Cockney rhyming slang

Content

Introduction ……………………..………….. 3

Chapter 1. Cockney accent peculiarities  ..… 4

1. Phonetic features ………………….…. 4
2. Grammar features ……………………. 8
3. Vocabulary …………………………… 8

Chapter 2. Analysis …………………..……. 10

2.1.     Script and extract analysis ……...…… 10

Conclusion ……………………...………...… 10

Sources ………………….……………...…… 11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

The United Kingdom is probably the most dialect-obsessed nation in the world. With countless accents shaped by thousands of years of history, there are few English-speaking nations with as many varieties of language in such a small space.

Cockney is probably the second most famous British accent. The Cockney Accent or dialect originated in the East End of London, but shares many features with and influences other dialects in that region.

'Cockney' or 'cock's egg' was a 14th Century term applied contemptuously by rural people to native Londoners who lived rather by their wits than their muscle (apparently from Old English coken, of cocks, and ey, egg, from which the meaning extended to children that sucked too long, in other words cockered children, or milksops). In time, the term became synonymous with working class Londoners and it lost its once denigrating qualities. To most outsiders a Cockney is anyone from London itself. Today's natives of  London, especially its East End use the term with pride - 'Cockney Pride'.

The origins of Cockney Rhyming Slang are uncertain. It's not really a language since the words spoken are clearly English; on the other hand, it's not a dialect either, since the speakers of this slang are also perfectly capable of not using it. The cockney language can be traced back to the early part of the 19th Century, when Sir Robert Peel formed the first Police force stationed at Bow Street, London. They were known as the Bow Street Runners, Peelers and even Bobbies (Robert - Bob). This was in 1824, and the slang, as mentioned above, was to hide the true meaning of discussions from both the Police and the nonces (informers for the Police). Geographically and culturally, it is used to refer to working-class Londoners, particularly those in the area of London that is covered by "the sound of Bow bells". Linguistically, it refers to the accent and form of English spoken by this group.

The church of St Mary-le-Bow was destroyed in 1666 by the Great Fire of London and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. Although the bells were destroyed again in 1941 in the Blitz, they had fallen silent on 13 June 1940 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations of World War II. Before they were replaced in 1961, there was a period when, by the "within earshot" definition, no "Bow-bell" Cockneys could be born. The use of such a literal definition produces other problems, since the area around the church is no longer residential and the noise of the area makes it unlikely that many people would be born within earshot of the bells any longer.

Chapter 1. Cockney accent peculiarities 

1. Phonetic features 

As with many accents of England, Cockney is non-rhotic. A final -er is pronounced [ə] or lowered [ɐ] in broad Cockney. As with all or nearly all non-rhotic accents, the paired lexical sets commA and lettER, PALM/BATH and START, THOUGHT and NORTH/FORCE, are merged. Thus, the last syllable of words such as cheetah can be pronounced [ɐ] as well in broad Cockney.

T-glottalization: use of the glottal stop as an allophone of /t/ in various positions, including after a stressed syllable. Glottal stops also occur, albeit less frequently for /k/ and /p/, and occasionally for mid-word consonants. For example, Richard Whiteing spelt "Hyde Park" as Hy′ Par′. Like, "lie" and light can be homophones. "Clapham" can be said as Cla'am. /t/ may also be flapped intervocalically, e.g. utter [‘aɾɐ]. London /p, t, k/ are often aspirated in intervocalic and final environments, e.g., upper [‘aphɐ], utter [‘at͡sɐ], rocker [‘rɒkhɐ], up [aph], out [‘æə̯t͡s], rock [rɒkh], where RP is traditionally described as having the unaspirated variants. Also, in broad Cockney at least, the degree of aspiration is typically greater than in RP, and may often also involve some degree of affrication. Affrication may be encountered in initial, intervocalic, and final position. This feature results in Cockney being often mentioned in textbooks about Semitic languages while explaining how to pronounce the glottal stop.

Th-fronting:

• /θ/ can become [f] in any environment. [fɪn] "thin", [mɛfs] "maths".
• /ð/ can become [v] in any environment except word-initially when it can be [ð, ð̞, d, l, ∅]. [dæɪ] "they", [‘bɒvə] "bother".

Yod-coalescence in words such as tune [tʃhʉːn] or reduce [rɪ’dʒʉ:s] (compare traditional RP [‘tju:n, rɪ’dju:s]).

H-dropping. Sivertsen considers that [h] is to some extent a stylistic marker of emphasis in Cockney.

Diphthong alterations:

• /i:/ → [əi~ɐi]: [bəiʔ] "beet"   
• /eɪ/ → [æɪ~aɪ]: [bæɪʔ] "bait"
• /aɪ/ → [ɑɪ] or even [ɒɪ] in "vigorous, dialectal" Cockney. The second element may be reduced or absent (with compensatory lengthening of the first element), so that there are variants such as [ɑ̟ə~ɑ̟:]. This means that pairs such as laugh-life, Barton-biting may become homophones: [lɑ:f], [bɑ:ʔŊ]. But this neutralisation is an optional, recoverable one: [bɑɪʔ] "bite"
• /ɔɪ/ → [ɔ̝ɪ~oɪ]:  [‘tʃhoɪs] "choice"
• /u:/ → [əʉ] or a monophthongal [ʉ:], perhaps with little lip rounding, [i:] or [ʊ:]: [bʉ:ʔ] "boot"
• /əʊ/ → this diphthong typically starts in the area of the London /ʌ/, [æ ̠~ɐ]. The endpoint may be [ʊ]. The broadest Cockney variant approaches [aʊ]: [khɐɤuʔ] "coat"

Other vowel differences include :

• /æ/ may be [ɛ] or [ɛɪ], with the latter occurring before voiced consonants, particularly before /d/: [bɛk] "back", [bɛ:id] "bad"
• / ɛ / may be [eə], [eɪ], or [ɛɪ] before certain voiced consonants, particularly before /d/: [beɪd] "bed"
• /ɒ / may be a somewhat less open [ɔ]: [khɔʔ] "cot"
• /ɑ:/ has a fully back variant, qualitatively equivalent to cardinal 5 ([ɑ] - open back unrounded vowel), which Beaken (1971) claims characterizes "vigorous, informal" Cockney.
• /ɜ:/ is on occasion somewhat fronted and/or lightly rounded, giving Cockney variants such as [ɜ̟:], [œ̈:].
• /ʌ/ → [ɐ̟] or a quality like that of cardinal 4 ([a] - open front unrounded vowel), [a]: [dʒamʔ’tsaph] "jumped up"
• /ɔ:/ → [o:] or a closing diphthong of the type [oʊ~ɔo] when in non-final position, with the latter variants being more common in broad Cockney: [soʊs] "sauce"-"source", [loʊd] "lord", [‘woʊʔə] "water"
• /ɔ:/ → [ɔ:] or a centring diphthong of the type [ɔə~ɔwə] when in final position, with the latter variants being more common in broad Cockney; thus [sɔə] "saw"-"sore"-"soar", [lɔə] "law"-"lore", [wɔə] "war"-"wore". The diphthong is retained before inflectional endings, so that board and pause can contrast with bored [bɔəd] and paws [phɔəz]
• /əʊ/ becomes something around [ɒʊ~ɔo] or even [au] in broad Cockney before dark l. These variants are retained when the addition of a suffix turns the dark l clear. Thus a phonemic split has occurred in London English, exemplified by the minimal pair wholly [‘hɒʊli] vs. holy [‘hɐuli]. The development of L-vocalization (below) leads to further pairs such as sole-soul [sɒʊ] vs. so-sew [sɐu], bowl [bɒʊ] vs. Bow [bɐu], shoulder [‘ʃɒʊdə] vs. odour [‘ɐudə], while associated vowel neutralisations may make doll a homophone of dole, compare dough [dɐu]. All this reinforces the phonemic nature of the opposition and increases its functional load. It is now well-established in all kinds of London-flavoured accents, from broad Cockney to near-RP.

Vocalisation of dark L, hence [‘mɪowɔ:] for Millwall. The actual realization of a vocalized /l/ is influenced by surrounding vowels and it may be realized as [u], [ʊ], [o]. It is also transcribed as a semivowel [w] by some linguists, e.g., Coggle and Rosewarne. Relatedly, there are many possible vowel neutralisations and absorptions in the context of a following "dark L" ([ɫ]) or its vocalised version.

Cockney has been occasionally described as replacing /r/ with /w/. For example, thwee (or fwee) instead of three, fwasty instead of frosty. Peter Wright, a Survey of English Dialects fieldworker, concluded that this was not a universal feature of Cockneys but that it was more common to hear this in the London area than anywhere else in Britain. This description may also be a result of mishearing the labiodental R as /w/, when it is still a distinct phoneme in Cockney.

An unstressed final -ow may be pronounced [ə]. In broad Cockney this can be lowered to [ɐ]. This is common to most traditional, Southern English dialects except for those in the West Country.

2. Grammatical features

• Use of me instead of my, for example, "At's me book you got 'ere". Cannot be used when "my" is emphasised (i.e., "At's my book you got 'ere" (and not "his")).

• Use of ain't
• DON’T is used in all persons
• DONE and SEEN for did and saw
• Use of double negatives, for example "I ditn't see nuffink."
• Frequent use of the phrase to "get the hump" or "have the hump" (pronounced "'ave the 'ump", a primarily Cockney phrase that refers to being grumpy with someone else on account of feeling wronged by the other person.
3. Vocabulary

Rhyming slang has become so prevalent in everyday speech that many Londoners wouldn't realize they are using it. Some substitutions have become relatively widespread in Britain, for example to "have a butcher's" means to have a look, from the rhyming slang "butcher's hook". As in this example, the slang uses substitute words, normally two, as a coded alternative for another word. The final word of the substitute phrase rhymes with the word it replaces. Where only the first word of the replacement phrase is used the meaning is hard for the uninitiated to guess. There lies a form of coded speech.

Phraseology that is recognisably "London" in everyday use includes "leave it out", this means something like "don't be silly"; "gercha!" means anything from "you liar" to "go away"; "give us a bell" means "phone me"; "geeing up" is teasing; "old man/woman" is father/mother or husband/wife; "old geezer" is an old man; "straight up" means "honestly"; "hang about" means "hold on"; "give it some stick" is to perform strenuously; "what's the damage?" means "how much?"; "you're not on !" means, "the answer is definitely NO !"

So the way it works is that you take a pair of associated words where the second word rhymes with the word you intend to say, then use the first word of the associated pair to indicate the word you originally intended to say. Some rhymes have been in use for years and are very well recognized among speakers of other accents. Just like this:

• AIDS........ Ace Of Spades
• Banana ....... Gertie Gitana
• Boil .......... Conan Doyle
• Cigar ........ La-Di-Da
• Dole ....... Rock And Roll
• Ears .......... King Lears
• Fire ............ Ave Maria
• Good ..... Robin Hood
• Horn (Erection) .... Popcorn
• Later ........... Christian Slater
• Pissed .......... Oliver Twist
• Shit ................. Brad Pitt
• Rent ............ Duke Of Kent
• Wife .......... Fork And Knife
• Whisky ..... Gay And Frisky

 

Rhyming Slang Examples:

• "Use your loaf and think next time" (loaf of bread = head)  
  "You will have to speak up, he's a bit mutton" (mutt'n'jeff = deaf)  
  "I'm going on my tod" (tod sloan = alone, or own)  
  "Are you telling porkies?" (porkies = pork pies = lies)  
  "Are you going to rabbit all night?" (rabbit and pork = talk) 
  "Did you half-inch that car?" (half-inch = pinch, meaning steal)  
  "I haven't heard a dicky bird about it" (dickie bird = word)

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2. Analysis

2.1.  Script and extract analysis

The video is called "Michael Caine does Michael Caine". Michael Caine is an English actor and author who is renowned for his distinctive Cockney accent. Caine was born in St Olave's Hospital, Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, London. During the show Caine and the others discuss the joke, the point of which is resemblance of how Caine’s name and surname remind the phrase ‘My Cocaine’. So Michael Caine says ‘'ello my name is My Cocaine !’ with his cockney accent. It’s Vocalisation of dark L the realization of which is influenced by surrounding vowel so it’s realized as [o], sort of. And if you say "my cocaine" you sound like michael caine saying his own name. You can’t say ‘Michael Caine’ without saying ‘my cocaine’. That’s the meaning of the joke.

Also Michael with his typical Cockney accent drops H at the beginning of the words. The [th] or [θ] are pronounced as [f] sound, and sometimes these [th] sound in the middle of the words becomes [v] sound. Words ending in an [r] sound make [ah] sound instead, just like in the American English. G in the end of some words becomes [ŋ] or [k] sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0F3kY3uxU

Conclusion

Studies have indicated that the heavy use of South East English accents on television and radio may be the cause of the spread of Cockney English since the 1960s, and also because after the Second World War, many East End inhabitants moved to other new towns. When they resettled, they took their speech with them. Cockney is more and more influential and some claim that in the future many features of the accent may become standard.

In Essex, towns that mostly grew up from post-war migration out of London (e.g. Basildon and Harlow) often have a strong Cockney influence on local speech. However, the early dialect researcher Alexander John Ellis believed that Cockney developed due to the influence of Essex dialect on London speech. In recent years the dialect has moved out of inner-city London towards the outskirts of Greater London. Today Cockney-speaking areas include parts of Hertfordshire, Kent, Canvey Island, Dagenham, Barking, Brentwood, Romford, Chigwell, Harlow, Tottenham, Enfield, Basildon, Thurrock, Cheshunt, Bexley, Sidcup, Welling, Berkshire, Eltham, Islington and Brimsdown.

Slang has continued to grow, reflecting new trends and wider usage throughout many English-speaking countries. Back in its spiritual home of London, recent research suggests that a new mix of Cockney and Bangladeshi is developing. Nonetheless, the traditional Cockney accent is still alive and kicking. It's most noticeable out in Essex, the main reason being that after the Second World War, many East End inhabitants moved to such new towns as Basildon and Harlow. When they resettled, they took their speech with them.

New slang is constantly being manufactured. There are often variants, sometimes funny and apt, occasionally vulgar and of uncertain origin, but still adding to the power or variety of the English language.

Sources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0F3kY3uxU

http://dialectblog.com/british-accents/

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/

http://www.cockney.co.uk/

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/cockney.aspx