What is Cockney?

Все слышали, что в Лондоне есть два языка - лондонский диалект британского английского и кокни. 

Читайте короткую статью о людях кокни и о их языке от очень образованного англичанина Ashley Roffe.

What is Cockney? 

What is Cockney rhyming slang?

A Cockney is a person who is born within earshot of the bells of St. Mary le Bow church, in Cheapside, City of London. It is not, as is often believed, a person from the district Bow. The distance the bells can be heard varies in different directions from about 3 to 5 miles, due to terrain and buildings.

Cockney rhyming slang is a dialect associated with people in London's East End. It is a dialect which is continually changing as new expressions are added, and some older ones become regarded as clichéd, and cease to be used.

To a person who is not a native speaker of English, it can be bewildering, and here is an example to explain:

Normal English - She's washing her hair.

Cockney - She's washing her Barnet.

Confused? The full rhyming slang for hair is "Barnet Fair". (Fair - hair). Cockneys usually, but not always, drop the rhyming part of the expression. This makes it very difficult to guess, if you have never heard of Barnet Fair!

Two more examples:

Normal English - We are going to get a curry.

Cockney - We are going to get a Ruby. It refers to the singer, Ruby Murray. (Murray - curry)

Normal English - Here you are. Have a look!

Cockney - Here you are. Have a butcher's! A butcher's hook is an 's' shaped stainless steel hook used to hang carcasses. (Hook - look)

A few other well known expressions:

Trouble and strife - wife.

Apples and pears - stairs.

Dog and bone - 'phone.

Tea leaf - thief.

Adam and Eve it - believe it.

There is a trend by some to adopt Cockney rhyming slang outside London, particularly in the South East. Often, it is charged by influences such as gangsta rap and the plethora of accents and dialects in our diverse and multicultural country.

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