#4401367 - 01/22/1803:31 PMQuestion about the Cockney accent
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Is the Cockney rhyming slang as prevalent as it was in the past? I wonder if maybe the advent of mass media and the internet has perhaps lessened its extent?
Anyway, here is a video I came across on Youtube that I found rather interesting. This is from 1943 so I'm willing to guess that the intended audience of this Pathe newsreel was US military personnel? I mean, those living in the UK would have most likely already known about the Cockney slang to some extent.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
I think this is about as much cockney accent you'll ever hear these days:
"When I saw The Matrix at a local theatre in Slovenia, I had the unique opportunity of sitting close to the ideal spectator of the film - namely, to an idiot." - Slavoj Zizek
Not heard the rhyming slang in London except when I was in some of the markets there, other than that it was just a London accent, I lived on the outskirts near Heathrow but did go into town quite a lot.
Now in Glasgow they do use rhyming slang and I have heard it a lot, one of my work mates used it all the time ... annoying fecker that he was
Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil Sons of the hound come here and get flesh Clan Cameron
I think the cockney accent came from the east end, near Bow Road tube station. According to my cousin who used to live there 'if you were born in earshot of the bow church bells, you were a cockney'. Something like that, it was several years ago.
There was only 16 squadrons of RAF fighters that used 100 octane during the BoB. The Fw190A could not fly with the outer cannon removed. There was no Fw190A-8s flying with the JGs in 1945.
It's somewhat used in normal casual conversation in the UK. I live in the Czech Republic, and while playing some game I used the phrase "someone's telling porkies". An American girl asked what I meant, and explained that pork pie = lie, shortened to porky for normal use.
Hilarity ensued.
"They might look the same, but they don't taste the same."
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Thanks for the responses guys.
Funny story DM!!
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4401475 - 01/23/1801:07 PMRe: Question about the Cockney accent
[Re: Khai]
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Originally Posted by Khai
Btw.
Dick van dyke did apologise....
LOL!!
I wonder though if Kevin Costner has apologized for his accents in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "13 Days"?
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
100% cockney. Grew up in Newham, and yes, I use phrases all the time still.
Kindest regards,
AJ
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete." - The Art of War - Sun Tzu
I think the cockney accent came from the east end, near Bow Road tube station. According to my cousin who used to live there 'if you were born in earshot of the bow church bells, you were a cockney'. Something like that, it was several years ago.
Although I was born in a hospital south of the river (Thames) I was conceived and spent my womb time in Stratford-by-Bow, does that authenticate my Cockneyness? Probably not, as Bow Bells were silent having been bells were destroyed by bombing on 11 May 1941, and not heard again until 1961.
However, my maternal Grandmother was a true Cockney, living near her husband's workplace as a shunter, the Stratford sidings which are now the site of the 2012 Olympic stadium.
Her vocabulary was a rich polyglot of East End, Hindi (brothers served in India), Yiddish (many Jewish businesses in that area) a bit of Spanish (her Grandparents) and rhyming slang. As she was very involved in my childhood, some of this trickled down to my and my children. In my youngest daughter's (aged 4 at the time) first week at the infant's school in our village, she was most distraught at a home-time because 'I can't find my weasel!'. Teachers sought in vain for what they thought was a most peculiar choice soft toy that they were allowed to bring in for comfort. My wife went in to find out why Jenny hadn't come out yet and had to explain that 'weasel' was 'weasel and stoat' =coat.
Point I'm making is, to confuse bosses and the Rozzers, only one word of the combination was used e.g. I'm orf down the Frog to the bunny, it's a bit uncle mind, so I'll 'ave a nice cuppa rosie when I get back. Frog & Toad =road Bunny hop =shop Uncle Willy=chilly
Originally Posted by FishTaco
100% cockney. Grew up in Newham, and yes, I use phrases all the time still.
Cor blimey me old China where was your gaff then? Oi Oi!!
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Thanks for that great post BD-123. It was a very enjoyable read.
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 01/25/1812:11 PM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Thanks PM. The sad thing about the Cockney dialect (or any dialect for that matter) is that to even apply let alone gain a no-manual or white collar job in London right up to the 1960s but particularly before the War, one had to learn speak 'Received Pronunciation' English, by taking elocution lessons, as well as typing, shorthand etc.
#4401785 - 01/25/1812:32 PMRe: Question about the Cockney accent
[Re: BD-123]
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Originally Posted by BD-123
'Received Pronunciation' English,.
I wasn't familiar with this term until rather recently when I watched a documentary on the history of accents and dialects. What I realized is that "RP" is essentially what Americans think everyone from the UK sounds like thanks mostly to Hollywood movies.
So you mean to tell me that not everyone in the UK sounds like Prince Charles???? **gasp**
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 01/25/1812:34 PM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Used to be a person from one region of England couldn't understand anther person from a different region of England
There was only 16 squadrons of RAF fighters that used 100 octane during the BoB. The Fw190A could not fly with the outer cannon removed. There was no Fw190A-8s flying with the JGs in 1945.