When I moved from London to Norfolk in 2012, I soon realised that my distinctive city accent was unfamiliar to many people I met locally. At least four people asked me if I was Australian, one asked me if I was Canadian, and another said he had never heard anyone from London speak, except on television.
I found it hard to believe that many people who had watched Michael Caine films, or the London-set soap opera ‘Eastenders’ had no idea that they were listening to London accents. Julie didn’t have the same issues. Although her accent is undoubtedly ‘Southern’ as far as British people are concerned, she is from Hertfordshire, not London. Although only 30 miles north-west of the capital, their accent is not the same as those of us born and bred in the centre.
When she worked at a bank in Dereham, she made friends with some of her colleagues. One in particular, Jo, was considerably younger than Julie, but became one of her closest friends, even to this day. Jo is from Norfolk, and has a distinct Norfolk accent. But she is also widely travelled, and can recognise British regional accents very easily. One evening, I had offered to give Julie a lift to a girl’s night out, at a restaurant in North Tuddenham. We picked Jo up on the way, and chatted happily during the 15-minute journey.
As they got out, Jo turned and said, “You’re proper London, you are”.
Thinking about that earlier today, it occured to me to explain some of the differences in what is undoubtedly working-class ‘London English’. One of the obvious speech patterns is that the letter ‘H’ is rarely sounded in casual conversation.
Hotel becomes ‘Otel’. Hat will be ‘Att’, with the emphasis on the ‘T’. This also applies to names of course.
Harry = ‘Arry’
Henry = ‘Enery’
Helen = ‘Ellen’
Then in general, ignore the ‘H’. Hitching a trailer would be ‘Itching a trailer’.
Going to hospital might sound like ‘Going to awspittle’.
Having a laugh is always ‘Avving a larff’, and so on.
A reply of I haven’t got any, would always be ‘I ain’t got none’.
I will fetch my car would be ‘I’ll get me motor’.
Words containing ‘th’ will usually have the letter ‘V’ substituted, sometimes more than one. Or the letter ‘F’.
Neither = ‘Neaver’
Whether = ‘Wevver’
Nothing = ‘Nuffin’
Others beginning with ‘th’ will have those replaced with an ‘F’.
Thing = ‘Fing’
Thermometer = ‘Furmommetta’
Think = ‘Fink’
Thought = ‘Faut’
Theatre = ‘Fearter’
I could go on all day.
So if you ever hear me talking, when I am relaxed and not being ‘careful’, bear in mind you may require a translator.
I really needed this when I was writing about an American girl at Cambridge. But only for the introductory bits. After that you have to let too much colloquial syntax go. I got me Scots from Irvine Welsh and Billy Connolly. As far as “other” places a hundred years ago I worked as a very bad waiter for a couple of weeks. One night a man with an offshore accent (This was Houston, Texas) sat by himself and killed a pitcher of Margaritas and was still coherent. I asked him if he was Australian. As this is a family blog I’ll edit his response to “Australians are living proof Englishmen (have sex) with kangaroos.”
Thanks!
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Sorry it came too late for you, Phil. I am always happy to help with UK accents and expressions, so feel free to email me if you need that in the future.
petejohnson50@yahoo.com
Best wishes, Pete.
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You bet. When I go back in for edits, I’ll need a few.
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Thanks for the tips, Pete! I am so thankful beeing able partly understanding the news on BBC. 😉 But i am also sure you would not understand my pronounciation of English. Lol xx Michael
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I am used to foreign accents, Michael. I am sure I would understand you.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Great post, and thanks for the tips, Pete. I’ll have to pass this on to one of my students, who is travelling to London with his wife in a few weeks. It will help him no end!
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It might help him understand a local, but as you know, they are few and far between these days. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I enjoy the vestiges of English accents that persist in parts of the United States. African Americans from the South regularly substitute “f” for “th” especially in Happy Birthday, always pronounced “Birfday.” As I told you some time ago the glottal t persist in central Connecticut where New Britain is always New “bri-stop-un.”
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I would pronounce Britain as ‘Brittun’, so we are not that far removed. I might have to do another post about slang and colloquialisms in London. In my latest serial, I was going to include ‘A Monkey’, which means £500 to me. But knowing it might confuse readers, I altered the sentence.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That is fascinating. I wonder how it persisted so long here.
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I don’t have an accent, early years in Yorkshire, then Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire in teenage years knocked that about, now a few Geordie bits turn up when I’m speaking and no-one knows where the hell I’ve come from!
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Geordie phrases are easy to pick up. I once spent some time in the early 70s working in the area, and after a week, I heard myself saying “Canny”. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh, great post, Pete! I am nonplussed by people not recognising a London accent. Especially East End London
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When I went to cities like Liverpool and Manchester in the past, they always spotted my accent after one or two words, and not always in a ‘good way’. 🙂
I was very surprised when people around Beetley had no idea I was from London.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Ah, the Northerners immediately spot a Southern accent….my passport to the North was telling them where my mother came from…the West Riding of Yorkshire!
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I grew up with the same London accent but have tried to modify it over the years. However, sometimes I sound as though I should be on the set of EastEnders – it depends on who I’m talking to these days. Years ago my friend’s father had a nickname for me – ‘traaahsis’, as that’s how bad my accent was! Have you guessed what the proper word is?
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Trousers. 🙂
I find my accent reverts heavily when I am excited or angry. I do tone it down when talking to locals.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Me too. I think my accent could once have been called ‘execrable’.
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Well you are from the East End. Us South Londoners were very posh in comparison. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Malina loves my impersonation of a cockney accent and can copy it quite well, even if it is only a few sentences. I do quite a convincing scouse as well, and don’t get me started on Irish as I find it hard to stop. Of course the most important thing to be able to do as a Yorkshireman is to know if someone is from Lancashire, a skill which I have honed over the years and I find myself checking on Wiki to see if I spotted the correct birthplace of actors and the like on TV. Considering the border is only 8 miles away from my home town the subtleties can be hard to spot sometimes 🙂
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I’m hopeless at mimicking any accents, but I do remember the outrage when I asked a Yorkshire-born copper if he was from Manchester! 🙂
I hope your supposed cockney accent doesn’t sound like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins?
Cheers, Pete.
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Are the regional accents disappearing, Pete? Do younger people sound more alike now?
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In some ways they do, Audrey. Young Londoners adopted many American expressions, and here in rural Norfolk, most teenagers have little or no local accent. However, go north or west, and those accents are still dominant.
Best wishes, Pete.
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What a fun post and so enlightening. We hear lots of different English accents here in Australia.
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I’m sure you do, Peggy. I am old enough to remember when English people could emigrate to Australia for just £5. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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My former assistant teacher from Sheffield always said ‘me mum’ instead of ‘my mum.’ Replacing ‘th’ with ‘f’ is a classic speech impediment in America. This was a fun post to read, Charles.
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Sheffield’s Yorkshire accent is very different to mine, despite some bad grammar similarities in speech. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete. (Not Charles, he does the good quotes. 🙂 )
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😀
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Ha! Amazing that you don’t write like you speak then 😁
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I know better than to do that, Trish. I doubt Google Translate would recognise me as English. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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😄😁
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I have a midwestern accent which means I sound funny to everyone. Warmest regards, Theo
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Over here, you would just be American to most people. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I thought Dick Van Dyke encapsulated the ‘authentic’ London accent.
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Don’t get me started on that bugger, David!
Best wishes, Pete.
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I’ve often heard and I best understand the ‘dropping the H’ accent, such as the Pacemakers singing “Enenery the Eighth I am…”
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Dropping the ‘H’ is a good start, GP. After that, it can be quite complicated unless you live there. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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So right Pete, London and UK accents are something to behold. Memory of visiting a very small country pub in Suffolk many years ago, it was more like someones living room. 3 elderly gents all sitting in different corners having a conversation with each other basically shouting across the room, I couldn’t understand a single word, too many Arrrrrghs etc, oh the good ol days
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Remember your wedding in Preston? My BM speech about caps and ferrets went down like a lead balloon! 🙂
Cheers, Pete.
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Mmmmm mistake all round there
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I’ve always found regional accents fascinating.
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We have dozens of them in the UK, and in such a small country too, Liz.
The Vikings are to blame! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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The US is losing a lot of its traditional regional accents.
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“Repeat after me.. ‘The rain.. in Spain.. falls mainly… on the plane.'” “By George.. I think she’s gawt it!”
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ooops.. “plain”. ha!
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Rex Harrison was far too posh to even understand Eliza’s accent, Doug. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great piece Pete. My nan grew up in Goldhawk Rd and though she left at 21 she retained her accent all her life. My granddad joked he’d rescued her from Steptoe land…Cockney speech in Dickens is fascinating particularly Vs and Ws …..so the word very becomes werry.
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I love Dickens’ characters, and Steptoe was set in Shepherd’s Bush, so spot on.
(They call Goldhawk Road ‘Chiswick’ now. Estate agents messing with history!)
Cheers, Pete.
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Ha ha. Oildrum Lane….
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Accents change over time as well as distance. A recording of my voice in the sixties sends my kids into hysterics: so posh and squeaky!
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I have never been posh, Rachel. Only ‘careful’ in some situations. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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If I ever visit London, I’m going to wear maple leaf patches on my clothing and bags. But first I’ll practice speaking French with a Québécois accent. It would be interesting to see if I could get away with it.
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I have no doubt that you would carry that off, David.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love hearing different accents from people all over the world. I have often wondered though, since I am an American from California, do we also have an accent and does it sound as great as yours? I picture ours not being as beautiful as others such as yours or the Australian accent.
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You do have many accents in America. My preferred one has always been the deep South, the Carolinas, Georgia, and New Orleans. As in “I do declare”, and similar. 🙂
My London accent is probably your equivalent to a strong New York City accent, something like “Youse guys”.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Love this Pete! We have very obvious accents here in the US – southern, Texas drawl, Fargo the movie captured North Dakota well, and of course jersey shore and Boston “southie” to name a few!
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I tend to enjoy the southern US accent. South Carolina and so on. It always sounds very polite. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I’m a Londoner, though I’ve never had much of an accent… or so I thought, till I lived in the North West. I’m a great fan of cockney rhyming slang though, I think it’s really inventive. One of my favourites is Chalfonts (Chalfont St Giles = piles)
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I have a huge everyday vocabulary of that slang, but not the modern ‘made up stuff’. I cannot stand how they use examples invented in the 1990s and beyond. The original is the only acceptable version for me.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Accents fascinate me. It’s amazing how differently people sound within just short differences. I would love to challenge one of those people who claim to be able to place you by your speech. I’m not even sure where I am “from” myself!
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You are heavily mixed up, Carolyn. I can only magine your mixture of accents. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Changes according to who I am talking to.
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And isn’t an “h” put in where none should be? Like in “(h)alive”? One word/pronuciation that I still remember with a twinlke in my eyes and try to utter sometimes, is “hot water bottle” in the Cockney way, with the glottal stops replacing the “t”s. Sorry, I can’t transcribe that here. 😉
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That might be quite an old (1930s) inclusion, as in your example. It is rare now. If I said Hot water bottle, it would sound like ‘Ott warter bottil’. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks for the information, Pete!
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I am so fascinated by accents. when visiting my daughter’s inlaws in australia, most people said, ‘I know, you’re a Canadian.’ think it was my American accent, having picked up a touch of the Aussie accent combined )
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I usually confuse Australia and New Zealand. There are many from both those countries living in the UK. They don’t like it if you get it wrong! Canadian tourists in London usually wear maple leaf patches on their clothing or bags. They hate to be mistaken for American tourists. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love hearing the different dialects when we watch British TV. My husband is from York and his father has a distinct Yorkshire accent, although hubby didn´t. He lived in Canada since he was 21 so he has lost most of his accent. Most people can´t figure out where he is from.
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Many confuse the northern accents of Yorkshire and Lancashire. I find Lancashire to be much harsher, so tend to recognise the difference at least 50% of the time.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Pete. I never considered British accents to be so diverse. Texas is the same way. East Texas is extremely “hickish”. The closer you get to Louisiana, the more Cajun/French it becomes, and West Texas is a slow drawl. South and North are very much the same, but I can spot a Texan in just a few words.
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Phil, British accents are incredibly diverse. Even in London, they are different north and south of the river. Get up as far as Durham and Newcastle in the north-east close to Scotland, and it is more or less a totally different language. Then many people in Wales speak Welsh, which is a Celtic language and incomprehensible to others in the UK.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Hi Pete, this is a great post. I liked reading all this London lingo. When we travelled to the UK with your young boys in 2009, Michael was so confused by all the accents (we travelled above) he stopped speaking entirely. He was 3 at the time.
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If you come back to live here, you will soon get used to that variety. There are some South Africans living in Beetley, and they were surprised when I knew where they were from. London has changed a lot since my childhood, and it is now such a multi-cultural city, the ‘old-school’ accent is fast disappearing.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That is a little sad, Pete. The London accent and slang is so famous.
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I will keep it alive, Robbie! 🙂
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