Next time you go down to your ATM machine consider the language you will choose when you get your cash. Will it be in your language, or in English, French, German or something else? What about Cockney? If you are in London, especially around the East End of London, those people going to the London Olympics this year might just be surprised to see the choice of Cockney as a language choice when withdrawing cash from an ATM (Cashpoint, Bancomat, hole in the wall, cash) machine.
Category: Business / Banking / Economic
Today we will be looking at some Cockney English. What’s that I hear you ask? Well, it’s a form of spoken English that many traditional working class people spoke in the East End of London in places such as Bow, Stepney, Hackney, and Shoreditch Poplar.
So what is a Cockney? Well, a true Cockney is a person who was born within the sound of Bow Bells (St. Maryle- Bow church in Cheapside, in the city of London). However, the term is now loosely applied to those born outside this area, as long as they have a “Cockney” accent or a Cockney heritage.
These days the Cockney accent is heard less in Central London but is widely heard in outer London boroughs, the London suburbs and all across South East England including towns like Romford.
Category: London / Languages / Cockney
