Estuary English is a contemporary variety of British English: a mixture of non-regional and southeastern English pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, which is thought to have originated around the banks of the River Thames and its estuary. Also known as Cockneyfied RP and Nonstandard Southern English.
Where does Estuary English come from?
Estuary English is an English accent associated with the area along the River Thames and its estuary, including London. Phonetician John C. Wells proposed a definition of Estuary English as “Standard English spoken with the accent of the southeast of England”.
Why is Estuary English also called mockney?
It is also called Mockney because it is a fake or MOCK form of Cockney English, without all the colourful language play and complex use of slang that make Cockney English so fascinating.
Is Estuary English Cockney?
Spoken by a growing number of people in the south of the country, Estuary is an English accent which is hard to describe. Somewhere between cockney dialect (South East London) and the received pronunciation of newsreaders, it is far from posh and almost classless.
What is the difference between RP and Estuary English?
An RP speaker would not add an /r/ sound in order to join two words, instead placing a pause. An Estuary speaker would use intrusive /r/ making all words and sounds join together.
Where do Scousers get their accent from?
The Scouse accent like much else in the city owes its roots to Liverpool’s position as a port. The melting pot created by the influx of people from far and wide was the foundation of the distinctive Scouse sound. The major influence comes from the influx of Irish and Welsh into the city.
Who speaks Estuary English?
Estuary English is a name given to the form(s) of English widely spoken in and around London and, more generally, in the southeast of England — along the river Thames and its estuary.
What is the British posh accent called?
Received Pronunciation
The phrase Received Pronunciation was coined in 1869 by the linguist, A J Ellis, but it only became a widely used term to describe the accent of the social elite after the phonetician, Daniel Jones, adopted it for the second edition of the English Pronouncing Dictionary (1924).
Is estuary accent cockney?
Also known as Cockneyfied RP and Nonstandard Southern English. In some of its features (but not all), Estuary English is related to the traditional Cockney dialect and accent spoken by people living in the East End of London.
Why is cockney accent called cockney?
The word Cockney has had a pejorative connotation, originally deriving from cokenay, or cokeney, a late Middle English word of the 14th century that meant, literally, “cocks’ egg” (i.e., a small or defective egg, imagined to come from a rooster—which, of course, cannot produce eggs).
What accent do most Londoners have?
Cockney. Commonly spoken in East London, the cockney accent is also used to refer to anyone from London.
What accent does Ricky Gervais have?
Ricky Gervais Has (did have) a strong Berkshire accent. He has moderated it since he performs in the USA. His accent tends more towards a west country accent, than Estuary English. However it is not as strong as his writing partner’s, Stephen Merchant.
What part of England speaks Cockney?
East-End of London
Cockney is the accent spoken in the East-End of London. It has been stigmatized for centuries but also has covert prestige, that is, it is a badge of identity for its speakers. Cockney is famous for its rhyming slang, much of which is humorous such as trouble and strife = wife.
Is RP a posh accent?
RP English is said to sound posh and powerful, whereas people who speak Cockney English, the accent of working-class Londoners, often experience prejudice. The Birmingham accent fares even worse – which the result of TV shows which depicted its residents as “slow, lazy and thick”, researchers wrote.
What is the new London accent called?
What is MLE like? MLE is a dialect of London English which has emerged since the early 1980s in parts of London where there has been a relatively high level of immigration. MLE is based on the traditional East End Cockney dialect, but it has a number of different sounds and grammatical constructions.
What is the Essex accent called?
Brummie. Possibly the cutest name on our list, this accent is actually one of the most ridiculed in the UK – which is quite mean, because clearly people from Essex have never heard themselves speak.
Why do Scousers say wool?
The term ‘Wool’ or ‘Woolyback’ is usually reserved as a name for those who live outside of Liverpool. Historically – during the dockers strike – people who came from smaller towns outside the city were referred to as woolybacks, as they would carry woollen bales on their backs.
Do Scousers think they are English?
These results suggest that the ‘Scouse not English’ myth is exactly that — a myth. It also suggests that Scousers are not particularly European in outlook either. Instead, local political elites use the identity to mean whatever they want it to — and the lack of academic research on the identity makes that much easier.
Did the Beatles speak Scouse?
The Beatles were from Liverpool, a city in England that falls under the Merseyside dialect. Although the Beatles’ spoken English was clearly Liverpool-ish – or “Scouse” as it is also known – their Liverpool accent also appeared in their music.
Which is the purest English accent?
Received Pronunciation (often referred to as RP), or the Queen’s/King’s English or Oxford English, is traditionally regarded as the standard for British English.
What accent is closest to British?
Which American accents sound British? The Newfoundland accent is the closest, but sounds like an Irish accent rather than British. Newfinese sounds like someone from Tipperary/ West of Ireland who has lived in America for a short time, with a slight hint of West Country English accent.