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Joined: Jan 2001
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
From http://www.thecabby.co.uk/ by way NPR:
The traditional accent of East London, known as Cockney, is disappearing because of population shifts, according to researchers.
A study by the British Broadcasting Corp. found that young people in the East End of the city speak in a dialect combining elements of Bangladeshi and Cockney, reflecting the changing make-up of the area.
This is very exciting for linguists, the language of London is changing,'' said Sue Fox, a research fellow at Queen Mary College, University of London, who carried out the study.
In East London ''the majority of young people of school age are of Bangladeshi origin and this has had tremendous impact on the dialect spoken in the area,'' Fox said in a press release.
Researchers carried out a nine-month study of young people at a youth club in the Tower Hamlets borough. They found the size of the area's Bangladeshi community had direct influence on the local dialect.
Words such as 'nang,' meaning good, and 'creps,' meaning trainers, have been adopted by white children with Bangladeshi friends, the researchers said.
The accent is not disappearing altogether. Laura Wright, a senior lecturer in English at the University of Cambridge, said Cockney was moving to towns outside London. BTW any other NYT Sunday crossword fans get a chuckle this week over the clue "Cockney residence" (or something like that), the answer being "ome"?
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
Yeah, I've certainly been surprised by accents down in Brick Lane and along Mile End when in London in the last years. Not least from a French-born friend of mine who has really taken on the accent since living in Hackney and various surrounding areas of East London. Re. 'nang', it reminds me of young London artists like Dizzee Rascal and also M.I.A. of Sri Lanken heritage. The latter had a big hit start of last year with 'Galang'; seems there are conflicting reports as to where this word may come from. It now means something like 'hot shit'. The accent certainly has a confident cowboy swagger to it (see fashion references too) to match the sparse rhythms of the London grime and dancehall scenes. An excerpt:
London Calling
Speak the Slang now
Boys say Wha-Gwan
Girls say Wha-What
Slam Galang galang galang
Shotgun get you down
Get down get down get down
Ge-d Ge-d Ge-d Down G-down G-down
Too late you down D-down D-down D-down
Ta na ta na ta na Ta na ta na ta
Blaze a blaze Galang a lang a lang lang
Purple Haze Galang a lang a lang lang
Blaze a blaze Galang a lang a lang lang
Purple Haze Galang a lang a lang lang
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
Ah, look what I just found: All raait!
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Thanks, by--holy cow, if I went to London I don't think I'd understand a thing these kids said; even reading, I'm not sure what it said!
I did get a smile last week, though: I'd pulled up to a drive-through window, and these two kids were working it. I'm not sure why--maybe the girl asked him a question--but I heard the boy say, "For shizzle". I think it was AnnaS. who posted about 'shizzle mah mizzle'; anyway, thanks to this place I knew what he'd said, so when they gave me my order and asked if it was ok, I, very obviously a matronly, salt-and-pepper haired white lady, said, "For shizzle". They both just fell out!
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
From Crispy's article: Quote:
Kerswill’s team first identified the dialect at an inner-city college in Hackney, east London, during a three-year research programme into teenage English. The £275,000 study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, involved analysing the conversation of 32 teenagers aged 16 to 18. Half were from white British backgrounds and half from immigrant families.
Boy, oh boy, someone's got his snout in the funding trough here ... that's £8,500 per kid.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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