Proper cockney: soon to be extinct

[ElektroPunk Mindwarp Jelly]

As the years go by, have you noticed how the proper cockney accent seems to now have been replaced by some sort of Ali G parlance. Not that i'm a snob against changing times or the youth, but isn't it sad that you don't have youthful proper cockney, it was part of an attitude too, there were "characters" (in the nice sense) amongst proper cockney folk. proper cockney now is pushed to the outer counties like essex or kent.

[Johnni]

Where have you been looking? You can hear it all the time in parts of London.

[Moab]

Cockney characters. Hhmmm.... If I hear that accent again, it will be too soon. Oh they can be funny and charming but charm is deceptive...



«Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.»

[pinkwafer]

I was reading this thing on the internet than an older person wrote that went something like 'and all the kids talk like black kids'...


I don't know how far it's true, but I've heard young white people on TV who speak in an accent I did think was the Southern accent spoken by black youth.



Accents do change over time. I am in Yorkshire. Old people here speak with a different accent and use different dialect to younger generations. It's sad in a way but it's just what happens.

[Ben1981]

Originally Posted by joe 88

Cockneys moved out of London like 15-20 years ago. Most of them went to Essex, Surrey and Kent. That's where you'll find most old Cockneys and their closest related cousins now.

I can vouch for the Surrey part. Its pretty common to hear a cockney accent around these parts. And Im one of very few at my workplace who doesnt have one.

[Mr. Spaceman]

Most teenagers in London nowadays speak like 5-year olds.

[Salusa87]

I quite like the cockney accent, my brother speaks a bit like it.

The london gangsta wannabe accent thats going round amongst the gangsta wannabe kids is unbelievably crude. They arnt doing themselves any favours deliberately trying to sound like completely uneducated *******. If thats what they wanna do though f** em.

[Moab]

Originally Posted by Salusa87

The london gangsta wannabe accent thats going round amongst the gangsta wannabe kids is unbelievably crude. They arnt doing themselves any favours deliberately trying to sound like completely uneducated *******. If thats what they wanna do though f** em.

Classic

[Munkeh]

Don't mess with the mockney cockneys or Danny Dyer will fackin' stripe you mates!

[Salusa87]

Originally Posted by Moab

Classic

I dont have any problem using or tolerating shorthand phrases and slang to a certain degree. As long as its still comprehensible, it can even be quite eloquent despite being outside what may be considered correct english.

If you live or visit london you'll know some of the youths there fully intent to sound as thick as possible, this is what annoys me because I have no sympathy for them.

[Grinder]

Gangsta wannabe lingo is usually a transitional thing. I went through several phases of talking like an english half-jamacian and I quickly grew out of it when I started having to talk to adults. If you notice, a lot of people are like this. I can speak gangsta wannabe, cockney and posh depending on who I am with. Infact, I have often known people who genuinely believe I am the way I speak, and I have to take phone calls in private because I have to use a different accent. I'm a bit weird like that.

[diplodocus]

Originally Posted by Grinder

Gangsta wannabe lingo is usually a transitional thing. I went through several phases of talking like an english half-jamacian and I quickly grew out of it when I started having to talk to adults. If you notice, a lot of people are like this. I can speak gangsta wannabe, cockney and posh depending on who I am with. Infact, I have often known people who genuinely believe I am the way I speak, and I have to take phone calls in private because I have to use a different accent. I'm a bit weird like that.

I've had pretty much the same experience, though not really the cockney element more gangster wannabe as it was then, which isn't the Ali G sound now which has a lot more influence from white and asian kids. I used to be heavily into my hip-hop and hated anything pretentiousnessly white and middle class with a vengeance (even though I was middle class and more white than black lol), which included any music with guitars basically. Sometimes it helps to be able to adapt to your environment and I lived in a rougher neighbourhood than my school mates, but not ghetto by any means. These days at work I'm fairly well spoken but with my friends and family I'm more relaxed in terms of my accent and it becomes more common sounding but no where near how it used to be.

I don't particularly care for a strong cockney accent as it sounds too harsh and just as stupid to me as the current urban ghetto speak. But I think that is true for any extreme accents. Scottish accents on women sound ok but if it's Rab C Nesbit harsh then it's not very attractive

[diplodocus]

Originally Posted by Munkeh

Don't mess with the mockney cockneys or Danny Dyer will fackin' stripe you mates!

Ah jog on you muggy syke!

[diplodocus]

Originally Posted by Luco

I'd say i've got a very strong cockney accent, and oddly enough it gets even stronger when i'm stressed It's only over the last couple of years i've become a little self-conscious about it. I was delivering to a store one day, and couple of these "Ali G types" started taking the piss out of my accent. I'm not proud of my working class upbringing, but at the same time i'm not ashamed of my accent, and i wouldn't change it for anyone.

I didn't mean any offence by my comments. It's a snap reaction when I hear someone speak initially but of course it's not set in stone when I actually get to know someone. I tend to get a bit ghetto sounding when I get stressed or feel threatened so I know what you mean.

[Grinder]

Originally Posted by diplodocus

I didn't mean any offence by my comments. It's a snap reaction when I hear someone speak initially but of course it's not set in stone when I actually get to know someone. I tend to get a bit ghetto sounding when I get stressed or feel threatened so I know what you mean.

Likewise. I used to go really ghetto when I got in verbal controntations. I suppose because it sounds the most intimidating.

The thing is, I started out quite middle-class posh. Once I went to secondary school the ali-g types where there so I adapted to that launguage. When I started doing joinery and carpentry in college a lot of the tutors and students were cockneys, so I started talking with quite a heavy cockney accent.

Nowadays I can turn them off and on whenever I need to. I even have a sensual deep pan cockney/posh type voice for the office when I'm calling up suppliers/subcontractors.

One guy in particular I found quite interesting was the fella' who played Charles Bronson in the movie Bronson. His name is Tom Hardy. When he was interviewed by Johnathan Ross he was asked about his accent, because it's all over the place, and he said that he dosen't know what he's going to sound like until he opens his mouth. His dialect is a fushion of dozens of different lingos. Quite and interesting bloke.

[Serotoninhead]

God, I get fed up with these idiots speaking Jafacian - or whatever you call it.

[Blackheart Knight]

Originally Posted by Grinder

Gangsta wannabe lingo is usually a transitional thing. I went through several phases of talking like an english half-jamacian and I quickly grew out of it when I started having to talk to adults. If you notice, a lot of people are like this. I can speak gangsta wannabe, cockney and posh depending on who I am with. Infact, I have often known people who genuinely believe I am the way I speak, and I have to take phone calls in private because I have to use a different accent. I'm a bit weird like that.

Tri-lingual are we? Lol!

From my secondary school days, I used to talk that same black ghetto "gangsta-wannabe" lingo more fluently than actual English. Considering it was an all-boys school with more black pupils than any other race and the territory that comes with it all, it was practically necessary. As I got into college, it started to slowly slip away but I retained parts of it in my flawed diction. Then when I got into uni, it slipped away even more until I talked more like a metalhead stoner. These days, I'm pretty much speaking proper English with only a few colloquialisms and pretty much despise all that crap I used to talk, which is probably why I can't (and won't) socialise with the youth of today or any of my old friends from way back. I wouldn't call the lingo of an "Ali-G" type by the way because Ali-G and his "lingo" was a parody of the ghetto gangsta-wannabe accent and I've never heard anyone speak like Ali-G because they'd sound even sillier. It's more a Dizzie Rascal thing (even though he's a bit of a sellout now) or someone like that.

I don't see cockney being extinct any time soon. There's still a fair few knocking about and I know one or two myself. It's just not as prominent any more because of changing times. The same thing will happen with the pseudo-gangsta lingo in time along with the chavs and wannabe ghetto-lurkers. Besides, I think modern media and the glorification of the 'black gangsta' lifestyle by it is more to blame for the crippling of the youth language.

[HelloWorld]

To understand the reasons for cockney extinction we have to examine the London ecology. The cockney sits atop the food chain; feasting exclusively on jellied eels. The River Thames (or Eel Reservoir, as it is more commonly known) is the only known habitat of the freshwater eel. Unfortunately, over the years, the Thames has become clogged with pearl buttons. Ultimately, the cockneys are responsible for their own downfall but that doesn't allay us from shedding a vinegar tear.

[ElektroPunk Mindwarp Jelly]

Originally Posted by Munkeh

Don't mess with the mockney cockneys or Danny Dyer will fackin' stripe you mates!

That would only be a tiny bit worst than Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppinsdoing a number in your face.

Originally Posted by Luco

I'd say i've got a very strong cockney accent, and oddly enough it gets even stronger when i'm stressed It's only over the last couple of years i've become a little self-conscious about it. I was delivering to a store one day, and couple of these "Ali G types" started taking the piss out of my accent. I'm not proud of my working class upbringing, but at the same time i'm not ashamed of my accent, and i wouldn't change it for anyone.

Having a very strong cockney accent will become a classic artform soon, & do be proud of your working class upbringing

Originally Posted by Johnni

Where have you been looking? You can hear it all the time in parts of London.

Almost all of London from the very centre to the very edges, you can still hear it but almost non-existant amongst the youth, only with the more senior generations.

Originally Posted by HelloWorld

To understand the reasons for cockney extinction we have to examine the London ecology. The cockney sits atop the food chain; feasting exclusively on jellied eels. The River Thames (or Eel Reservoir, as it is more commonly known) is the only known habitat of the freshwater eel. Unfortunately, over the years, the Thames has become clogged with pearl buttons. Ultimately, the cockneys are responsible for their own downfall but that doesn't allay us from shedding a vinegar tear.

You may be on to something there me old china.