The Cockney accent is surely one of the best known of all the English accents. It is often used in movies to identify the difference between the working class and the upper, richer class like in the old classic, “Marry Poppins.” Although it is true that it is more often than not spoken by the working class, this accent has an extensive history that not most know about. The term Cockney itself can be used to describe both the Cockney people and the Cockney accent. The Cockney accent is most known for its rhyming slang that is often humorous. It is also famous for using some vocabulary of mainly verbs and nouns in reverse. One will notice that this is a fascinating accent that introduces a creative word play to everyday conversations.
Several people suspect that Cockney is just jumbled up English; however, that is not the case. There are a variety of features that differentiate the Cockney accent from any other English accent. For instance, any word beginning with the letter “H” often disappears from words such as “house” is pronounced “‘ouse.” Additionally, words beginning with the letters “TH” actually sound like an F or a V. For example, thirty feathers sound like “Firty feavers.” Another key Cockney trait involves the vowels and how they are often mixed up and said in one, causing “mouth” to sound like “maud.” This feature causes the sound of many vowels to sound much deeper in this accent. A common example of this is the word “like”, the letter “I” is no longer pronounced how one would typically expect. It is instead pronounced like the “I” in “oil”, making it a much deeper tone than most English accents. Furthermore, the Cockney people use glottal stops in between words such as one of the most common examples “butter” turns into “bu’er.” Nevertheless, what makes this accent so clever and unique is the rhyming slang that every Cockney recognizes. For example, stairs in the Cockney accent is replaced with “apples and pears” as well as feet to be recognized as “plate of meat.” This interchange of words has been used in the cockney accent for a long time now and it continues to evolve within themselves as the Cockney people come up with more rhyming slang.
The mastery of this accent comes down to the physics of the movement of the mouth. When speaking with a Cockney accent the cheeks are held, corners of lips are pinched, jaw closed and soft palate is low. This creates a much deeper tone when pronouncing many words. Additionally, rounding the mouth can help achieve the deeper “I” in “like” that the Cockney accent holds. As I had mentioned before, glottal stops are something that the Cockney accent doesn’t take lightly. This is achieved by using the back of the throat when pronouncing words such as in “A drin’ a wa’er.”
The cockney accent is considered to be one of the broadest dialects of the British accents. It is generally associated with the working class living on the outskirts of London, however; this is not considered to be “true” Cockney. To be considered a “true” Cockney, one must fall under the rule that an individual must be born within the vicinity of the bells of Saint Mary le Bow in Cheapside in London to be considered a “Cockney” individual. It wasn’t until the 18th century that the Cockney accent spread through all of London and even other countries as a result of migration and emigration. In today’s society, areas using Cockney dialect are slowly dying down due to the liking of the proper English dialect that is considered classier and more appropriate.
With this in mind, the Cockney accent is sometimes thought of as a vulgar British English accent. It is uncommon to hear of someone in the upper-class having a genuine Cockney accent. In fact, if an upper-class person were to be heard speaking in a Cockney accent, it would undeniably be frowned upon both by the people in the upper-class and the Cockney people would find it offensive. Nonetheless, this accent is highly marketable in hiring actors for movies and within the theatrical world. Some of the most popular movies have actors with Cockney accents. Take for instance Ron Weasley, known as the character Rupert in Harry Potter with a Cockney accent. Yet another example is the beloved singer Adele. Although it may not show in her singing, Adele speaks with a heavy Cockney accent.
All in all, the Cockney accent is rich in its history and differentiates from all of the other English accents. It is characterized by its own special terminology and use of rhyming slang. Although the Cockney accent was once looked down upon by the upper-class, it is now believed to be an important part of the British culture. This clever accent will always be distinctive in its style and is here to stay for many more years to come.