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The term cockney is often used to refer to Working-class inhabitants of London , particularly East London , and the Slang used by these people. It is also often used in reference to the "cockney accent", the accent common among London's working-class. A "true" cockney is often said to be someone born within earshot of the Bow Bells, i.e. the bells of , Clerkenwell , Finsbury , Shoreditch , Hoxton , Stepney , Bethnal Green , Limehouse , Mile End , Wapping , Whitechapel , Shadwell , Bermondsey , Rotherhithe , Borough and Peckham although according to the legend of Dick Whittington the bells could also be heard from as far away as Highgate {Link without Title} . The association with Cockney and the East End in the public imagination maybe due to many people assuming that Bow Bells are to be found in the district of Bow, rather than the lesser known St Mary-le-Bow church. ETYMOLOGY The term was in use in this sense as early as he gave (from 'cock' and 'neigh', or from Latin ''incoctus'', raw) were just guesses, and the OED later authoritatively explained the term as originating from ''cock'' and ''egg'', meaning first a misshapen egg ( 1362 ), then a person ignorant of country ways ( 1521 ), then the senses mentioned above. Francis Grose 's '' A Classical Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue '' (1785) derives the term from the following story: A citizen of London, being in the country, and hearing a horse neigh, exclaimed, Lord! how that horse laughs! A by-stander telling him that noise was called Neighing, the next morning, when the cock crowed, the citizen to shew he had not forgot what was told him, cried out, Do you hear how the Cock Neighs? An alternative derivation of the word can be found in Webster's '', Cocknay and Cockney. The latter two spellings could be used to refer to both pampered children, and residents of London, and to pamper or spoil a child was 'to cocker' him. (See, for example, John Locke , "...that most children's constitutions are either spoiled or at least harmed, by cockering and tenderness." from Some Thoughts Concerning Education, 1693 ) COCKNEY AREA > The region in which "Cockneys" reside has changed over time, and is no longer the whole of London. As mentioned in the introduction, the traditional definition is that in order to be a Cockney, one must have been born within earshot of the Bow Bells. However, the church of St Mary-le-Bow was destroyed in the Great Fire of London and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren . After the bells were destroyed again in 1941 in The Blitz of World War II, and before they were replaced in 1961 , there was a period when by this definition no 'Bow-bell' Cockneys could be born. The use of such a literal definition produces other problems, since traffic noise and the current lack of a hospital with a maternity ward in earshot of the church would also severely limit the number of 'true' Cockneys that could be born. A study was carried by the city in 2000 to see how far the Bow Bells could be heard, and it was estimated that the bells would have been heard six miles to the east, five miles to the north, three miles to the south, and four miles to the west. Thus while all East Enders are Cockneys, not all Cockneys are East Enders. The traditional core neighbourhoods of the East End are Bethnal Green , Whitechapel , Spitalfields , Stepney , Wapping , Limehouse , Poplar , Millwall , Hackney , Shoreditch , Bow and Mile End . The area gradually expanded as more land was built upon. Migration of Cockneys has also led to migration of the dialect. As Chatham Dockyard expanded during the 18th Century, large numbers of workers were relocated from the dockland areas of London, bringing with them a "Cockney" accent and vocabulary. Within a short period this famously distinguished Chatham from the neighbouring areas, including the City of Rochester, which had the traditional Kentish accent. In Essex, towns that mostly grew up from post-war migration out of London (e.g. Basildon , Harlow and West Horndon ) often have a strong Cockney influence on local speech. COCKNEY SPEECH Cockney speakers have a distinctive accent and dialect, and frequently use Cockney Rhyming Slang . The Survey Of English Dialects took a recording from a long-time resident of Hackney. {Link without Title} John Camden Hotten, in his ''Slang Dictionary'' of '. Typical features of Cockney speech include:
Most of the features mentioned above have in recent years partly spread into more general south-eastern speech, giving the accent called Estuary English ; an Estuary speaker will use some but not all of the Cockney sounds. The characteristics of Cockney as opposed to Estuary are the dropping of H and grammatical features like the use of ''ain't''. A television advertisement for rendition of "The water in Mallorca doesn't taste quite how it should" (until, of course, she drank the beer). More recently, the Geico automobile insurance company has used a gecko lizard in its television advertising campaign that speaks in a cockney accent. The character is voiced by Jake Wood . Today, certain elements of Cockney English are declining in usage within The Area It Is Most Associated With , displaced by a Jamaican Creole -influenced variety gaining popularity amongst young Londoners, particularly, though far from exclusively, those of Afro-Caribbean descent. Nevertheless, the glottal stop, double negatives, and the vocalization of the dark L (and other features of traditional cockney speech), along with some rhyming slang terms are still in common usage. As cockneys have moved out of London, they have often taken their dialect with them. There may actually be more speakers of the Cockney dialect in Dagenham than in Whitechapel, even though the former is not in the traditional Cockney area. DRAMA, FICTION AND POETRY
FAMOUS LONDONERS
FAMOUS COCKNEY PERFORMANCES
SEE ALSO REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY EXTERNAL LINKS
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