Dear author, do not take provocations and insults to heart. A small bunch of angry people are not worthy of this. They seem to project their personal failures onto those around them. Most people appreciate your hard work and efforts. Your videos are very informative and useful for me personally and for most people. You can highlight the essence and explain it clearly and interestingly. That's a great rarity. A huge number of likes confirm my words. It doesn't matter how a person looks, but what matters is what he does. And you help a lot of people. We appreciate and look forward to your videos. Greetings from Russia.
More like a angry bunch of small people. You Sir are a national treasure that hasn't been appreciated yet, for the lost English accents of mid twentieth century in what used to be an island nation called England.
I'm a Cockney through and through originally born in Bow and can trace my family back to and East End triangle over 500 years. I was always told you are only a true Cockney if you are born in the sound of Bow bells. The nursery song Oranges and Lemons is the most fantastic way to learn the names of the areas of East London. Victoria Park is one of the best parks to visit.I miss this genuine accent so much!
I was born just off London Bridge at Guys Hospital, that makes me a Cockney being born within sound of Bow Bells. My mum grew up in Southwark and my Dad's family owned a chip shop in the east end. I was raised in Essex but have always had an affinity and fascination with London and it's vast history. It's just a shame the accent is dying out now, it's one of a kind
Dear Gideon: I am a student of the English language since I was in elementary school in Pakistan. My parents enrolled me in the best possible school in Karachi, Pakistan, which led me to do my BA honours in the English literature. Wanted to become a linguist as I LOVE the origins of words. I do have a dictionary which tells me the origin/root of the word. LOVE your channel. You are doing an amazing job. By the way, the English language does not belong to the British people only, it is an international language. Keep up the great work!
I really Love the origins of words. Also pondering on similar words, how and why they originated. It Can tell so much about the people of that language, their culture, history. So much is hidden in the mysteries of a language.
Thank you Gideon!I enjoyed your previous video on COCKNEY accent..l m grateful too for the culture and proficiency you show in this one!So sad to hear about inappropriate comments..you re an excellent teacher and "Excellence is the best deterrent to ignorance and racism"Have a great day!🤩
Thank you sir. Cockney here, I hadn't realised init was (now) a cockney phrase, I thought it was just 'today's yuff' bein' lazy, (as I was, also), so thanks for the update. I had recognised the Yiddish influence. I knew there was a Chinese area near the old docks (Commercial Street), but had not understood that it had moved to Soho. You are a good teacher.
This has been one of the most educational videos I've ever watched--not only on this channel, but in general! Steeped in local history, it really stands out among the many Cockney-themed uploads on TH-cam. Now that I've learned about the exceptional linguistic diversity of London, I can also see where some of the less favorable commenters get the skewed idea that no one speaks English there anymore. Thank you for creating such excellent content.
I discovered your videos around 4 hours ago, around 2 am during one of my insomnia moments. I’ve enjoyed several of your videos. I have always been curious about the Cockney accent. I’m in the USA but watch a lot of British shows and movies, and the accent pops up quite a bit. Even in many of the video games I play, mainly RPG, I hear it as well. I enjoyed this video man. It makes sense, language seems to never be at a standstill, but always evolving. Glad I found your channel and I did subscribe. Take care man.
Being from Loughton (Essex) , I have a favourite sentence to demonstrate the extremes of my Estuary/Cockney accent, which is “I’m gaan daan Laa’un” or to translate “I’m going to Loughton”. In Loughton we tend to switch between standard English and more cockney dialect depending on who we speak to, but only older people use rhyming slang these days.
I don't know if only older people use rhyming slang . It may be the case in the South like Essex but it seems a lot of youngsters in the North of England like to use it .
Thank you for the time and research you put into this video. As the only American person in my family, I always wondered why my mother's family was always so ashamed to be from the "East End" of London and growing up my mother always scolded me for asking my grandparents, aunts/uncles about their life growing up in London as being born and living in the East End was this big family secret. Your video addressed this issue and helped me understand a bit how this accent and birthplace might affect your ability to earn a living. As both sides of our family had different English accents (my father's family is from Lancashire/West Yorkshire), when we would travel for family gatherings it always seemed a melting pot of accents when you think England isn't that large of a country! Your video certainly provided me with important insights to the type living conditions they endured and possibly why my ancestors decided to emigrate to Canada. Interestingly, my grandparents, aunts/uncles never lost their London accents living in Canada for most of their lives. Two years ago I spent a week in London just tracing street addresses where they lived - some streets no longer existed and when you look at this area today, I assume it's far from the living conditions they endured. Thanks again and please continue doing these videos!
@D Beckett When you say "American", shouldn't you have said "North American"? Having a British accent in Ontario has a "snob" value so that's why British people of all sorts don't try to lose it. I find this brou-ha-ha over Prince Harry's book, Spare so amazing. It certainly shows the zenophobia of the Royal Family, doesn't it? The Royal Family seems very unwilling to change and Prince Harry and Meghan insist they do. Good for them.
Born a Londoner in St Giles Hospital, Camberwell and only after 57 years have I learnt I'm a bona fide Dick Whittington level cockney... as the crow flies it's less than 3 miles from St Mary Le Bow. Cheers for that. :)
Hi Gideon! It's so annoying to hear there are so many haters out there. I'm a teacher from Russia and find your videos very informative and useful. Thanks a lot! Stay mellow))) and ignore negative comments! Looking forward to your upcoming videos.
It’s strange, and funny (substituted that for deranged and misguided) how people who make nasty comments still somehow find a way to tune in. Your videos are very well done, fun and informative. Thank you.
Greetings from Ecuador. Your videos bring me back to London, your walls and people that have hold my heart since I knew You 25 years ago. I cannot thank You enough for doing these videos. ❤
Just ignore the haters, they don't deserve your time. As Dante Alighieri said: ""non ti curar di lor, ma guarda e passa"" ("do not care about them, but look and pass over"), meaning that we must not worry about the slander or malice of others
Actually, Dante's verse (Inferno, III, v. 51) reads : Non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa (Let's not talk about them, but look and pass over). The meaning is basically the same, of course, still I don't get why people always report it that way (non ti curar): Dante never wrote it.
The most cockney accent I ever 'heard was this beautiful south asian lady selling portraits of sikh gurus. I'm a Canadian who lives in Vancouver, by the way. Well..as soon I began inquiring about prices, she breaks into this raspy East London accent...I was gobsmacked, I was! I then asked her where she was from, Oh, East London, love! We had a nice chat, after that and I got my picture of Guru Gobind Singh....Cheers! P.S. this was a wonderful video on the accent and history of the Cockneys. I think my favorite individual, though there's so many famous lives, was the great poet William Blake.
You are without any doubt the best English teacher on TH-cam, your chanel is just terrific, brilliant and more, I discovered it 1 week ago and now I'm consuming your videos like a drug I cannot stop, please continue your great work and thank you for it
Brilliant!!! As for who is Londoner or not. I am Armenian born in Moscow. My great grand father settled in Moscow in 1823. Since then my family and I now live in our house, not a flat within square mile of Kremlin. I am Muscovite as You are a Londoner. Some Russians still will not believe that I am more Muscovite Russian than those who came to Moscow from Far East and South recently. And funny enough, I have big Armenian nose almost identical to yours. With warm greetings to a friend of fate:)))
I also enjoyed your two videos about Cockney very much! People should realise that the UK is a very multicultural place and that British people born on the island can have ancestors from different regions of the world! I, for example, am Slovak but my grandfather came from Iraq. Does it mean I am an Iraqi? Hell no! I do not know a single word of Arabic and the culture seems very distant to me, all I know is Slovak and other European languages that I have learnt so far :)
. fascinating: I have a London accent, not a cockney one, but I left England 58 years ago. In my day one seldom heard regional accents spoken. on the BBC or at home. We were encouraged to speak 'the Queen's English' - by which I presume you mean RP. I've heard it said that Prince William has an Estuary accent.
I'm from Lancashire and when I hear someone from the south-east it absolutely fascinates me. I just look at them with intrigue. I find it even more fascinating than hearing someone speaking a foreign language. They just sound so clear, it's like it's too much. You sound so 'English' I say to myself, lol. Edit: Great video by the way. Much needed as this is an interesting subject.
Hi Gideon, pay no attention to idiots (the world seems to have quite a few of them now). I’m a Canadian, and still watch your lessons with a great interest. Thanks!
Hullo and thank you Gideon for this very interesting and elucidating video, great stuff as usual. By the way, you to me are the epitome of both a Londoner and a really great teacher. Wish there were a lot more people like you in this world ❤
Thanks for this great video. Your historical synopsis of the cultural history of the East End reminds me of my time studying history with William J. Fishman at the University of London back in 2000. As a cockney and the son of Jewish immigrants to East London, he really got me interested in the fascinating history of that area.
We have something in common. My grandparents were Jewish East-End immigrants. Though they took the 'North-West passage' as life improved. Doing the research on the history of the East End was really fascinating.
@@LetThemTalkTV So much fascinating detail, so many deep insights. Muchos Kudos ;-) I was struck by your (seemingly plausible) flagging the commonality of "innit", as a generic termination for a question, with Indian subcontinent usages: Punjabi etc. You will of course be well aware that the same construction occurs in French, with "n'est-ce pas" -- but obviously that's not pertinent to the likely influences on present day Cockney, I only raise it as a slightly interesting aside.
Just found this! Brilliant! Both sides of my family lived in London. Listening to you was like hearing my grandparents again talking about Costamongers and their history of London. Thank you.
I love these videos! I always like it when historical perspective is given in cultural things, I gives everything a lot more depth and causality. Thank you for doing these!
It sucks that people make such comments. Just like over here in the U.S. we’re a melting pot. I love learning about different accents and dialects. Keep doing a great job and God bless!!!!
That was probably the most interesting video I ever watched about some kind of culture at a place... So full of history, geography, living! And about the evolution of language - I just watched Noam Chomsky saying exactly the same. So - congratulation and many, many thanks! 💐
Me nan's house was blown up in the war. They got relocated to Orpington in Kent and lived there until they died. So yeah, the Cockey (as they were) went with them.
Hi Gideon, thank you for your video. I was born and raised in south London, I left south London nearly 30 years ago, when I was 19 years of age and have been living north of the river ever since then. I have a part in a feature length film, which we will be making early next year. I have to speak in a Cockney accent for my film role, which is an east end gangster, so I am learning about the Cockney culture and their accent. Thank you.
My ex husband was born in Stratford, raised in Leyton. On meeting my broad Yorkshire Dad, (1979) a translation service between East End and East Yorkshire was needed! I work in the Midlands now, and find it amusing to hear some street East End mingling with Brummy type accents (innit bruv...) I love these videos the haters have no place in this forum of interesting discussion.
Very similar to the US, we’ve different accents in different cities. Boston, NYC(has 2-3), Chicago, Spokane and Los Angles just to name a few. The southern US is something totally different now. That actually came from Great Britain, weird 🤣. Thank you for sharing👍🏼🍀🇺🇸
Yep, NooYawk has Brooklynese, Queensish, and Lowah East Side Yiddish. Manhattan doesn’t have an accent per se. The Bronx accent is Latino these days. I think of Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon as being the quintessential “New York accent” though it’s really Brooklynese. I come from Long Island and have smoothed mine over the years, but Cooper’s Rocket accent is hilarious to me and just perfect.
I was born in St Bart's, a mere stones throw from St Mary le Bow church. The hospital is also really really near the original boundary wall of Roman London (London Wall).
Thanks a lot for your exhaustive description of the story of cockney accent. I've never heard a complete historic explanation like yours. You're a good teacher and don't worry about people who need to be rude only for the sake of being like that.
Just discovered your videos and have subscribed. I love language and etymology. I speak RP, but my grandparents spoke with Brighton, Dartford and rural Sussex accents, all carefully cleansed by my parents who rose socially through getting good educations.
Thanks for your entertaining video. Personally have watched all eps of "Minder" series 1 & 2 George Cole, Dennis Waterman & Gary Webster, also "New Tricks" with Dennis Waterman. Lots of Cockney accents & rhyming slang. Cheers!
I’m fascinated by your programmes and enjoy them immensely. Having lived in London I place your accent as North London possibly around Wembley where I grew up .
Thank you Sir for this very informative video! As a Dutchman, who learnt to speak with an RP accent, I think Cockney is fascinating. Ignore the haters. Your time is too precious.
Hi Gabriel, well where do I start? At the beginning I suppose. Born in the Lower Clapton Road in Hackney. So if there was a southerly wind blowing, I might just have been able to hear Bow Bells. Brought up in Leytonstone. Passed the 11 plus and spent my teenage years having the Cockney accent polished out of me. So finished up speaking RP sort of. I now live in Oz. My Aussie friends think I’m posh, my Pommie friends think I’m getting more and more Aussie by the day. However, I have a friend here from Saarff Lunnen. When the two of us get together, it’s Cockney all the way. Leave it ahhtt Bruvver! Only just discovered your channel, loving it. Cheers Old Chap!
Almost identical tale, except born in Islington and now in Canada. No ex-Londoners around, but converse with neighbours from Manchester using terms and syntax most definitely and uniquely Brit.
Don't be disappointed by severe criticism.some people always criticise for the sake of criticism.My best wishes from Egypt. I enjoy watching and listening to your superb videos.
I love love love your useful videos full of both humor and good ideas. You are such a great representative of that special culture I am fond of. Much love from Russia
Born in Brooklyn NY, I now live on LI, we pronounce coffee ( core-fee ). I'm 65 and as American I still relate the Cockeny accent being from the poor areas and unrefined. Please no one get angry with me over it, I'm ignorant. I found your channel last week. 10 /2022. I really enjoy it! I'm learning so much and it's so interesting with all the history you add. Thank you so much!🙂
Greetings from Canada 🇨🇦 I’m new to viewing your videos and I just love them, so informative and interesting, the history and the language. Please keep up the great work and just ignore the negative comments. 😊
The "innit" thing was done in London at least as far back as the 1980s. I used to mix with an ethnically varied group of people in Tottenham and West Indians, Turks, and Greeks would all use that. Later when I moved to a more Asian area, I found that the subcontinential diaspora would also use it.
I think ‘innit’ first appeared in the 1970s. My father who could speak rhyming slang and back slang commented on it, wondering where it came from before 1980. That was when we moved out of London.
Oh very well-done Gideon ! I really fancy your new idea of going with longer videos going more in the depth of language, best if I say "Philosophy of English", where else do you find it? NOWHERE, that's some real juice in the fountain, ha-ha. MORE OF THESE PLZ !! Cheerio !!!
Hello, I love your videos! please ignore them because there are people who love you. And: I got stuck in Birmingham for 5 days, and I revised your video to remind me of the dialect's patterns ::))) so thank you!
Born in South London with RP but grew up in West Ham, so had to switch to Cockney very quickly! One feature of 50s/60s Cockney was the repetition of part of a sentence for emphasis. 'He's gone down the market, he has.' 'She had her hair done, she did.' 'I'm doing me homework, I am.' I recently spoke with a guy who's lived in the East End all his life and he retains this feature. "Where are you off to?" 'Goin' down the pub ent I?' Perhaps 'innit' has replaced this?
Fascinating video again. Thank you. What I've picked up is that the vowels in Cockney are identical to modern Dutch (from trying to learn Dutch a few years ago). The dropped 'aitches are almost certainly Latin in origin and could even be from much earlier - from Norman French. The DELICIOUS East End Bagel Bake in Brick Lane is something I would recommend to anybody if its still going.
Yes. The dropped "H's" at the beginning of words is present in Newfoundland dialects as well. One outport woman told me her sister-in-law said to her that Newfoundland was where they took the "H" off the "___ AM" and put it on the "HASS". Just dropping that "H" makes a Newfoundlander difficult to understand at first. I had been away from Newfoundland for a couple of years and the high school principal introduced me to the HART teacher as Michael Enry. For a second I thought the "HART" teacher taught biology, not art. My boarding mistress called the local hardware store, the Andy Andy store. Handy Andy was a chain of hardware stores in Newfoundland at that time. Imagine teaching Mainland spelling to youngsters who had never heard Mainland English in real life, although television was changing that in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The other letter changes I don't recognize. Newfoundland English is supposed to be based on Irish English and on English from Dorset and Devon (the west country). The area I taught in (the N.E. coast of Newfoundland) would have had more people from the West Country than Ireland (Waterford) as ancestors. Instead of Brother, Newfoundlanders would say, "Broder". There were even families with the last name "Broaders" and "Broders" which had originally been "Brothers" in the old country. The Newfoundland dialect has its own dictionary. Dictionary of Newfoundland English compiled just after Newfoundland entered Confederation with Canada. I think the compilers knew that the accent would swiftly changed and would soon be lost.
Loved this video found it very interesting. It helps to explain how you can tell which part of London someone came from based on the slang they spoke. You could identify a north Londoner from a south Londoner just as easy as you could an eastender.
Fab! You reading the haters’ comments was the highlight of my day! I couldn’t stop laughing! I had my cake and ate it too!!! I love your videos, Gideon. Thank you so very much!
The cliché is that we say cwafee in Noo Yawk. But that is mostly a Brooklyn thing. Thanks for a great and informative channel. I lived, worked and studied for several years in London and moved to New York, where I have lived now for more than 30 years. My soul never really left London.
Hmmm.... linguists have tried for years to find a distinctive "Brooklyn accent" and failed. The current view is you can't divide the New York accent into specific boroughs.
@@Tmanaz480 maybe it's because of the rather big influence of the Dutch?? The way Staten Island is pronounced proves its Dutch origin. And that's just one of many examples.
Hello I consider London as a salad of different cultures due to the fact it's a very cosmopolitan city, I went there in December 2005 and enjoyed my experience a lot. BTW, ignore those offensive comments and go ahead, your videos are very instructive and I learn many things from them. All the best and good luck from Spain Carlos M.S.
I just saw the first cockney video with bob. I didn’t hear the strong cockney accent I fell in love with while watching the 64 movie My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn. I’m an American from Oklahoma. We have all our own different accents from coast to coast.
You're awesome. I love your content. So interesting for a language hobbyist like myself. Keep on creating and I will watch. Fascinating history of cockneys.
Cheers, liked both your videos on Cockney English....being Aussie, who had a great grandparent born within the sound of Bow Bells and I lived in South London for a few years my accent is all over the shop. I would be interested in your take on The Aussie and Kiwi accents...the different accents throughout the UK and subsequently Commonwealth countries has always interested me, My time living in the UK helped a bit in working out some of different regions....also the Irish influence on Aussie accent is under rated...thanks again for great channel
A friend of my son's went to Sydney, Australia for 2 years in late high school. When he came back, although he was French-Canadian by heritage and spoke French and English with Canadian accent when he left, he had a very Australian accent when he returned. When I mentioned it, he said, "The Australians think I'm Irish." LOLOL!
You can thank those nice people that had such kind things to say about your first Cockney video for my subscribing to your channel. Love that you threw in that you didn't reverse Brexit. On a lighter note, I love that the first Mayor of London insisted on including his cat in his portrait.
This is wonderful! My dear Grandparents born in Hackney at turn of 20th Century...Grandma would raise her hands in horror at the confession of being Cockney- she wanted to be more middle class than Trade (her Dad though was a confectioner and all the kids worked in the little factory). Grandpa though was a butcher and always at the markets and strongly Cockney in voice and humour. They migrated to Australia in 1927. I absolutely loved the recitation of Keats in Cockney form...it's much better. Grandma taught me to love Keats!! I will tell her about the Nightingale in Cockney when I get to Heaven - she'll be scandalised, then laugh. Many laughs to you!! From Australia.
I remember an English prof at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador laughing at how his Newfoundland students read Shakespeare in his English classes. He was used to RP, I suppose. It was a distinctive accent in North America. True Bay English was almost incomprehensible to me when I first started teaching in small Newfoundland outport in 1970. When I left another Newfoundland outport in 1974, I wondered half-jokingly if my Newfoundland accent would be so strong that I would be kicked out of graduate school at the University of Toronto.
Dear Gideon You 're still such an excellent teacher ! it has bien a long time now since I haven t seen you but I keep so good memories of your classes .
Dear Gideon, When they said you were Turkish, maybe they meant you were joking, as they do in Cockney accent ;) Anyway, I AM Turkish as nationality goes and I loved your video. Thanks a lot!
Dear author, do not take provocations and insults to heart. A small bunch of angry people are not worthy of this. They seem to project their personal failures onto those around them. Most people appreciate your hard work and efforts. Your videos are very informative and useful for me personally and for most people. You can highlight the essence and explain it clearly and interestingly. That's a great rarity. A huge number of likes confirm my words. It doesn't matter how a person looks, but what matters is what he does. And you help a lot of people. We appreciate and look forward to your videos. Greetings from Russia.
right
Soglasen
More like a angry bunch of small people.
You Sir are a national treasure that hasn't been appreciated yet, for the lost English accents of mid twentieth century in what used to be an island nation called England.
@@flukedogwalker3016 my bad
@Hnkonan...
Great comment! ♥️
As a Londoner, may I say what a pleasure it is to hear your fabulous accent. And the language insights are brilliant.
I'm a Cockney through and through originally born in Bow and can trace my family back to and East End triangle over 500 years. I was always told you are only a true Cockney if you are born in the sound of Bow bells. The nursery song Oranges and Lemons is the most fantastic way to learn the names of the areas of East London. Victoria Park is one of the best parks to visit.I miss this genuine accent so much!
Ah's frae up in t'North an heard same thing.
;¬)
And Cockney rhyming slang!
When will you pay me said the bells of Old Bailey.
@@jenniferbate9682 faces and boat races and what not.
I was born just off London Bridge at Guys Hospital, that makes me a Cockney being born within sound of Bow Bells. My mum grew up in Southwark and my Dad's family owned a chip shop in the east end. I was raised in Essex but have always had an affinity and fascination with London and it's vast history. It's just a shame the accent is dying out now, it's one of a kind
THE INFLUENCE OF A PERFECT TEACHER LIKE YOU CAN NEVER BE ERASED !!!!!
DAMN Monica, that was deep! Wasn't expecting a Philosopher in the comment section! lol
Whoa!
Dear Gideon: I am a student of the English language since I was in elementary school in Pakistan. My parents enrolled me in the best possible school in Karachi, Pakistan, which led me to do my BA honours in the English literature. Wanted to become a linguist as I LOVE the origins of words. I do have a dictionary which tells me the origin/root of the word. LOVE your channel. You are doing an amazing job. By the way, the English language does not belong to the British people only, it is an international language. Keep up the great work!
I really Love the origins of words. Also pondering on similar words, how and why they originated. It Can tell so much about the people of that language, their culture, history. So much is hidden in the mysteries of a language.
As an American, this is the correct take...
Thank you Gideon!I enjoyed your previous video on COCKNEY accent..l m grateful too for the culture and proficiency you show in this one!So sad to hear about inappropriate comments..you re an excellent teacher and "Excellence is the best deterrent to ignorance and racism"Have a great day!🤩
You are so right. Many thanks
Thank you sir. Cockney here, I hadn't realised init was (now) a cockney phrase, I thought it was just 'today's yuff' bein' lazy, (as I was, also), so thanks for the update.
I had recognised the Yiddish influence.
I knew there was a Chinese area near the old docks (Commercial Street), but had not understood that it had moved to Soho.
You are a good teacher.
This has been one of the most educational videos I've ever watched--not only on this channel, but in general! Steeped in local history, it really stands out among the many Cockney-themed uploads on TH-cam. Now that I've learned about the exceptional linguistic diversity of London, I can also see where some of the less favorable commenters get the skewed idea that no one speaks English there anymore. Thank you for creating such excellent content.
I am an American and absolutely loved your going over the comments. Died laughing. Glad you read them and responded. Hilarious!
We loved your “lighthearted” video! The kids and I laughed and laughed 😂. You’re brilliant, Gideon! Keep up your highly enjoyable videos.
May you share the link to the lighthearted video please? I can't find it. 👋
Us too
Where was I supposed to laugh?
I discovered your videos around 4 hours ago, around 2 am during one of my insomnia moments. I’ve enjoyed several of your videos. I have always been curious about the Cockney accent. I’m in the USA but watch a lot of British shows and movies, and the accent pops up quite a bit. Even in many of the video games I play, mainly RPG, I hear it as well. I enjoyed this video man. It makes sense, language seems to never be at a standstill, but always evolving. Glad I found your channel and I did subscribe. Take care man.
Being from Loughton (Essex) , I have a favourite sentence to demonstrate the extremes of my Estuary/Cockney accent, which is “I’m gaan daan Laa’un” or to translate “I’m going to Loughton”. In Loughton we tend to switch between standard English and more cockney dialect depending on who we speak to, but only older people use rhyming slang these days.
I don't know if only older people use rhyming slang . It may be the case in the South like Essex but it seems a lot of youngsters in the North of England like to use it .
I suspect that you use rhyming slang without realising.
Thank you for the time and research you put into this video. As the only American person in my family, I always wondered why my mother's family was always so ashamed to be from the "East End" of London and growing up my mother always scolded me for asking my grandparents, aunts/uncles about their life growing up in London as being born and living in the East End was this big family secret. Your video addressed this issue and helped me understand a bit how this accent and birthplace might affect your ability to earn a living. As both sides of our family had different English accents (my father's family is from Lancashire/West Yorkshire), when we would travel for family gatherings it always seemed a melting pot of accents when you think England isn't that large of a country! Your video certainly provided me with important insights to the type living conditions they endured and possibly why my ancestors decided to emigrate to Canada. Interestingly, my grandparents, aunts/uncles never lost their London accents living in Canada for most of their lives. Two years ago I spent a week in London just tracing street addresses where they lived - some streets no longer existed and when you look at this area today, I assume it's far from the living conditions they endured. Thanks again and please continue doing these videos!
Why you ashamed of having a Cockney connection! Its history has always been a multi cultural City..
@D Beckett When you say "American", shouldn't you have said "North American"? Having a British accent in Ontario has a "snob" value so that's why British people of all sorts don't try to lose it. I find this brou-ha-ha over Prince Harry's book, Spare so amazing. It certainly shows the zenophobia of the Royal Family, doesn't it? The Royal Family seems very unwilling to change and Prince Harry and Meghan insist they do. Good for them.
I love his accents and speaking style. I think he's great! His history of the English language and current affairs is terrific.
As a Canadian I found this facinating and informative. Thanks for the insight and history!
Pygmalion, (the British film) is free on You Tube. It is a classic, but really enjoyable. I love George Bernard Shaw.
Born a Londoner in St Giles Hospital, Camberwell and only after 57 years have I learnt I'm a bona fide Dick Whittington level cockney... as the crow flies it's less than 3 miles from St Mary Le Bow. Cheers for that. :)
You Sir are the most brilliant, engaging, knowledgeable, interesting, fascinating, English teacher on You Tube! Keep up the amazing work!
Took the words out of my mouth. Presenter is fantastic
Hi Gideon! It's so annoying to hear there are so many haters out there. I'm a teacher from Russia and find your videos very informative and useful. Thanks a lot! Stay mellow))) and ignore negative comments! Looking forward to your upcoming videos.
It’s strange, and funny (substituted that for deranged and misguided) how people who make nasty comments still somehow find a way to tune in. Your videos are very well done, fun and informative. Thank you.
Greetings from Ecuador. Your videos bring me back to London, your walls and people that have hold my heart since I knew You 25 years ago. I cannot thank You enough for doing these videos. ❤
Just ignore the haters, they don't deserve your time. As Dante Alighieri said: ""non ti curar di lor, ma guarda e passa"" ("do not care about them, but look and pass over"), meaning that we must not worry about the slander or malice of others
Actually, Dante's verse (Inferno, III, v. 51) reads : Non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa (Let's not talk about them, but look and pass over). The meaning is basically the same, of course, still I don't get why people always report it that way (non ti curar): Dante never wrote it.
The most cockney accent I ever 'heard was this beautiful south asian lady selling portraits of sikh gurus. I'm a Canadian who lives in Vancouver, by the way. Well..as soon I began inquiring about prices, she breaks into this raspy East London accent...I was gobsmacked, I was! I then asked her where she was from, Oh, East London, love! We had a nice chat, after that and I got my picture of Guru Gobind Singh....Cheers! P.S. this was a wonderful video on the accent and history of the Cockneys. I think my favorite individual, though there's so many famous lives, was the great poet William Blake.
This linguist mightily enjoys your talks! So fascinating. Screw those trolls!!!
You are without any doubt the best English teacher on TH-cam, your chanel is just terrific, brilliant and more, I discovered it 1 week ago and now I'm consuming your videos like a drug I cannot stop, please continue your great work and thank you for it
I felt and did the same when i discovered this channel😄 Gideon is great!
Brilliant!!! As for who is Londoner or not. I am Armenian born in Moscow. My great grand father settled in Moscow in 1823. Since then my family and I now live in our house, not a flat within square mile of Kremlin.
I am Muscovite as You are a Londoner. Some Russians still will not believe that I am more Muscovite Russian than those who came to Moscow from Far East and South recently.
And funny enough, I have big Armenian nose almost identical to yours.
With warm greetings to a friend of fate:)))
I'm from Milton Keynes and I speak with a cockney accent, my nan was born in Napoli and grew up in West ham
I also enjoyed your two videos about Cockney very much! People should realise that the UK is a very multicultural place and that British people born on the island can have ancestors from different regions of the world! I, for example, am Slovak but my grandfather came from Iraq. Does it mean I am an Iraqi? Hell no! I do not know a single word of Arabic and the culture seems very distant to me, all I know is Slovak and other European languages that I have learnt so far :)
يا هلا بيك!
I’ve never heard anybody that speaks very well English like this gentleman. Your videos are very informative. Keep up the good work sir!
. fascinating: I have a London accent, not a cockney one, but I left England 58 years ago. In my day one seldom heard regional accents spoken. on the BBC or at home. We were encouraged to speak 'the Queen's English' - by which I presume you mean RP. I've heard it said that Prince William has an Estuary accent.
I loved the history class about the cockneys as much as I love the British accent. Well done and keep it up!
I will only ever hear Keats poetry in my head with a cockney accent now. Perfect.
I'm from Lancashire and when I hear someone from the south-east it absolutely fascinates me. I just look at them with intrigue. I find it even more fascinating than hearing someone speaking a foreign language. They just sound so clear, it's like it's too much. You sound so 'English' I say to myself, lol.
Edit: Great video by the way. Much needed as this is an interesting subject.
Hi Gideon, pay no attention to idiots (the world seems to have quite a few of them now). I’m a Canadian, and still watch your lessons with a great interest. Thanks!
So pleased to have just discovered your channel! I’m obsessed with our dialects and how they have been influenced so this is just my cup of tea 😃
Brilliant! Really informative, enjoyable and great fun to watch and learn! Keep up the good work , Gideon!
Your work is extremely useful, interesting, and hilarious, at the same time. A great confort in this depressing time. Grazie and all the best!
Hullo and thank you Gideon for this very interesting and elucidating video, great stuff as usual. By the way, you to me are the epitome of both a Londoner and a really great teacher. Wish there were a lot more people like you in this world ❤
So glad I stumbled on your youTubes. I have been fascinated by linquistics for more than 50 years. Keep up the great presentations
Very interesting and substantial series, please, continue your story of London!
Thanks for this great video. Your historical synopsis of the cultural history of the East End reminds me of my time studying history with William J. Fishman at the University of London back in 2000. As a cockney and the son of Jewish immigrants to East London, he really got me interested in the fascinating history of that area.
We have something in common. My grandparents were Jewish East-End immigrants. Though they took the 'North-West passage' as life improved. Doing the research on the history of the East End was really fascinating.
@@LetThemTalkTV So much fascinating detail, so many deep insights. Muchos Kudos ;-)
I was struck by your (seemingly plausible) flagging the commonality of "innit", as a generic termination for a question, with Indian subcontinent usages: Punjabi etc. You will of course be well aware that the same construction occurs in French, with "n'est-ce pas" -- but obviously that's not pertinent to the likely influences on present day Cockney, I only raise it as a slightly interesting aside.
Just found this! Brilliant! Both sides of my family lived in London. Listening to you was like hearing my grandparents again talking about Costamongers and their history of London. Thank you.
I love these videos! I always like it when historical perspective is given in cultural things, I gives everything a lot more depth and causality. Thank you for doing these!
I very much enjoyed this and your other videos. And you're exactly what a Londoner looks like, as I've been there many times.
It sucks that people make such comments. Just like over here in the U.S. we’re a melting pot. I love learning about different accents and dialects. Keep doing a great job and God bless!!!!
That was probably the most interesting video I ever watched about some kind of culture at a place... So full of history, geography, living! And about the evolution of language - I just watched Noam Chomsky saying exactly the same. So - congratulation and many, many thanks! 💐
Glad you enjoyed it!
Me nan's house was blown up in the war. They got relocated to Orpington in Kent and lived there until they died. So yeah, the Cockey (as they were) went with them.
Hi Gideon, thank you for your video. I was born and raised in south London, I left south London nearly 30 years ago, when I was 19 years of age and have been living north of the river ever since then. I have a part in a feature length film, which we will be making early next year. I have to speak in a Cockney accent for my film role, which is an east end gangster, so I am learning about the Cockney culture and their accent. Thank you.
This is really good! It's like being on a walking tour of the city of London! Good stuff!
oh Gideon, you are the most knowledgeable English teacher on internet i've ever seen!
My favourite English teacher! Lessons are absolute pleasure and fun! Cheers,Gideon!
My ex husband was born in Stratford, raised in Leyton. On meeting my broad Yorkshire Dad, (1979) a translation service between East End and East Yorkshire was needed!
I work in the Midlands now, and find it amusing to hear some street East End mingling with Brummy type accents (innit bruv...)
I love these videos the haters have no place in this forum of interesting discussion.
Very similar to the US, we’ve different accents in different cities. Boston, NYC(has 2-3), Chicago, Spokane and Los Angles just to name a few. The southern US is something totally different now. That actually came from Great Britain, weird 🤣. Thank you for sharing👍🏼🍀🇺🇸
Yep, NooYawk has Brooklynese, Queensish, and Lowah East Side Yiddish. Manhattan doesn’t have an accent per se. The Bronx accent is Latino these days. I think of Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon as being the quintessential “New York accent” though it’s really Brooklynese. I come from Long Island and have smoothed mine over the years, but Cooper’s Rocket accent is hilarious to me and just perfect.
Loved this. Many tidbits I didn't know. Really informative, fun and engaging. Thankyou.
It's a pure pleasure to listen to your lessons in the morning with my morning coffee.Thank you ,sir, for this kind of beginning of a day!
Bravo Gideon! I love your lessons! They helped me enormously to improve my level and perfectionate the accent. Thank you very much indeed!
I was born in St Bart's, a mere stones throw from St Mary le Bow church. The hospital is also really really near the original boundary wall of Roman London (London Wall).
Thanks a lot for your exhaustive description of the story of cockney accent. I've never heard a complete historic explanation like yours. You're a good teacher and don't worry about people who need to be rude only for the sake of being like that.
Just discovered your videos and have subscribed. I love language and etymology. I speak RP, but my grandparents spoke with Brighton, Dartford and rural Sussex accents, all carefully cleansed by my parents who rose socially through getting good educations.
Thanks for your entertaining video. Personally have watched all eps of "Minder" series 1 & 2 George Cole, Dennis Waterman & Gary Webster, also "New Tricks" with Dennis Waterman. Lots of Cockney accents & rhyming slang. Cheers!
I’m fascinated by your programmes and enjoy them immensely. Having lived in London I place your accent as North London possibly around Wembley where I grew up .
Aka spurs supporters like me. 👍
Thank you Gideon for this top-quality video. I learned so much! Thanks for the effort you've put in to put this together so well!
Thank you Sir for this very informative video! As a Dutchman, who learnt to speak with an RP accent, I think Cockney is fascinating. Ignore the haters. Your time is too precious.
Hi Gabriel, well where do I start? At the beginning I suppose. Born in the Lower Clapton Road in Hackney. So if there was a southerly wind blowing, I might just have been able to hear Bow Bells. Brought up in Leytonstone. Passed the 11 plus and spent my teenage years having the Cockney accent polished out of me. So finished up speaking RP sort of. I now live in Oz. My Aussie friends think I’m posh, my Pommie friends think I’m getting more and more Aussie by the day. However, I have a friend here from Saarff Lunnen. When the two of us get together, it’s Cockney all the way. Leave it ahhtt Bruvver! Only just discovered your channel, loving it. Cheers Old Chap!
Almost identical tale, except born in Islington and now in Canada. No ex-Londoners around, but converse with neighbours from Manchester using terms and syntax most definitely and uniquely Brit.
Don't be disappointed by severe criticism.some people always criticise for the sake of criticism.My best wishes from Egypt. I enjoy watching and listening to your superb videos.
I love love love your useful videos full of both humor and good ideas. You are such a great representative of that special culture I am fond of. Much love from Russia
That's very kind. Thanks.
Hi Gideon, I love the way you speak and teach people over TH-cam. I'm your fan number one. All the best.
Born in Brooklyn NY, I now live on LI, we pronounce coffee ( core-fee ). I'm 65 and as American I still relate the Cockeny accent being from the poor areas and unrefined. Please no one get angry with me over it, I'm ignorant. I found your channel last week. 10 /2022. I really enjoy it! I'm learning so much and it's so interesting with all the history you add. Thank you so much!🙂
Greetings from Canada 🇨🇦 I’m new to viewing your videos and I just love them, so informative and interesting, the history and the language. Please keep up the great work and just ignore the negative comments. 😊
Thank you Gedeon for your amazing videos! We love you.
You are just perfect the way you are. I'm improving thanks to you in so many ways. Many Thanks !!!!
The "innit" thing was done in London at least as far back as the 1980s. I used to mix with an ethnically varied group of people in Tottenham and West Indians, Turks, and Greeks would all use that. Later when I moved to a more Asian area, I found that the subcontinential diaspora would also use it.
I think ‘innit’ first appeared in the 1970s. My father who could speak rhyming slang and back slang commented on it, wondering where it came from before 1980. That was when we moved out of London.
@@veronicafullford1697It seems to me that ‘innit’ evolved from an earlier version - ‘un-nit’ of the 1950’s and before.
Oh very well-done Gideon !
I really fancy your new idea of going with longer videos going more in the depth of language, best if I say "Philosophy of English", where else do you find it?
NOWHERE, that's some real juice in the fountain, ha-ha.
MORE OF THESE PLZ !!
Cheerio !!!
Great video and thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
Hello, I love your videos! please ignore them because there are people who love you. And: I got stuck in Birmingham for 5 days, and I revised your video to remind me of the dialect's patterns ::))) so thank you!
Born in South London with RP but grew up in West Ham, so had to switch to Cockney very quickly! One feature of 50s/60s Cockney was the repetition of part of a sentence for emphasis.
'He's gone down the market, he has.'
'She had her hair done, she did.'
'I'm doing me homework, I am.'
I recently spoke with a guy who's lived in the East End all his life and he retains this feature.
"Where are you off to?"
'Goin' down the pub ent I?'
Perhaps 'innit' has replaced this?
Fascinating video again. Thank you. What I've picked up is that the vowels in Cockney are identical to modern Dutch (from trying to learn Dutch a few years ago). The dropped 'aitches are almost certainly Latin in origin and could even be from much earlier - from Norman French. The DELICIOUS East End Bagel Bake in Brick Lane is something I would recommend to anybody if its still going.
Yes. The dropped "H's" at the beginning of words is present in Newfoundland dialects as well. One outport woman told me her sister-in-law said to her that Newfoundland was where they took the "H" off the "___ AM" and put it on the "HASS". Just dropping that "H" makes a Newfoundlander difficult to understand at first. I had been away from Newfoundland for a couple of years and the high school principal introduced me to the HART teacher as Michael Enry. For a second I thought the "HART" teacher taught biology, not art. My boarding mistress called the local hardware store, the Andy Andy store. Handy Andy was a chain of hardware stores in Newfoundland at that time. Imagine teaching Mainland spelling to youngsters who had never heard Mainland English in real life, although television was changing that in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The other letter changes I don't recognize. Newfoundland English is supposed to be based on Irish English and on English from Dorset and Devon (the west country). The area I taught in (the N.E. coast of Newfoundland) would have had more people from the West Country than Ireland (Waterford) as ancestors. Instead of Brother, Newfoundlanders would say, "Broder". There were even families with the last name "Broaders" and "Broders" which had originally been "Brothers" in the old country. The Newfoundland dialect has its own dictionary. Dictionary of Newfoundland English compiled just after Newfoundland entered Confederation with Canada. I think the compilers knew that the accent would swiftly changed and would soon be lost.
Loved this video found it very interesting. It helps to explain how you can tell which part of London someone came from based on the slang they spoke. You could identify a north Londoner from a south Londoner just as easy as you could an eastender.
This was so informative. What an excellent work!
Fab! You reading the haters’ comments was the highlight of my day! I couldn’t stop laughing! I had my cake and ate it too!!! I love your videos, Gideon. Thank you so very much!
Great video. So informative. You're a great teacher. Many thanks.
I’m so happy I found you! So interesting 🧐. Thank you 🙏
The cliché is that we say cwafee in Noo Yawk. But that is mostly a Brooklyn thing. Thanks for a great and informative channel. I lived, worked and studied for several years in London and moved to New York, where I have lived now for more than 30 years. My soul never really left London.
Hmmm.... linguists have tried for years to find a distinctive "Brooklyn accent" and failed. The current view is you can't divide the New York accent into specific boroughs.
@@Tmanaz480 maybe it's because of the rather big influence of the Dutch?? The way Staten Island is pronounced proves its Dutch origin. And that's just one of many examples.
Great show , GREAT INFO .. thanks !Irish /Scot /Finn / Hungarian from america !!
Don't forget Turner, our greatest artist, he was known for his Cockney accent. He was from Covent Garden and refused to change his accent.
Wonderful and informative as always.
Hello
I consider London as a salad of different cultures due to the fact it's a very cosmopolitan city, I went there in December 2005 and enjoyed my experience a lot.
BTW, ignore those offensive comments and go ahead, your videos are very instructive and I learn many things from them.
All the best and good luck from Spain
Carlos M.S.
Sure it is now but it certainly wasn't in the past...
I just can't stop watching your videos. Absolutely, a great job and so useful contents! Thank you for your commitment.
I can't stop reading your comments. Thanks
I just saw the first cockney video with bob. I didn’t hear the strong cockney accent I fell in love with while watching the 64 movie My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn. I’m an American from Oklahoma. We have all our own different accents from coast to coast.
Love My Fair Lady and love the different American accents too.
I got so much more out of this video than your title would have suggested. Thanks for making it.
Dear sir I just found your very interesting lectures. I'm loving It!
Thank you!
Another very entertaining and informative presentation unit, thanks
You're awesome. I love your content. So interesting for a language hobbyist like myself. Keep on creating and I will watch. Fascinating history of cockneys.
Cheers, liked both your videos on Cockney English....being Aussie, who had a great grandparent born within the sound of Bow Bells and I lived in South London for a few years my accent is all over the shop. I would be interested in your take on The Aussie and Kiwi accents...the different accents throughout the UK and subsequently Commonwealth countries has always interested me, My time living in the UK helped a bit in working out some of different regions....also the Irish influence on Aussie accent is under rated...thanks again for great channel
A friend of my son's went to Sydney, Australia for 2 years in late high school. When he came back, although he was French-Canadian by heritage and spoke French and English with Canadian accent when he left, he had a very Australian accent when he returned. When I mentioned it, he said, "The Australians think I'm Irish." LOLOL!
Interesting. What do you think are the Irish influence on the Australian accent?
I just love your channel. Do keep on producing your videos.
You can thank those nice people that had such kind things to say about your first Cockney video for my subscribing to your channel. Love that you threw in that you didn't reverse Brexit.
On a lighter note, I love that the first Mayor of London insisted on including his cat in his portrait.
Revisiting this vid. as I find it very informative and quite entertaining. Hat’s of to you.
Being Danish, I hope I got all the spelling right.
Just give those haters a cold shoulder! U sound incredibly British! And you are a great knowledgable English teacher!
This is wonderful! My dear Grandparents born in Hackney at turn of 20th Century...Grandma would raise her hands in horror at the confession of being Cockney- she wanted to be more middle class than Trade (her Dad though was a confectioner and all the kids worked in the little factory). Grandpa though was a butcher and always at the markets and strongly Cockney in voice and humour. They migrated to Australia in 1927. I absolutely loved the recitation of Keats in Cockney form...it's much better. Grandma taught me to love Keats!! I will tell her about the Nightingale in Cockney when I get to Heaven - she'll be scandalised, then laugh. Many laughs to you!! From Australia.
I remember an English prof at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador laughing at how his Newfoundland students read Shakespeare in his English classes. He was used to RP, I suppose. It was a distinctive accent in North America. True Bay English was almost incomprehensible to me when I first started teaching in small Newfoundland outport in 1970. When I left another Newfoundland outport in 1974, I wondered half-jokingly if my Newfoundland accent would be so strong that I would be kicked out of graduate school at the University of Toronto.
Dear Gideon
You 're still such an excellent teacher !
it has bien a long time now since I haven t seen you but I keep so good memories of your classes .
Hi Isabelle, such a pleasure to hear from you. I'm glad you like the videos.
Dear Gideon,
When they said you were Turkish, maybe they meant you were joking, as they do in Cockney accent ;) Anyway, I AM Turkish as nationality goes and I loved your video. Thanks a lot!