Scientist claims a surprising accent is the ‘most influential in the WORLD’
The Cockney accent is synonymous with East London legends like Barbara Windsor and Michael Caine.
But while you may not be familiar with Adam and Eve, researchers say the dialect has become “one of the most influential” accents in the world.
According to linguist Dr Amanda Cole from the University of Essex, the distinctive accent has changed the way people speak in the UK, from Reading to Glasgow.
Even more surprising, Dr. Cole has found that the Cockney dialect has influenced speakers as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
While the Cockney accent is on the decline in his native London, this iconic dialect now lives on mainly in Essex.
Thanks to migration from London after the Second World War, you are now much more likely to hear the distinctive vowels and ‘h’ of a Cockney accent in Chelmsford than in Cheapside.
Dr. Cole says: ‘What we’re finding is that Cockney has been really influential, particularly in Essex, and across the South East and across the country.
‘And a lot of people’s accents have changed and become more Cockney-ish. Not exactly Cockney, more estuary English.’
The Cockney accent may be most associated with East London legends like Barbara Windsor (pictured), but researchers say it’s actually one of the world’s most influential accents
Traditionally, a Cockney was someone born within earshot of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside (pictured). However, the influence of the accent has spread throughout Britain and even as far away as Australia
Traditionally, a true Cockney was said to be one born within earshot of Bow Bells – referring to the church of St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside.
However, the Cockney accent and culture has spread far beyond the six-mile radius of those church bells.
The best-known example is Cockney rhyming slang, a now almost extinct dialect with rhyming codes.
Expressions like “trouble and struggle,” meaning woman, or “apples and oranges,” meaning stairs, have become familiar even as the dialect itself disappears.
However, it is Cockney’s distinct pronunciation that has had the most impact on speakers across the country
Previous studies have shown that even Queen Elizabeth II was not immune to Cockney influence.
Comparing her 1950 speeches with those from 1980, researchers discovered subtle changes in the way the queen pronounced words like “goose” or “food.”
In her later speeches she used a pronunciation slightly closer to Cockney than to the Queen’s English, with her tongue slightly further forward in her mouth.
The Cockney accent, as famously pronounced by Sir Michael Caine (pictured), includes accented vowels and words that drop the ‘h’ or ‘g’
Studies have shown that even Queen Elizabeth II was not immune to the influence of the Cockney accent, as her speeches gradually came closer to this dialect between 1950 and 1980. Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II meeting the ‘Pearly King and Queen’ of Newham in 2002
Dr. Cole told me The Guardian: ‘I think what’s disappearing is cockney as this kind of emblematic accent: think Barbara Windsor, Ray Winstone. That is not spoken by young people.
“But actually there’s a modified cockney, a very south-eastern accent, with a lot of people using features that are quite cockney.”
After the Second World War, a combination of deindustrialization and poor living conditions led to more than a million people leaving East London for Essex.
These working-class emigrants carried with them the distinct hallmarks of a Cockney accent.
These include pronouncing ‘thing’ as ‘fing’, saying ‘ink’ instead of ‘ing’ in words like ‘something’, or changing the ‘l’ in words like ‘milk’ as a vowel so that it sounds like ‘miwk’.
Dr. Cole found that many of those who grew up in Essex after their parents moved from London still overwhelmingly used all these Cockney elements.
Today, many people from Essex, such as Stacey Solomon, still use many of these traits.
Dr. However, Cole notes that younger generations are less likely to drop an “h,” say “anyfink,” or use exaggerated vowels.
The stereotypical Cockney accent used by actors such as Danny Dyer has declined in London, partly due to persistent prejudice against working-class accents. However, thanks to emigration from London after the Second World War, the characteristics of the Cockney accent still live on in Essex
To enrol The conversationsays Dr. Cole, “It’s slightly less likely for ‘mouth’ to become ‘mahf.’
‘They also say new things that are much less common among their London-raised parents and grandparents, such as ‘at the end of the day’ when introducing the most important point in a discussion, or saying ‘you’ when looking at more than one point refer. person.’
Similarly, Dr Cole notes that many of the negative stereotypes attached to the Cockney accent have now also been attached to Essex.
Just as the Cockney accent is traditionally seen as a sign of social status, people from Essex are expected to sound less intelligent, friendly and trustworthy than people from other parts of southern England.
Dr. Cole says: ‘The Cockney dialect has lived a rich and colorful life. She has traveled extensively, produced a large family of children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and even met the Queen. She’s not dead, she’s just called ‘Essex’ now.’
Meanwhile, the Cockney accent has become a surprising influence even further afield.
Traces of the accent have been found in cities such as Reading, Milton Keynes and Hull.
Similarly, through popular shows such as East Enders, the Cockney dialect has even managed to influence the accents of native Glasgow residents almost 400 miles away.
Today, Essex is the most Cockney part of Britain. People from Essex such as Stacey Solomon still use pronunciations associated with the East London accent, which were brought over from London in the 1950s
Even stranger, Dr. Cole says the Cockney accent has influenced speakers in Australia and New Zealand as a result of immigration from London.
Although the Cockney accent has faded due to prejudice against working-class accents, these distinct pronunciations have become even more pronounced in Australia.
When Londoners arrived in Australia they took parts of their accent with them and although some parts are now gone, some parts remain.
Both accents share strong similarities in the way vowels are pronounced in certain words.
Dr. Cole says: ‘Like Cockney, the word ‘bake’ in Australia sounds to many British ears more like the word ‘bicycle’, which has the potential to cause some confusion.”