shift in the New York City Dialect.  I have heard pronunciations like that from Cockneys and Southeasterners as well and I wondered about this too, so thanks for bringing it up. Thegryseone (talk) 05:06, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Double Negatives
How about using "We don't need no education"(Pink Floyd) instead of I didn't see nothing. Greatestprateek 15:46, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Bow Bells definition
who first came up with the bow bells definition? with what authority? how valid is it, if for most people cockney = the east of London in general? I wasn't born in East London, but I grew up there from the age of 3, and though I don't live there now (not through choice), I am still, and always will be, through and through, a cockney. Most people who live in the east end weren't born there, and won't stay there, but they are still Londoners. I 'll always feel like I'm a Londoner, because everything that East London is, shaped me into who I am. Where you are born is irrelevant. Where you grow up shapes your personality, views, tolerance, expectations, etc. Someone who is born in Bow and then grows up in Scotland is not a cockney. A true cockney is someone who grows up in inner-city or East London, regardless of where they were born.

It's not Bow, it's St Mary-le-Bow Cheapside. Lion King 16:27, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Although it's often omitted in discussions of the Bow bells/Cockney connection, it was the bell of St. Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside that was used to sound the curfew for London, first ordained by the Common Council in 1469 (I took this from St. Mary-le-Bow's official website, but it's well documented). This curfew, sounded at 9:00 p.m., was the signal to close all shops, presumably within the confines of the City, since this was the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Council. This seems to be the earliest connection between the audible reach of Bow bells and the classification of a Londoner; and it's probably not too great a stretch to imagine this developing idiomatically as a definition of Londoners (perjoratively becoming known as Cockneys), first as people living and working within the sound of the bells, then being born in the area. Alan B. 19:20, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

British Classism
The distinctions of class of import to too many Brits was never better expressed than when an Oxford twit of my acquaintance, in noting the several bags of women's clothing kept for sale by a Cockney roommate of mine, snobbishly says "He is such a perfect example of what he is."
 * Wat are you on about?

Offence from the US
The US always seem to laugh at English people in television. Usualy by getting American Actors to 'pretend to be British'. These always involve the English somehow ONLY being able to speak Cockney!

Dubious list
There are a lot of very dubious Cockneys in this list. Angela Lansbury, George Carey, Dudley Moore, Maggie Smith, Terence Stamp, Windsor Davis?. Windsor Davies is Welsh FFS! Ok looking at his biography it says he was born in Canning Town. I think we need to be clearer about what's going on here. I can only assume that those listed above were added because they were supposedly born within the sound of Bow Bells. But are we talking about that as a criteria for listing or what? Within what radius of Bow Bells does is count? Dudley Moore was born in Dagenham, a bit far to hear Bow Bells methinks. Mintguy (T)


 * This BBC page ("Cockneys & Cabbies") says that the East End is "bordered to the west by the City of London, to the south by the river Thames, to the east by the A102 motorway and the river Lea and to the north by Victoria Park and Hackney road. It includes Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Wapping, Bethnal ... Green, Limehouse, Stepney, Mile End, the Isle of Dogs, Poplar and ... Bow", and that "nowadays, people from all of the East End claim the title [of 'Cockney']". Perhaps we could use this as our definition, although I doubt that there is any definition that will please everybody. --Heron 12:58, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)


 * P.S. I would say that the Bow Bells definition is quaint but obsolete, given that London has changed a lot since the bells were installed (1392 or earlier ). At that time the City of London was a distinct settlement, but now it's just part of a huge conurbation. --Heron 13:03, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Right, the River Lea and the A102 sound like as reasonable a place to put the "border" as anywhere else. That means that Canning Town and Plaistow are out though. Perhaps we need to define that certain people are Cockneys by this definition and that certain other people, are well-known for having a cockney accent even if they arn't technically Cockneys. The inimitable Arthur Mullard was born in Islington, and surely we must find room for him. Mintguy (T)


 * How about a subdivided list, with criteria such as "core area", "East End area", "wider area" and "Jamie Oliver area". ;-) Or would this be too much hassle to maintain? --Heron 13:41, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Well. As I see it there are two things to deal with. I think listing who was/or wasn't born in the "Cockney geographcal area" (whatever that is) is less important for this page than listing those who have a Cockney accent. After all we have pages for the East End of London, which is perhaps better suited to listing listing non-Cockney speaking Cockneys etc. if we need to. Mintguy (T)


 * True. We need two sections: (1) Cockney culture (neighbourhoods, pearly kings and stuff like that) and (2) Cockney dialect.  Some people belong in one or the other, some in both. --Heron 14:30, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)


 * Ideal suggestion. Mintguy (T)


 * I amended several Wikipedia biographies of Canning Towners, and people born in Plaistow, Stratford, Forest Gate etc to note that they were born in ESSEX (i.e east of the River Lea), as these areas have only been Greater London since 1965, but they were all almost instantly reverted by another user back to 'born in London'! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.194.86.1 (talk • contribs).

Noted Doris Thatcher from Hot Fuzz was listed as a Cockney. Not sure why, as she has a strong West Country accent like the majority of the characters in the film. Edited. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.173.19.1 (talk) 14:57, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Homerton hospital
I think this is within reach of the Bow Bells. Rich Farmbrough 17:45, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

However its more north east london rather than the "east end"

Anonymous comment
Removed this from the article:
 * geory carey, vera lynn and dizzee rascal are not cockeneys as the areas thay are from are not within the sound of bow bells. Michael caine who is from walworth south london is however as it is. get it right.

I'm hoping someone might check it for accuracy. --Heron 19:25, 13 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Michael Caine was born in Rotherhithe (so south London). I don't think south London counts as cockney - so I'm going to remove Del Boy from the list as well as his character was set in Peckham. Secretlondon 12:22, 6 September

2005 (UTC)


 * Of course Rotherhithe counts! Just check it's proximity to Cheapside. Lion King


 * I am becoming SICK TO DEATH of this EAST END COCKNEY NONSENSE! For a start, Cheapside is East CENTRAL 2 - not EAST- THERE ARE COCKNEYS SOUTH OF THE RIVER TOO!!!Lion King 20:36, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

SOUTH London? So wherebouts in South London do south london cockneys come from..?

Southwark, Rotherhithe, Elephant & Castle, Bermondsey, Surrey Docks etc. Lion King

Well, I was born in rotherhithe (i now live in camden), and i'm definitely NOT a cockney. I dont walk around usin all that rhyming slang nonsense, and i pronounce my words properly.
 * Being a Cockney has nothing to do with the way one speaks, it's about where one is born and Rotherhithe is well within the sound of the hour bell of St Mary-le-Bow. Best wishes, Lion King 14:01, 23 April 2006 (UTC)P.S. I was born in Guy's Hospital, I don't live there. Lion King


 * Come on! So someone whose parents live in Sheffield and who just happens to be born in an ambulance speeding past St. Mary le Bow is a Cockney? The Bow Bells definition is about a hundred years out of date. Cockney = a Londoner who speaks in a certain way and belongs to a particular community if you ask me. 125.239.233.196 20:22, 13 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Oh I'll come on alright!!! Is this article about Cockneys or Cockney Accents? Did Derek Nimmo have to sound like George Harrison to be a Scouser? And Angela Lansbury can't possibly a Cockney, She don't talk nuffink like wot Barbara Windsor do, do she.? Cor lor lorks lummey Sid! Lion King 17:19, 1 July 2007 (UTC)


 * You came on alright, but a bit hastily and wide of the mark :-) I've never heard it suggested that being Cockney is purely a matter of location in modern times, just as it isn't purely a matter of accent: 125.239.221.167 22:14, 2 September 2007 (UTC)


 * What? Being Cockney isn't a matter of location in modern times? Do you have to be born in Newcastle now, in modern times? :) Lion King 02:59, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

You cant be a cockney being born in south london,i was born in henriques street E1 in 1947 thats slap bang in the middle of the "east end"

South London
Where is "South" London? There is "south" "EAST" London, and "south" "WEST" London, please tell me where SOUTH London is and what is it's Postcode. Lion King 15:48, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Um...South London —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.109.137.233 (talk)
 * Um...South London 1? South London 5? or South London 32? There is only South East and South West London. Lion King 02:54, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
 * ?Eh? You're referring to the postcodes not geography or culture. Jooler 07:30, 26 April 2006 (UTC) - The South London postcode used to exist as the article says " NE and S - There are no London postal districts labelled "NE" or "S". These were in the initial division but were later removed as they were considered unnecessary. NE became part of the E sector in 1866 and S was divided between the SE and SW sectors in 1868. These two codes have since been applied to Newcastle Upon Tyne and Sheffield respectively" Jooler 07:42, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
 * That's quite correct. "South" London (as a designated area) ceased to exist 138yrs ago. There is only South east and South west London. Lion King 13:54, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Rubbish. The geography and culture of the different parts of London and the use of the terms "North" and "South London" etc.. has nothing to do with the postcode system. The postcodes are not aligned with the boundaries of the London boroughs and SW1, SW3, SW5, SW6, SW7 and SW10 are all north of the River. The postcodes were created for the convenience of the post office only. [User:Jooler|Jooler]] 23:05, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Rubbish? North and South? gor blimey guv, you don't arf know the old lingo eh? Lion King 19:38, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I have no idea what this comment is supposed to mean. Jooler 11:47, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Really? I would have thought it was perfectly obvious.

Right Lion King, so you know there is only South East and South West, and that "South London" technically speaking no longer exists, and yet you ask us where it is and what its post code is? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.109.178.44 (talk)


 * Oi gevald! Lion King 18:35, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

And an Oi gevald to you too, son. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.109.223.218 (talk)


 * Alaichem sholom. Lion King 01:48, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Yeh, duh. Why are wannabe cockneys like you always so annoying? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.110.116.85 (talk)

I have always believed that nobody from south of the river is a Cockney. Nicander 11:03, 27 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes this is a very common misconception. If you look at a map of London, you'll see that Southwark is much closer to Cheapside than Mile End or Stepney. Also Bermondsey and Rotherhithe are almost opposite Wapping, just on different sides of the river.


 * In places like Wanstead where the bells cannot possisibly be heard, they are of course all Cockneys Because (yes you've got it) IT'S GOT AN EAST LONDON POSTCODE, just like Walford E20! Not all Cockneys come from East London. Be lucky, Lion King 20:48, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

eeek
"soft 'R'; replacement of 'R' with 'W' as in 'Mewwy Cwistmas'"
 * Sorry this is pure Mockney as per 1940s films (or Jonathan Ross and others who can't pronounce their Rs). Ever heard Bob Hoskins or Michael Caine say 'Mewwy Cwistmas'? I think not. Jooler 21:46, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Actually this is in a lot of fictional cockney from Charles Dickens right up to EastEnders - but its use is not just fictional, it is a common (but optional) feature of cockney English.DavidFarmbrough 1:50 (BST) 6 September 2005

I think some R's are replaced with W's, but not in the way that Merry Christmas becomes Mewwy Cwistmas. Its just the way Londoners pronounce certain words. For instance - 'sort' becomes 'sawt', 'door' becomes 'daw', 'short' becomes 'shawt' etc.

The article talks about dropping leading H's; what about adding them at the start of words when they shouldn't be there. Is that a recognised characteristic? -- Ralph Corderoy 01:01, 28 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I know that this section has not been amended for more than a year but I thought that I should write it here anyway. I have inserted a sentence about this, which was referenced from a Survey of English Dialects worker.  Apparently, the r--->w thing did occur in London and certainly more often than the rest of the country but it was never a universal feature of the Cockney dialect.  Epa101 (talk) 13:15, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Dick van Dyke
To give him as an example of anything close to a cockney accent it laughable. "Schtep in thyme Maurie Poppins" - I don't think so. MRSC 18:08, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
 * It's already mentioned in this article under "Famous Cockney performances". It was meant to be cockney and it is famous for beign bloody awful. Jooler 18:11, 2 October 2005 (UTC)


 * Ah yes - he had slipped in there twice. Thanks. MRSC 19:05, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Negative Conotations
I feel somebody should make a point about the negative associations that the term Cockney can have, especially in my experience in the north of England. It is used to refer negatively to anyone from the South East, why do you feel it necessary to delete this?


 * Because you have not explained it or tried to reach consensus, which is what WP is about. I've lived up north too, and never heard this usage, so it is definitely questionable. Even if not, it also should not be at the start of the piece, which should be the main meaning. A footnote would suffice. The North is quite a large area, whereabouts did you hear this usage? Tarquin Binary 13:09, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

It mainly comes from people slagging off the stereotypes of southernerss that are portrayed in Eastenders I suppose, perhaps you are right in not having it at the start of the article. The term cockney is a negative word originating from meaning a pampered townsperson as in "cock egg", like a sheltered hens egg, "ney" being the old english plural for eggs I think. I'm from Sheffield and I have to say I frequently come across the term being used in a negative sense towards a southern person, although I'm no way myself trying endorse any regional prejudices I found the Northern Stereotype page regarding the North of England incredibly negative, outdated and typecast and I feel that other peoples opinions of "Cockneys" and other South Easterners should be voiced, negative or otherwise.


 * OK, it's more to do with you not explaining the edit, I guess. I've no problem, as a 'Cockney', with adding that usage, but I would put it as a footnote, maybe, and explain that it is definitely heard in Sheffield - maybe others can chime in, if they have heard it in their locale. I've never heard it in Liverpool, and I actually queried my friends from York over the weekend, who did not recognise the usage at all.


 * Re: the Northern stereotype page. Will go and look. I certainly would not endorse this sort of thing at all with respect to any region, so maybe that page should be refactored. Also, just personally, I don't think of the 'North' at all - at the minimum I'd break it into Northeast and Northwest - specific counties and cities better... Tarquin Binary 17:34, 30 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I was one of those, although not the first, who reverted the 'derogatorily' comment, so let me explain why. I'm prepared to believe that some northerners use the word Cockney as a blanket term of abuse for southerners. However, just about every national and subnational group considers itself superior to its neighbours and enjoys mocking them, so this means that probably every ethnonym in the world is used as an insult by somebody, somewhere. That said, I wouldn't object if the northern usage were noted further down the article. It was really the undue prominence given to the comment by putting it right at the top that seemed unfair to me. --Heron 20:15, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

As a former southerner now living up north (see my profile), most people in the north have about as much knowledge of what a cockney is, as a Londoner would about Geordies. However, that does not mean to say they are right, as generally anyone with half a degree in common knowledge knows at least that Cockneys has something to do with London; and it tends to be really thick, bitter, belligerent idiots from inbred shitholes such as Barnsley and the like that seem to bark on about how anyone south of Coventry is a cockney, generally in the same sentence as how everyone down south is so miserable. Okay, change the record fellas. Wikipedia is a record of FACT not PREJUDICE/IGNORANCE. Apologies for shouting. -- superbfc (31 January 2006, 00:31 UTC)


 * That's funny. Down here in the East End, crass stereotyping (you don't run into it much, but still...) would be that Northerners are miserable whining gits and that we are all chirpy cheery Cockneys what can triumph through all adversity, innit? Not that I would endorse such pig-ignorant views, of course - I concur with your analysis (except a good friend of mine is from Barnsley, but then she moved away years ago...). Anyway, I think you're right, this entry should be delimited by common sense and it'd be nice if it stuck to the main meaning. Tarquin Binary 01:16, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for all the comments and responses, I pleased people feel so passionate about the subject, it's been very insightful into regional stereotypes. I suppose it's human nature to asume that we're all better off where we are and that all outsiders are inferior ((?) although that sounds a bit harsh), I guess generalisation is human nature and broad sweeping prejudices just help people allienate each other further although londoners must understand, although Lonodn is the capital there is an incredible amount of London bias in all forms of British media (although this is obviously to be expected beign the centre of media), for example the ethnocentric NME, which patronises bands for sounding "like something from the home counties and not what we expect from the north" and in football new reports for example southern teams are much more likely to take priority in order over other teams, especially London clubs. Also to the majority of people outdside London all that east end west end issue is absolutely insiginificant

Old Fashioned Classification
This Bow Bells stuff is a very ancient way to define cockneys. Nowadays most people see a cockney as someone from London. -anon
 * Perhaps, but most Londoners do not see themselves as Cockney. Jooler 17:45, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Alright & Watcha!
Does anyone know where the Boundary lies for using the greeting "Alright" or "Watcha" ?? I tend to think that North/North East London generally use "Watcha" or "Watcha cock" and South West London stick with "Alright" (alwhite) IsarSteve 21:49, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Pretty much all of West London (both North West and South West) use alright. I'v never heard anyone say watcha in my entire life.
 * well I´m sure Watcha was used in Tottenham & Edmonton... but that was in the last century!!!   IsarSteve 20:23, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

WAS watcha ever actually used? Sounds like something you'd hear on only fools and horses...NWC
 * Of course. My Grandad (who is 96) still says "watcha" Lion King 17:28, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Fair enough. But does anyone still use it? I'd assume its very outdated as you dont hear it these days. Well, among modern young people. NWC 18:46, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * By and large it tends to be older people that use it - your'e right, it's not something that younger people would use or really even know or hear, except maybe in old films or from my Grandad- it makes them laugh, but not in a nasty way :) Cheers, Lion King 18:58, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * What a shame it´s dying (died) out.. but that´s the way things are.. language moves on..I´m in my late 40´s and watcha was used in my youth by both young and old.. IsarSteve 20:57, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Alright (awite) sounds alot better though, in general. Watcha sounds mockney. NWC 21:25, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Strange though..if you look through Lion Kings talk page you´ll notice he also uses wotcha (nearly the same word) as well.. so it´s not only his 96 year old grandad.. IsarSteve 21:37, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes but Lion King IS mockney...NWC 21:49, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Oi, watch it mate, I was born a goal kick away from Cheapside, and if I was a mockney, I'd be pratting on about personal attacks. Instead I'll see you outside The Duke Of Albany tomorrow at 3pm eh? Wotcha! Lion King 21:59, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * ´ere what a lot of BOFs we are..sitting at home on a Saturday nite! IsarSteve 22:07, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Listen son, i aint takin no sh*t from some mockney fella like yourself. P*ss off and rabbit about your old china's or the apples and pairs or whatever it is you mockneys do! NWC 22:11, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

LOL Lion King 22:19, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Don´t get aht yer pram! IsarSteve 22:22, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

OK cockneys bruvvas (i dont consider myself a cockney, but apparantly i technically am...), all personal insults and fisticuffs outside south london pubs aside, does anyone actually use the term "me old china" anymore?NWC 22:26, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * probably only Lion Kings 96 year old grandad! lol "me old dutch" also died out IsarSteve 22:33, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
 * As it happens that one isn't part of grand pa pa's terminology - your'e thinking of Kathleen Harrison! Lion King 22:44, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

I think its pretty cool that some of the rhyming slang terms still exists today, even if some died out. PS - B*llocks, i keep forgettin to sign me posts!!!NWC 22:37, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * seriously now.. it only needs people to use it (rhyming slang), in the way it was meant, to keep it alive. The trouble is, it was a working class thing... and I read somewhere, most people now think they are middle class, what you call Mockney IsarSteve 22:49, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Spot on ! use the old slang and mockneys haven't got a clue what your'e saying - bring it full circle.Lion King 23:00, 6 May 2006 (UTC)P.S. got work to do now have fun. Be lucky, Lion King 23:02, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm lost...are you saying that most people consider themselves to be middle class..or that most non-cockneys/londoners think that cockneys are middle class? :\ NWC 22:56, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * sorry that wasn´t very clear.. I think Rhyming slang has lost its "core-users" ... and is therefore dying out. Most people(& londoners) these days consider themselves middle class therefore are by definition Mockneys. IsarSteve 23:07, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

But a mockney is a non-working class londoner who affects the accent of one. So doesnt that just make them cockneys who wish they werent...if that makes sense. NWC 23:10, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * you´ve cornered me now, and you´re right about the working class wishing they weren´t. I personally don´t have a problem in saying that I come from a working class background but many do.. this has also lead, in my opinion to less use of Rhyming slang. My mother used the slang Jam-jar very often, always meant when the vehicle concerned was expensive. People don´t use it anymore because it´s not "cool" or doesn´t fit in with their aspirations..  IsarSteve 23:18, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

See, i know exactly where your coming from on this. I too dont have a problem with saying im working class - in fact, im proud of it. I think another factor which has lead to the gradual phasing out of rhyming slang is the amount of foreign culture affecting modern young people, if you know what i mean. For example, i live in london, and other than terms like 'rabbit' meaning talk, and 'two bob bits' meaning the shits, rhyming slang isnt used at all. The London slang page has alot of good examples of foreign words which are used today by young people as slang. I'm rabbiting, i'll stop. :) NWC 23:24, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * rabbit on - see User Talk:NWC IsarSteve 23:36, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

In [Harry Potter] Tonks says "Wotcher." She's pretty much the coolest character in the series. Also, I hear "alright" as a greeting sometimes, and I'm not close to being Cockney. (I was born in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, as was my dad. His dad is from the Fens.) RoseWill 23:09, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Possible copyvio
The "Cockney Culture" section may be a copyright violation. I posit this as the source of the material: . See the section titled "The old place is changing...".

En Anglais?
Why is it written "fɔːʔi ˈfæːzənʔ ˈfɹʌʃɪz ˈfluːˌəʊvə ˈfɔːnʔənˌiːf". No one can read that. Should be written "Fawty fahsan' frushes flew ova fawt'n eaf", or something like that.
 * Yes, I agree. I bet most people cannot understand the weird alphabet that is used for pronunciation on here.&mdash;Johnbull 16:07, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
 * It's called International Phonetic Alphabet and is used all over Wikipedia. The pronunciation spelling you propose is not accurate enough since people with different accents would pronounce it differently, while the IPA transcription represents sounds themselves. --logixoul 20:33, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Inhabitants or Natives
I think it should say "natives" of London rather than "inhabitants". Since it can be argued that someone who was born in and grew up in London and then moved out is still a cockney - whereas somebody who was born and grew up outside of London and then moved into it can't.

Chas and Dave
I've removed


 * Chas and Dave (Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock; Cockney pop rock band, born Edmonton and Ponders End)

Chas and Dave are Londoners but if they're from Edmonton and Ponders End then they can't be considered Cockneys. Much too far north. BTLizard 09:38, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Cockneys are white.
Why do people find it so hard to accept that cockneys are white english or white british born within the sound of bow bells. I gurantee if you ask any bengali or black resident in the East end they would say they themselves are not cockneys. Cockneys are white british.

No, theyre not. Many black residents of the East End consider themselves cockneys. Deeds-123

Hahahaha a cockney is a white working class inhabitant of any were in the boundries of the East End. Black haha most residents in the east end are either white or bangladeshi. Cockneys are English. simple as that.


 * Huh? And all English people are white? Where have you been living for the last fifty years? Not London at any rate 125.239.233.196 20:25, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, all English people are white, the English are a white race, although of course one cannot say that, only believe it and know it, (the Irish, Welsh and Scots can of course say it though), because some left wing looney will start srceaming on about racism. The white English working class have been airbrushed from history, because free speech has been stifled and not one mainsteam politian has had the guts to speak up for fear of being branded "racist." "Must one point out, that from ancient times the decline in courage has been considered to be the beginning of the end." Alexander Solzhenitsyn. 91.106.156.171 (talk) 00:03, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

The Left like to pretend that England (apparently alone of all the world's places with a long history of habitation) has no indigenous people. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.10.6.47 (talk) 19:41, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Geographic & part critique
Hi, I moved the note on Chatham docks, that was under the section on the dialect to the section on 'area'; although I'd argue that later title is contested.

A number of points for consideration:
 * You can either treat 'cockney' as a dialect, or people born in a specific area - not both (At least, not both at the same time ... someone doesn't suddenly produce a glottal stop, and decide they can no longer live in Kent). A dialect has an extent of common usuage, not a sudden dropping off at small geo boundaries, like the Lee, or Thames (indeed, people for a long way around the geo core, will often speak a mixture of received english and dialect).
 * I had read that the vast majority of 'city residents' in the middle ages spoke a form of cockney dialect, it's likely to be the vernacular of Chaucer - although he could switch between a number of languages with fluency. So, that extent changes over time.
 * If cockney is a dialect, then the 'white criteria', some are arguing for, is plainly ridiculous. Yes, as a group white working class people are more likely to use the cockney dialect, but equally a young black kid normally speaking patois amongst their peers will drop into cockney amongst a group predominantly speaking cockney dialect. Same goes for a lot of Asians brought up in East London. It's called use of appropriate register, and we all do it to aid communication and identity.
 * rhyming slang, double-speak, or market talk is just that, it's associated with the markets, and is an adoption into the cockney dialect.
 * similarly, the variety of foreign words adopted by cockney shows the effect of immigration, and shows that it is a vibrant dialect that continues to change and adapt to the modern world.
 * cockney is gradually being replaced throughout London by 'estuary english'. This appears to fall somewhere between cockney and received pronunciation; and also shows the extraordinary influence of Australian soaps, being typified by the rising sentence. (The sentence rises at the end, in 'english' this indicates a question).

I think there's a lot of good stuff within the current article, but our confusion about the term, and to what it is applied, or whether that's a who, or a where, even a when .. is confusing to the reader.

I think, given time, I could come up with some references, but most linguists seem to like to concentrate on the 'great vowel shift', and less contested dialects!

I hope that helps Kbthompson 09:16, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Bow Bells Earshot
Formerly it included the City, Bethnal Green, Stepney, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Finsbury, and Hackney -- Quite a bit missing here, worth adding? Deeds-123 14:43, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Audio sample?
Is there an audio sample for the (authentic) dialect?

Koala man 00:51, 26 December 2006 (UTC)
 * What about this? ;) --Johnbull 02:54, 26 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Here's an excellent one. Here's another shorter one. Thegryseone (talk) 07:56, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

More Bow Bells
I removed this:
 * "Naturally, modern Cockneys scoff at that limitation, saying that, "The qualification is, that you are born within the area that the bells would be audible in, if they were ringing. They did not have to be ringing at the time (of birth), but if you would have been able to hear them if they were, then you qualify for the honour (of calling yourself a Cockney)."

since it does not sound like anything that ANYONE would ever say.Lfh 00:08, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 * That's funny. Admittedly, I'm not a modern Cockney, but when I was reading the article a few seconds ago, it was precisely the thing that I thought I would say. :) --91.148.159.4 22:03, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Paradoxically, I do seem to remember reading that argument as a quote somewhere, but if it is, you are right, it should be attributed. The paragraph encapsulates a more difficult problem with the article. That is that cockney is both a dialect and a group of people. The group of people is problematic as there was both a historic definition, and a modern self-definition. The later is often conflated with coming from the 'East End', or being 'white working class' - themselves disputed terms. The way to improve the article is to disentangle these aspects, as they're only causing confusion. Kbthompson 09:19, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
 * The quote may well be indicative. I don't know much about the East End but the Bow Bells story has always struck me as the kind of fanciful whimsy that may appeal to some professor in Oxford writing a book, but doesn't actually represent the views of East-Enders. But we'd need a lot more evidence to actually assert this. Lfh 12:01, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Captain Jack Sparrow?
I've no idea where Johnny Depp intended to base his accent, but it certainly wasn't the East End of London. There's more Auzzie in there than My'ell End. It shouldn't be in that list without some kind of DVD-esque qualification. Matt 11:53, 15 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I'd say there was both. There's also a heck of a lot of Cockney in Aus / NZ accents. 125.239.207.41 04:09, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

I think they're more East Anglian in their influences. Epa101 (talk) 10:42, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

I'm willing to argue that Captain Jack would be considered cockney. Either way, Johnny Depp's Sweeny Todd would qualify as a cockney performance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.69.0.149 (talk) 09:24, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Ian Wright
Ian Wright, a guide from the TV Series Globe Trekker, may not technically be a Cockney (from the East End of London within an earshot of the Bow Bells), but he certainly has many of the features in his speech. It's rare to hear anyone as Cockney sounding as him these days. Maybe he should be added to the list. 208.104.45.20 04:27, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Like
It seems to my ears (I could be wrong) that the word "like" becomes monophthongal sometimes: [lɑːk]. I have heard this mainly in Jamie Oliver's speech. He is, of course, a mockney, so he could be doing it all wrong anyway. 208.104.45.20 06:48, 2 December 2007 (UTC)


 * I got a book on Cockney out of the library, which I shall use to update this article when I get a chance. It said that "like" would have the k dropped and become "li'".  It's a bit like the word "Cockney" itself being said as "Coc'ney". Epa101 (talk) 10:42, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. But my American ears still hear a strange vowel quality in that word. I sometimes hear it pronounced as /laʔ/ in rapid, unconscious speech. 208.104.45.20 (talk) 21:18, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

I could quite believe that. If we imagine a full "like" having a diphthong laik, then rapid speech often sees the second vowel in a diphthong get dropped, which would leave la?. American ears can be useful for noticing things that we Brits have got too used to :) Epa101 (talk) 23:58, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

I actually figured out the answer to this question. It's part of the new dialect in London which is overtaking Cockney. Some linguists call it Multicultural London English. Thegryseone (talk) 21:14, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Similarity to Australian English
Another feature I have observed is the vowel in words like "is". It tends to sound more like "eez" in the speech of some people. This is a feature of Australian English. No coincidence there. 208.104.45.20 (talk) 20:49, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Are there any variations on the "coat" diphthong?
Can the diphthong in the word "coat" be realized as [ʌʊ] rather than [æʉ]? 208.104.45.20 (talk) 23:05, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I haven't found anything that says anything other than . — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  04:06, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

READ THIS ARTICLE IN A COCKNEY ACCENT
Let's put that wikipedia feature to use. Somebody with a cockney accent read the thing and upload it to wikipedia. assuming cockneys have access to a computer —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.93.80.5 (talk) 04:07, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Duh, Cockneys have access to a computer. Don't believe what you hear. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.195.179.86 (talk) 20:26, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Oh really? Do believe what you hear, both myself and Alan Sugar have access to a computer, that makes two of us at the very least. &#39;Arry Boy (talk) 00:06, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Common misconception
The page is being vandalised by foreigners who do not understand the facts. My insert about how the term "Cockney" refers to the people of East London is being deleted as soon as I put it up. For the record people of Mayfair, Belgravia, Chelsea, Wandsworth, Putney, Clapham, Tooting, Bromley, Watford and many other places in London do not see themselves as Cockneys. They are not cockneys, they dont want to be cockneys and they take offence to the reference when used and see it as a term of abuse. Not every one of Asian appearence is from Pakistan, yet people who want to offend people of Asian appearence call them "Pakis". People need to realise that it is equally offensive to call people from all over London "Cockneys". From now on people who edit this from the main page will be reported as Wiki vandals.

As mentioned elsewhere there is a slight negative conotation attached to the term cockney and people from more fashionable places in London take offence to the association. Rightly or wrongly Cockneys are often thought to be ruffians, robbers, thieves and less educated that the norm. East end villans like the Cray brothers have added to this and led to more and more people from the rest of London detaching themselves from the Cockney term. The fact that ignorant northerns often refer to all Londoners as Cockneys is not something that means that all Londoners ARE Cockneys. Rememeber these are the same northerns who will refer to London as "SMOG". Smog was cleaned up in the early 50's and today it is offensive to Londoners to call London "the smog". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.217.65.213 (talk) 10:20, 29 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Please don't call edits you disagree with "vandalism"? Vandalism requires bad faith, which is something you are asked to assume against.  The main problem with your edit is that it makes a number of uncited claims.  The wording is a little sketchy, but we can work with that after we get the citations issues fixed.  I'll break it down for you:


 * Northerners from the North-East of England often wrongly think that all Londoners can be called Cockneys.
 * do they? cite it
 * This is entirely false. As witnessed by millions on national TV Newcastle United fans once sung "We hate Cockneys" as a jibe to Chelsea fans at a football match played in Newcastle. The Chelsea fans (mainly from West and South London), sick of the then success of West Ham United (the Cockney team of London) surprised the Northerners by joining in, such was and is Chelsea's contempt for West Ham Utd and their fans.
 * this is an overdetailed account of a non-notable sports event. Moreover, it's brought up as evidence that not all Londoners are Cockneys but illustrates very little to people who don't know football or English geography (i.e. "foreigners" like myself)
 * Since then most Northeners now know that the term Cockney does not mean anyone from London
 * this contradicts the first statement of the paragraph. Do they think it or don't they?  If they used to think that and now don't, can you prove that this one song changed so many people's opinions?]
 * this is in no way an adequate reference. If it's a website, provide the link.  Chances are, all the site will tell is that the song was sung.  That it proves or indicates that not all Londoners are Cockneys is an original research synthesis, though if you can address all my other concerns, I can admit that it's not much of a logical leap to make.
 * Also, "the millions who say this live" is not an adequate reference. I hope I've made myself a bit clearer now.  I'll admit I'm no expert in Cockney, though I do have a few sources under my sleeve, so I'm not really saying that you're wrong in your claims, just that we need better citations.  — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  11:11, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Also, "the millions who say this live" is not an adequate reference. I hope I've made myself a bit clearer now.  I'll admit I'm no expert in Cockney, though I do have a few sources under my sleeve, so I'm not really saying that you're wrong in your claims, just that we need better citations.  — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  11:11, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Math
I recently changed 'math' to 'maths' on the grounds that 'math' was non-British, only to find it reverted. What meaning is being assumed for the word 'math'? I have never heard this word used in British English. Martin Hogbin (talk) 09:38, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

As there seems to be some dispute about 'math' why not use a different word to illustrate the point being made, perhaps 'north', 'youth', or 'path'? If no one objects I will change the example to another word.Martin Hogbin (talk) 21:07, 13 February 2008 (UTC)
 * How is math non-British? — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  21:22, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

I presume that you are referring to the short form for 'mathematics'. In British English this is 'maths'. To use 'math' as an example of Cockney speech is absurd as the word is not used in the UK. Martin Hogbin (talk) 21:31, 13 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah, on second look I see that my dictionary says it's a US term. I also didn't notice that "maths" is used earlier in the section.  My apologies.  Since /θ/ becomes /f/ in all environments, any word with /θ/ would do.  — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  05:14, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Ditton
Some Londoners pronounce words like "didn't" and "couldn't" as something like ditton and couton (This could be much better expressed using the IPA). Is this considered Cockney?Martin Hogbin (talk) 09:21, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Suggested Page Reorganisation
To avoid pointless arguments on the meaning of the word Cockney, might it be an idea to reorganise the page into several sections, such as:

Cockney - People, Cockney - General London Accent, Cockney - 'True' Cockney Accent. Martin Hogbin (talk) 09:21, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Recent edits
In response to this edit:
 * 1) The source for the quote does not use the spelling indicated.  We must either use the spelling from the source or use another source that indicates the original spelling.  I recommend the former so that it doesn't look like there's a need for copyediting.  If we do the latter, we might have to use [sic]
 * 2) "question tags" are used in most if not all varieties of English, so this is not a "grammatical" feature.  Even if Cockneys use it more than other speakers, it's still not grammatical any more than teenagers using "like" more often is a grammatical difference from the speech of adults.
 * 3) What is David Crystal (1995)? Part of the Harvard citation template is that the inline citations link to a full citation at the bottom but we don't have that. — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  22:26, 3 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Ok, in retrospect, what you're saying is correct regarding the spelling. Its just, online, that sentence as writtin by Moryson originally is rather difficult (impossible) to find from a 'reputable' source. So, my apologies for that -- right you are.
 * 1) It is very much a grammatical feature. If you're going to use 'like' and a comparison between teenagers and adults as an example, perhaps we should rule out the points which detail features such as 'aint', double negatives, and T-glottalisation?
 * 2) What is David Crystal (1995)? Are you trying to indicate that you didn't realise David Crystal was a "who" and that 1995 was the year. OH. 'see what ya did there. Very clever of you sir. And so terribly funny. Got it from here to answer your question, and though that page itself is about Estuary, that part is listed as a feature of "grammar" taken from cockney. Invisible Monster (talk)  —Preceding comment was added at 22:46, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
 * ain't, double negatives, and T-glottalization are features of Cockney that aren't features of all or most English dialects. I'm assuming that question tags are standard English.  They are, aren't they?
 * Looking at the link you provide I'm feeling a bit confused. Is there a semantic difference between when a Cockney says "I said I would, didn't I" and when I say "I said I would, didn't I?"?  The example doesn't have a question mark and I don't know if that's intentional.  It also mentions "innit" which I would say is a more grammatical feature because it seems the source is arguing that the contraction of isn't it is becoming grammaticalized.  I'm also concerned that this, as you admit, is about Estuary English and not Cockney (it does not, as you say, specify that question tags are a feature inherited from Cockney); it's very sketchy to make a claim about Cockney and source a website talking about Estuary English, which then cites a different book.  The least we can do is look at Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language ourselves and see what it says. — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  23:53, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

I think you're right -- and I may have fucked up monumentally. I took 'Other Cockney tags' to mean that the tags in question (the confrontational one mentioned before that sentence) were being stated as features of Cockney English. Make sense? Not really, I know. I explained that poorly. I still maintain that we use confrontational question tags more than most other accent/dialect groups, but if I can't source it then I can't source it. Invisible Monster (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 07:56, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
 * It would be interesting if you could find a source that made that claim. Even if it's not a grammatical feature, I'd say it's noteworthy and could go somewhere.  — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  08:43, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Bad–lad split
Does Cockney have a bad-lad split? 208.104.45.20 (talk) 00:16, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

England
I've noticed that the way English people pronounce, well, England, is different from the way Americans pronounce it. How would the English pronunciation be written phonetically? 208.104.45.20 (talk) 03:57, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Cool for Cats
Someone should add Chris Difford Cool for Cats (song). It's even got rhyming slang and a video. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Geo8rge (talk • contribs) 22:56, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Cockney /aɪ/ versus Australian /aɪ/
Is the Cockney and Southeastern English /aɪ/ phonetically the same as the Australian /aɪ/? Thegryseone (talk) 21:20, 17 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, the traditional Cockney accent has vowel sounds almost identical to Australian. See this old recording from Hackney and you'll notice that it sounds very similar to Australian http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=021M-C0908X0021XX-0100V0.xml  What separates them now are the consonants: the Cockney th-fronting and l-vocalisation.  Epa101 (talk) 16:49, 7 April 2009 (UTC)

Lists too long
Is it just me or do the lists of Cockney Characters, Cockney People, and Cockney Performances seem a little over-large. In addition the list of Cockney Performances seems to contain a number of Cockney characters already in the characters list. This duplication seems unnecessary 86.130.229.242 (talk) 23:02, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
 * It's just you. :)Thegryseone (talk) 23:45, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
 * The problem, perhaps, is that the rest of the article is comparatively short. It could certainly do with some beefing up in some areas.  — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  06:19, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Rounding of Onset of and Raising of Onset of
In the older "true Cockney" accents, which is what this article seems to be about, not only is backed, but the onset is also rounded to, according to Wells (1982b: 308, 310). Wells calls a "Popular London" variant. He defines "Popular London" as the accent of suburban working-class speakers. So according to Wells, the "true Cockney" variant is. This realization starts to encroach on 's space, so according to Wells the onset of is raised to  in Cockney. Thegryseone (talk) 19:55, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

A Few Things I Wanted to Say
I don't understand why everyone thinks Cockney can only be spoken on the East End. It seems to be much more of a working or lower class accent found all over London (maybe not "all over", but certainly not just the East End). If you listen to this sound clip for example, you'll hear a man from Peckham. Peckham is not in the East End, instead it is in South London, and yet he is more Cockney than anyone I have heard in my life. It says in this article as well that most characters on the sitcom Only Fools and Horses are Cockneys, and yet that takes place where else but in Peckham. This article also says that Snatch contains Cockney accents and yet Jason Statham who plays one of the main characters in that film and seems to speak with one of those accents, is actually from Sydenham, in south-east London.

What are some differences between the so-called "South London" (south of the Thames) accent and "North London" accent? I just find it annoying that locals claim to be able hear differences between the two and yet they never can describe those differences when asked. It makes one doubt whether such differences even exist. It's kind of like how New Yorkers claim to be able to distinguish between Bronx accents and Brooklyn accents, Irish New York accents and Italian New York accents, etc., but when asked what those differences are, they can't give you an answer. It's all b.s. if you ask me. Thegryseone (talk) 05:26, 24 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I think that South London and the East End did have distinct accents at one point in history. The term "Cockney" was definitely limited to the East End originally.  I don't live in London, but I expect that the East End and South London accents have merged with time so that they are now one and the same.  The accent diversity of Britain is much less than before, and you can't locate accents as precisely anymore.  It's a similar thing up here between Lancashire and Yorkshire.  The historic rivalry means that people insist that the two have different accents, but younger people from the two counties sound the same now.  Lancs and Yorks definitely had different accents at one point in history, but will probably not for much longer.  Epa101 (talk) 11:06, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for responding. The interesting thing is that even with the disappearance of some of the most local varieties, England still has much more dialect diversity than the United States. The U.S. simply hasn't been around for long enough to have that many dialects. What I read about North of England varieties is that even though there is some dialect levelling going on there, the "levelled" form will not be like a South East dialect, but rather a so-called "Pan-Northern" dialect. Thus, Northerners will still sound distinctly Northern when all's said and done. That identity must be important to them. Thegryseone (talk) 21:07, 24 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, that is right. You can always tell if someone is from the north of England.  Some books on accents say that RP is spoken by some people in every part of England, but I don't think that's true.  The Oxford Dictionary has always limited RP to southern England, and I think there was a reason for that.  As regards America, I've heard that there is much less diversity, but I'm interested in the new Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE).  Epa101 (talk) 23:24, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

I think RP can be spoken by people from every part of England, although the majority of people who speak it might be from the South. It's just that Northerners and north Midlanders who speak RP would have in BATH (or they might use  and  interchangeably). It's still considered RP though; it's just a somewhat diluted form of the traditional standard. According to Upton, Kretzschmar and Konopka (2001: xii), "the accent [RP] is not to be thought of as an exclusively southern-British phenomenon". On a different note, I heard about DARE too, and while it looks kind of interesting, I usually take works on lexical variation with a grain of salt. As an American, I rarely ever hear a lot of the words they mention in books like that. In some cases, they are only used by old people in rural areas. Also a person from a particular region might use both soda and pop or pill bug and roly-poly at different times. Your lexicon is something that's much easier to change than your accent. You can easily incorporate words from different regions into your vocabulary, possibly without realizing their region of origin. That's just my two cents worth. Thegryseone (talk) 04:32, 25 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I think the DARE project was partly designed to record these words before they die out; as you say, many of them are now only used by the older generation. It was a similar thing with our Survey of English Dialects.  As regards RP, there are some people who insist that it must have the broad  in BATH; for example, John Wells (who was born in Lancashire ironically enough) marks any other form as non-RP in his Longman Dictionary.  The  in STRUT is also never heard in the northern third of the country (apart from people who have migrated from the south).  I think it's telling that all of the early sources on RP, such as Daniel Jones and the old dictionaries, confined it to the south of England.  It's only the newer analysts who claim that it can be heard anywhere.  It is true that there are many people up here who have moved from the south and kept an RP accent, but then there are also thousands of people in Bradford who speak with Pakistani accents.  I've not done a survey, but if you were to do one about accents in the north of England, I bet that the number of people who speak RP would be smaller than the number of people who speak with an Asian accent or a Polish accent.  Again, that's just my two cents' worth (an interesting American phrase).  Epa101 (talk) 10:06, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

I find it hilarious that you called "my two cents worth" an American phrase. I actually was thinking it was an English phrase when I wrote it; that's part of the reason I wrote it. I rarely use that phrase actually. It sounds a bit foreign to me. That shows you what I know. I guess I could stand to learn a bit more about that. Anyway, nice talking to you. Thegryseone (talk) 10:17, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Original research?
The passage Th-fronting, L-vocalisation and T-glottalization can now be found in every county of England (with L-vocalisation being largely absent from Northern England) has four references but all four are sound clips from the Milennium Memory Bank. Four recordings are not enough to cover every county of England, but this would still not be acceptable even if 100 recordings were used. This is original research. This part should be reworded to get rid of the "every county of England" and new references should be found. I think that a reference could be found for t-glottalisation, which varies across the country but does occur everywhere. L-vocalisation is definitely not used in the north and I don't think that it is used in the West Country either, so I think that should be scrapped. Not sure what to say about th-fronting. Epa101 (talk) 17:39, 6 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I can't find anything on Th-fronting in Northern England. I can't find anything on L-vocalisation either.  However, I do have a reference for the use of a glottal stop for  in the North of England.  In A Handbook of Varieties of English it reads (on p. 128), "In the North of England, it [a glottal stop for ] is found in every urban center except Liverpool, and even here, Newbrook (1999: 97) notes glottal pronunciation of pre-consonantal and final  in West Wirral." Thegryseone (talk) 05:20, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Cockney Area
There's a major rewrite needed - the Bow bell story is repeated in the Cockney Area section and it's all a bit confused. Anybody fancy having a go? pablo hablo. 21:37, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Fuck Off
I was born in Barking thr accent the same. The way you describing the way we speak saying how we pronouce words making me fucking laugh. I said out loud some of the way you unrealistic. I dont understand it. I don't live down there anymore but I notice my great uncle swears a lot saying fucking ath the end of each sentence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.158.57.177 (talk • contribs)

my poemz called were frendzzz
yow guys hope yo lke it brav u better ok lol just kindag ok.....

ok this how it goes ok guyz

were friends, u fight i fight... u cry i cry... u jump of a brige i am gunna miss ur dumb ass!!!!!!!1

made by hawa osman in year 7 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.24.64.58 (talk) 21:35, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

asian
i couldnt help but notice alot of the areas covered by the cockney accent are asian neighbourhoods. so does this mean there is some asian influence in the cockney accent? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Adf2432423423 (talk • contribs) 16:05, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

No, the asians came after the cockney accent, in asian areas the accent isnt spoken. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.2.149.251 (talk) 11:30, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Wigga's killed cockney
Wigga's killed cockney off. Something happened during the mid 80s when cockney started to fade for the first time. Higher levels of immigration and more traditional londoners moving out of the city. I remeber reading a report that stated how black londoners stopped speaking cockney around 1985, porbably due to a bit of separtism due to the riots, so black kids started speaking in a sort of jamaican accent. The White kids started copying them and cockney sank. The influx of middle class into traditional cockney areas didnt help either."