We call it Queen's English in my own parts back then People with that accent today are not as many as one would expect when compared to London's external image. It's the accent foreigners especially the older ones pre-social media are used to associating with London and even Britain by extension
You can hear any of these accents at any given time around London, and there's a good chance people with all three of these accents will be hanging out together at your local skatepark. People of different backgrounds just getting on with each other, is one of the things I love about London 😄
Tbf though that MLE name/description is misleading. That accent is basically roadman: a working class youth vernacular. A 50yo working class black person doesn't habitually speak like that - I come from a GIANT black (Jamaican heritage) London family and the only ones who habitually speak like that are the younguns. The rest of us deffo 'sound black' and can generally jump into roadman vernacular if we feel like (same as we can and do with RP), but it's mainly 'youth' (increasingly of all ethnicities) who 'own' that way of speaking. Also, btw, the different areas of London have different accents: north Londoners don't sound like south Londoners, etc. You have to have a keen ear for that, though. 😊
I Grew up in London in the 80s. But moved all around a lot so definitely have a hybrid accent like yours. Feel like the MLE accent started to become more of a thing after the garage/early grime scene in London. I lived in Essex for a bit in 00s and I would say Essex has its own accent. It’s like a hybrid between the cockney accent and whatever the local accent was at the time. If you listen to a genuine cockney such as Barbara Windsor and compare it with o Gemma Collins you will hear the difference. Many people who live on the London fringe/Essex areas are originally from London but moved out 70s/80s. Anyway great video!
I grew up in the 80s and 90s and my feeling is that MLE was actually a hybrid with the working class South London accent rather than cockney. To anyone not from London at the time the differences are subtle. The key one though is the intonation which rose at the end of sentences in the South London accent but not in Cockney. Also H's are almost always dropped in cockney but only sometimes or partially in SL. Think of the H in house in MLE. It's still there just a bit degraded rather than the full on owse of cockney and estuary English. Good video.
Oh and it makes perfect sense that it's more South than East as Brixton and Clapham, Balham and Tooting (aka my endz) were where the Windrush generation were initially housed. First off in bunks in the old Clapham Common air raid shelters.
In south Essex between Thurrock and Southend, and as well as Chelmsford now, I've noticed anyone born essentially after 2006 speak MLE. I noticed recently at work.
@@Patricio_Marcel absolutely to the point my wife takes the micky as I can have 3 different phone conversations in a row and use all three in different variations 😂
This video is real gold. It’s really difficult to find such well researched linguistic analysis of accents! I can’t wait for your next video about MLE.
@@Patricio_Marcelas a londoner, I think we all have to be hybrid in nature, lessons are taught in RP but especially for us from the 90s and earlier more likely to be all 3 fluent whereas gen z seem more limited in cockney since they are now more Essex than East London. I also believe there is London cockney and Essex cockney
@@Patricio_Marcel a bit of both i think i switch often to a black country accent cus i got about half my family there and sometimes it sticks so when i come back home my friends question why i sound so weird lol
I’m 50 and I grew up in Hackney. I use all three accents depending on who I’m talking too. I’ve heard/seen MLE develop and a child of Caribbean immigrants I couldn’t be prouder hearing how we’ve added our part to the accents of London.
Interesting. One thing I noted growing up in Croydon through the 80's was that we used to have 2 main accents, the full on South London "awight, mate" and the Surrey "ok, ya", that have now seen to have merged into one.
Unpopular opinion: I believe black people have a different tone of voice (might be to do with larynx/vocal cords etc…) There’s certain pitches and tones of how we say the exact same word cockney person would say. Also I’ve noticed South Asian have a different spin on their MLE accent
Yup. That’s why it’s MLE. At its root/foundation, it’s cockney-ish but its trunk and branches are African, Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Vietnamese, or Chinese, depending on what family you come from. People can always hear these influences heavily permeate the cockney accent.
This is very true you just know if someone is Black, White or South Asian based on the tone of the voice even if they have the same accent but I have always been curious why this is the case.
@@orange2pointo i only said unpopular because when I bring it up in real life some peeps get cagey about how they sound. Some peeps don’t want to be identified by how they speak so they have picked up another accent and try to be someone else
Interesting video. I can relate when you said you have a hybrid accent containing all three, as I do myself (At my workplace I'll pronounce the TH sounds but revert back to MLE with my friends and family lol).
There is a difference between the Essex and Cockney accents. There’s also a difference between RP (Upper Middle/ Middle-Middle class) and the ‘rah rah take it too far’ Upper Class (aristocracy, Royalty and most people who went to very posh boarding schools, basically 😂). You showed an Upper Class Rah Rah accent in the ‘RP’ section. Also, don’t forget that there’s a growing number of people who have a somewhat mixed London accent. Other than that, this is brill! 💜👌
Much appreciated. Thanks for the comment. 🙏 I thought that it made more sense to focus on the extremes of each accent to draw the stark contrast between each. You could argue most MLE speakers (like myself) do not sound like the MLE clip, most cockney speakers don’t sound like Danny Dyer and most RP speakers do not have a made in Chelsea stiff upper RP accent. But to illustrate my points for a global audience, I intentionally used the extremes.
@@Patricio_Marcel Very true! I’m sure you’re aware of what I said being a Londoner yourself. 😂 Sorry if I came across in a condescending way. That really wasn’t the intention!! And your video was great! I’m looking forward to watching more. 💜
Born and grew up in West London, I moved (ironically) to the Caribbean in the early 80s and was surprised when I came back many years later to discover MLE. It wasn't a thing - at least in my neck of the woods - in my day (although I dare say it was already developing elsewhere), but now seems to be quite widespread. Cool. It's fascinating to see how aspects of various immigrant cultures become absorbed into the dominant culture, becoming part of it. I do think the glottal stop (Ts skipped in the middle of words like little or bottle) is a big part of the Cockney accent and should have been mentioned as such rather than just being ascribed to MLE. It doesn't seem to be a feature of the part of the Caribbean I live in (Trinidad and Tobago), although I can't speak for Jamaica - maybe it's common there. Anyway, minor quibble about an otherwise interesting video.
A lot of the community I mix with are Iraqi and Pakistani. Imagine an Iraqi cleric speaking English with the missing 't', 🙂, or a high ranking Pakistani cleric saying 'I'm going Najaf'. Just interesting to see. I've been in London for 30 years so I have no idea what my accent is these days.
@newcivilisation I lived in Puerto Rico for a couple of years after I left the UK. I was surprised one day when my dad asked me on a phone call why I sounded Spanish. I wasn't aware that I had developed any sort of accent. I've lived in T&T for close to 40 years now. Whenever I visit the UK I make a conscious effort to sound "English" as my family find it unnerving to hear me speak however it is I speak now instead of like the Londoner I was. It's inevitable that you pick up the way of speaking of those around you - at least for me it is. What's fascinating about MLE is how it so transformed English in England for so many people.
Language is always changing throughout history , Slang is a huge factor in the way that language has changed over the years , The amount of French words that are in the English language " Cul de sac " , Saviour , Perfume " the list goes on . TV shows like " Eastenders " and " Only Fools and horses " had an effect on how a lot of people " mostly not from London " started to talk like they came from London , When really they came from the suburbs , But most of the slang comes from the " Youth " but they in time will be the older generation ............. And their children will come up with words of their own , Its all one Big melting pot ....And there"s nothing wrong with that . ....... Great Vid ,
Love this perspective. It’s funny you should say that because I have met younger folks from places like Burnley who have adopted MLE from London and out their own spin on it.
This is an interesting video as someone who is obssessed with the history of accents. Especially as someone who grew up in East London/Essex so my accent switches from MLE and Cockney more commonly than maybe someone from South/North Londoners and I have West London friends who's accents switch between RP/MLE. Proper crazy
Yeah, my accent slides about all over the place depending who I'm talking to - not helped by growing up with one mum from South Africa, and one a Cockney who very quickly lost her accent when she went to uni because people assumed she was thick - I default to a modified less posh RP for most situations. My niece literally asked one time where I grew up, and was confused when I said 'London... like your mum' - 'But you have a really different accent to her and to dad!' - they have more of an Essex twang I encounter a lot around some of the outer suburbs
That's funny, I grew up in east London and have a mild cockney accent but also dropped it when I went to uni and work as I didn't want to be perceived as thick too. It definitely comes out when I get mad, though 😅
Didn't think it was worth noting in this video. Trying to keep it under 7 minutes, so I wanted to cover things with the largest scope. I did however, touch on people adapting their accents depending on context.
I’m an American who visited London. Some people I understood fine and others I had no idea what they were saying although I could tell it was English. Usually the most difficult for me is Cockney. I didn’t understand Adele well in interviews the beginning and I noticed she has changed her accent over time. The first guy wasn’t as difficult for me but might be for other Americans depending on their exposure. I know people from the Caribbean and have been there. I am accustomed to hearing think and tink and thing as ting. Also there are Americans some of whom are of African descent who pronounce th in some words as a d. Dis, Dat, and Dos, Dey, Dere. So I can kind of translate it my mind. I think some Irish people do this too.
As a british jamaican in my mid 30s code switching just became natural. I go ftom mle with my london boys o(f all colours) to cockney when i played semi pro football in essex. I noticed being from east london we were generally abit more cockney than the other parts
Very nice video. As an American, Is the MLE accent, (grouping) analogous (or a nicer way of saying) to the (grouping) of the common black American accent? Which doesn’t officially have a name over here. The 3 most common stereotype accidents over here the foreigners know, only know of are New York, Southern drawl, & California Valley girl. (excluding the grouping of of the plane, typical Americans that don’t have an official accent category name)
Interesting stuff. There is a similar issue in Birmingham (UK) with at least two different dialects within the City and Solihull! Then there are the neighbours in the Black Country (Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall etc)…
I’m also from Birmingham originally, I don’t live too far away now, and I’ve noticed some subtle differences between the form of Brummie spoken in the North and South of Brum, as well as some Black Country vowels creeping into the speech of those from Western Brum. The way Yamyams (Black Country folk) use twangy vowels, saying ‘roa-ud’ and ‘dow-un’ instead of ‘road’ and ‘down’ reminds me of the twangy vowels found in some Irish accents. You can hear the influence of some Irish accents. Listen to ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’ and the singer sings about having a ‘Connacht brogue’ and being from Galway and says some words in a similar way (ua-cam.com/video/p3nXku80y2Y/v-deo.htmlsi=8_IAp4XWTcYvpklh)
Much appreciated! I would say I have an MLE accent and depending on context it can go from being very informal to very formal. I lived in Miami for just under 6 years and this also altered my accent. So I may pronounce or say things like someone who speaks African American Vernacular English and or Miami English.
@@Patricio_Marcel Thanks for the answer. In case you have an MLE accent, it’s a much softer and more elevated version of what I’ve heard so far. Very beautiful. Can you make more videos on MLE and Estuary English, maybe with some interview analysis, would be awesome. And good luck to you with your channel! ☘️
What about Estuary English which I would say is the most common accent particularly in the outer boroughs. Maybe it really is an amalgamation of RP and cockney (maybe also MLE these days)
This is an interesting one because it’s a hybrid and can lean towards RP or cockney depending on context. As such, I decided to leave it out of this video for simplicity’s sake. I may make a video on it in the future though.
Ex and his dad (now passed) had strong South London accents. Once they got going, along with the slang and diction, I couldn't understand a word. 'Arris, Sausage, and a lot of swear words were standard. If I tune into MLE I get it but the kids are coming up with new words all the time and as a middle aged person, it can be tricky to keep up.
Born and bred in East London/Essex. Moved to Cardiff 15 years ago when I was 23. In Cardiff they also have the same variations of accents. Whenever I visit home I'm always delighted how cockney everyone sounds. I feel my accent has become more 'neutral' since moving away
That was the intention. I lived in Miami for almost 6 years and there was a failure to recognise among some that in London there are so many ways of speaking.
@Patricio_Marcel My Mum grew up in Lewisham and had elocution lessons, but met my Dad at King's College London when he was training to be a dentist and she was training to be a nurse, and when they got married they moved back up to Leicester where my Dad is from, so I speak partly with my Mum's RP and partly with the East Mids accent my Dad has and that I grew up around. I went to some private schools and some state schools so my accent blended further through that. I have quite a few friends that I went to private school who have a similar accent to me. I don't know if theirs morphs to be stronger one way or the other depending on the situation though, as I only ever hear them talking when they're with me if you see what I mean 🤣 I now work in a Jobcentre in quite a troubled suburb of Nottingham, so I try and keep my accent between neutral and leaning more to the East Mids side so as not to create a perceived barrier between me and the people I'm helping
Interestingly, my 4 year old has no one in her life that speaks like my Mum except her, and she goes to pre-school, dance class, swimming class etc so is surrounded by strong Notts and Leicester accents, but for some reason mainly has my Mum's accent (grar-ss, bar-th etc), rather than the one literally everyone else around her has, including me (gr-ahss, b-ahth etc) 🤷🏼♀️
My dad is from east London and my Mum from the west. I can switch between both accents but we have all settled on something in the middle for the day to day, but use either end of the spectrum for emphasis or to deliver a tough message but using some humour. If my dad has done something silly, I’ll tell he is a “fool” in an RP type voice. But when I hand him a cuppa, I’ll say “ere ya are”
You don’t hear the cockney accent so much these days. As an East Londoner that’s sad 😢. I also think the Essex accent is commonly mistaken for the cockney or vice versa. They are distinct but seeing as a lot of cockneys moved out to Essex over the decades I can see how there has been a conflation.
Good video. I'm from herne Hill but now live in Australia. What people don't realise even in your local area your accent changes. I was talking to this woman who was from dulwich and not surrounding areas just buy her accent, it wasn't the posh dulwich accent she had. It's what we called the upper working class south London accent. It's funny
interesting this video came up! i've been thinking about this for a while and how I switch between all three. with my closest people, it's right down the middle. with others, it changes.
As someone in the US, I am a bit confused about _Received Pronunciation (RP)_. A site like “RP (Received Pronunciation) vs SSB (Standard Southern British) vs GB (General British)” says RP sounds old-fashioned (think King Charles). (Meanwhile SSB and GB appear to be alternative names for the same thing, which is the “general” middle and upper class accent spoken in southeastern English, it seems.) So it might be a good idea to follow up with a video going through the distinctions of RP vs. SSB/GB vs. Estuary English vs. Cockney vs. MLE.
Im non native speaker not coming from any english speaking countries. Tbh I think the boundaries between SSB/GB/RP are too ambiguous. Some brits even regard all southern English accents as posh RP. RP originally meant a very old fashioned accent which is mostly heard from the 50s 60s BBC broadcast and has almost disappeared since the millennium. RP has since been used for referring to a sort of tuned down version of RP which is mostly called contemporary RP/modern RP nowadays. And now, we have Mainstream RP/Comtemporary RP/Modern RP/SSB/General RP , making a big confusion to me. Someone has to define the accents clearly.
I lean between the three but you can hear hints of MLE even while I’m in a professional environment, this is because you can use RP however you may have the cadence or pitch/tone of MLE… People leave the meeting thinking wow that was an intense conversation😂 when really and truly I’m calm
Very nice video, as an American, I wish someone could explain to me how “Almost” all British people sound American when they sing, I still don’t understand that phenomenon) - The only British songs/artist that don’t sound American, when they sing, would be the Proclaimers, Billy Bragg, Johnny Rotten, Squeeze, “Cool for Cats” song, “Always look on the bright side of life” song, & “I’m Henry the eighth“
Thanks for the comment I have always wondered the same. I guess it’s about the money. Why change something if it is tried and tested? American English has broader scope globally, so potentially it has to do with that.
@@Patricio_Marcel Thank you very much for your reply. I still am confused. . .Are you implying that they’re are purposely “faking” an American accent? I’m wondering if that’s something that naturally happens when when British people sing? Or something they consciously do when they sing? - And if they are purposely imitating am American accent, why can’t they do it so easily when they’re speaking in their normal voice. Like I barely understand the Gallagher Brothers when they speak in their normal voice. But when they saying their accent magically goes away.
I started with received pronunciation, picked up MLE when I was in secondary school with my friends and went back to RP when I left. I don't really hang around people that speak MLE anymore, so there's no point in using it. 😄
Yo I been blending the accents since day dot. In south, we refer to RP as the Queens English or just posh accent. I also mix accents but more based on specially who I'm talking to and where. How I speak at work differs significantly from I chat wid da man dem and my cuzzies. Demo'ed in dis msg 😂😂😂
There is a 4th accent: East London has it's own. Might sound like Multicultural, but still has its distinctive abbreviations and words. In it?! Isn't it?! Woon it ? ( Wouldn't it?!) But I think among the 4 accents cockney is the most common. I would hear RP or sort of posh English only when I'm in Central London.
Just as 'Cockney' spread more widely in the south and south east, I detect signs that MLE is spreading beyond London. Within it, I occasionally hear people who code switch between MLE and RP which , originally coming from a working class northern background, I think is hilarious.
My accent is a combo of all three, but I don't switch it up to match different crowds. I rigidly stick to this hybrid accent and as a result, I kinda fit in but don't fit in fully to any group lol
Innit absolutely does not! 😂😂😂 Otherwise yeah, maybe some Asian influence in mle but I've tended to notice the reverse: Asian youth adopting mle. To me that mle is basically working roadman English. My Jamaican dad speaks with a strong JA accent and sounds nothing like them. Neither does my JA mum. It's just roadman youth, very specially. MLE is too all encompassing. Most multicultural people in London/the UK do NOT speak like that, actually.
They all sound different, but very understandable. I know a Cardiffian lived in London for 20 years. Now, she sounds like the RP people with hints of Cardiff.
As a Clapham common native, it's definitely a mix of mle and RP, also Saturday at midnight is mainly lotus, aquum etc, definitely mle, some rp, more mle as revolution has shut down. My parents were born in the 60s to Jamaicans with thick accents, they sound more cockney as that's what most youth sounded like in most places that weren't as posh, they're from Brixton, obviously accents have become regional and also scattered since then ❤
I tap into multiple accents/dialects depending on context, too. Think it's the product of being brought up with a diverse background. I just do it without even realising.
Just for the ease of comprehension for this Canadian, RP is my favourite. But I'm learning to hear the Cockney accent. MLE will take a lot more time and effort.
I prefer RP, but grew up mostly hearing something akin to Cockney, something _like Cockney_ or _an RP with the 'edges' roughened_ !! What I _hate most_ is the word for the letter 'h' / 'H' - _aitch_ mispronounced as "haitch" Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr😡😡😡😡 !! I can put up with 'F' instead of 'Th', as that mostly seems to be caused by physical changes re mouth / lips / tongue, but sometimes it's due to speech not being corrected as a child learns to speak. My son used to (when just a 'toddler') struggle saying "sh" and said instead "s" so would say sop instead of shop, but with _encouragement_ _and_ _practice_ he learned how to say 'shop' etc... For those who say the 'v' or "vv" sound instead of "th" (bruvver, muvver, etc) or "monf" instead of 'month' etc, I don't like to hear it, but _I_ have _no say_ in how others speak and thus will not make (verbalised) judgements - it's _not_ my place to do so, I merely accept this as fact. If this makes me "stuck up" / "a snob" / or overly "posh" ...so be it, I cannot help how I was raised, anymore than others who were not brought up to speak correctly, as I was. My (late) Mum would have hated how Londoners speak these days...but then, she always did, she was born in Scotland, lived in London as a small child but then raised by her Aunt in Suffolk, and hated London. She lived in London on and off through the era of WWII, (according to where she was billeted when she was a Sergeant in the Army) and after her marriage, but eventually, and (belatedly) for just three weeks before her eventual demise, she lived in Kent with my (now also late) half sister and her family... I think she liked Kent only slightly more than London, but aged 98 years (+ 7 months) she was in no position to move back to her beloved Suffolk. Whereas London is home to me, with all of its many and varied accents, some of which I like, others less so, but again ...not my business to teach others how to speak...!! Although I will offer corrections on misspellings via YT comments - like it or not!! (71 yo English female, SE.Londoner). 👍🙂🏴💜🇬🇧🤭🖖
As a young black brit from east London, I kinda have a mixture of all 3. I'm mostly RP, but when I'm with friends I'm more MLE. Then I have a bit of a cockney twang as I'm from east.
Thanks for the comment. The card is already placed. I think sometimes it shows and on other occasions it doesn’t. If you watch video on the TV and or on your phone’s web browser instead of the actual UA-cam app it may not show up.
@@Patricio_Marcel strange. I watched on the UA-cam app and didn't see it. By the way found you through your Spanish is easy vdeo. You seem to have grasped UA-cam to a T and no doubt will grow stupid fast. Certainly more than my pathetic attempt. Keep up the good work. 👍🏾
It's funny, i was born, raised and have lived my whole life in London, but i have an accent that isn't MLE, Cockney or RP, and so have loads of the people i grew up with in Streatham and Tooting
Yup, the south London accent. It's not East London, Cockney or MLE. I haven't seen a video on accents yet that has grasped this! I'm from south London (Streatham area). It would be so interesting to see someone do a comparison video. Also witht the differences between the working class and middle class versions.
@@Patricio_Marcel South Londoners often put an pronounce words in a slightly more exaggerated way. So south or souf north of the river becomes saff or sarf south of the river. My fathers family are from south London, but I grew up in north London, and I can definitely hear it.
@@ultrademigod are you sure it is the area which influenced the accent, or the cultures with which the different members of your family engaged with? Also chelsea is "north" of the river and battersea is "south" of the river. Someone who grew up on Battersea Park Road likely sounds similar to someone who grew up off Brompton Road. So this would suggest the river is not necessarily the dividing point or what determines how you speak.
Have you come across accents from "New Towns," like Hemel Hempstead? I think HH is an evolution of blended 1940s London accents as spoken by all the people 'transplanted' from war-torn / derelict areas of London. What do you think?
There's lots of accents in London. North, south, east and west. Plus. I'm from ealing/ Acton, and I speak differently to my aunt from Nottinghill Gate. My kids speak north London, because they grew up here. Does anyone still define themselves as a 'cockney'? I call myself a londoner.
Okay cheers for the comment. I agree that there lots of London accents, but you can’t base a London accent on area entirely. If we take one street, kings road in Chelsea for example, depending on your upbringing and context your accent could easily be one of the three mentioned in the video despite living on the same street!
I'm from west London, I don't speak like the RP examples in this video - I am not that posh/upper class sounding - but I don't speak with a Cockney accent either. I speak something in between, I thought it was called "Estuary English" - and most of the people I know and work with (in professional services) speak with that accent. The accent might move more toward RP if speaking to important clients at work etc and a little more toward cockney if speaking to a friend/the plumber. But "Estuary English" has replaced RP as the main/normal "received" accent in London.
Clapham must have changed a lot since i lived in Tooting. The posh stayed north of the river back then. Even taxi drivers wouldn't take you over the bridge to south london.
Code switching is a real thing (ting) and it happens automatically, I’ve always said I could go from speaking to the King of England to speak to a roadman in 2.2 seconds
I have lived in East London and West London (East Ham and Westbourne Park) but cannot distinguish different geographically based accents in the city. There is a huge difference depending on age (and class) though. I found the strongest old style London accents in Harlow and Stevenage. I don't think it is my ears as I can recognise at least five distinct accents between Liverpool and Manchester. Maybe you all sound like cockneys to me because I am from the North?
Though I’m more familiar with hearing Midlands accents personally, it does seem to me that there’s a difference between how Londoners and Essexians(?) say the word ‘mental’ - it’s MEN’aw in London and men’AW in Essex. Certain vowels and consonants get elongated in Essex too, so ‘Essex’ comes out as ‘Esssseekssss’
For me RP is how the King speaks or old BBC recordings from the early days of television. Standard/Modern Southern British (SSB/MSB) would more accurately describe RP in your video. If you listen to how the King speaks vs how William and Harry speak, it is quite different. Dr Geoff Lindsey has a great video explaining this difference.
Like with anything I think you have gradients. Some who fall more towards the stiff upper end of the spectrum and others who don’t. The video opted to use extremes of each accent to illustrate a point for a non English audience.
@@jaxcoss5790 Multicultural London English - it's the first accent shown in the video. MLE not the main accent in London though, it's too "street" to be that. Estuary English is the "mainstream" accent for London these days, but it wasn't shown in the video.
I come from Kent but from a cockney family. I drop my h's & use f instead of th. I now live in NE with a geordie & even after 16 yrs he still dont understand me & yet l understand him no probs. My geordie m8s love my accent especially when l curse lol but l say to my old man... l dont know why you can't understand me cos lm the only one speaking proper english! Lol
@@jackiedelvalle I hear you bro but like what the host said I'm just talking about the bare basics of London lol. But there's a general London accent. Where you can't tell which part of London people are from without asking but you know they're from London. Because they use a mixture of all / most of the 4 other main accents in they're daily lifes. By using words like "innit" "you nah what I'm saying" which are universally used in London even in places like Richmond & Ruislip. I hope this makes sense..
My cousins - for example - are born n bred east London. They went to primary school in Wapping but secondary school in Camden/Chalk Farm (a posh school). They emphatically do not have cockney accents. They have generic… idk… middle class accents. I know a few others like that. My name is eastender - but I’m not one, had just been living there at the time and for nearly 20 years, so called myself that. I too have a generic southern accent unlike some of my mates who have strong cockney or similar accents. The odd word from me maybe.
IMO, the MLE accent is a bit contrived. You hear it in other places. I even spoke like that a little bit in my late teens/early 20s circa 2000 (depending on who I was with) 🥴
If you want to be pedantic, the real RP is an accent that was formalised in the 20th/19th century and that no one except maybe a few of the oldest and poshest. The examples in this video are more like Standard Southern British (SSB), with maybe one or two extra posh syllables thrown in.
I have the strangest accent, I just pronounce all letters that need to be pronounced and being born in Midlands but raised in South London I pronounce all letters for example I do say t in water and ts in butterfly I also say grass, glass & bath 😂 there is no r/aa/ar in my pronunciations Now having a Jamaican background I can speak patois if I am joking or responding to my mum in mid conversation But I would never be speaking to my friends and say "I'm in my yard"
As I'm sure you know there are a lot more than three London accents! But I appreciate it's a beginner's video. London and Essex accents are not the same. I'd be interested in a more detailed analysis from you, e.g. differences between south, east, west, north London accents, especially the difference between the working class and middle class versions. Difference between modern and traditional RP (Jamie Laing is kind of in the middle I think). I have a mixed RP/south London accent so for example I switch between a glottal stop and pronouncing the t, but I would never ever say things like free instread of three or fink instead of think.
Absolutely there are more accents. In fact most folks who come to London from West Africa, South Asia, Latin America and or Somalia at a young age tend to adapt an MLE accent with a base in their mother tongue. This is something I’ll touch on in another video. However, I don’t think there are differences in accents based on which part of London you live in when referencing north, south, east, and west. For example if you live in Chelsea’s world end estate you live in south west London, and if you live in Woolwich you live in south east London. Both south London, but this hypothetical person will not have the same accent. So this video concept will be nearly impossible. Far too many nuances. With the Jamie Lang point you are correct. But, as with all the other examples I chose to use, they are the extremes of each accent, so that the differences are clear as day. Most MlE speakers are not as animated as the first example, but that goes without saying.
@@Patricio_Marcel I can see there would be too many nuances. There are - or maybe I should have said 'were', as I was thinking of the 70s and 80s - definitely differences between different sides of London. When there was not yet any (or very little) multicultural influence except in certain pockets. You're too young to remember! Class is also part of it. That's why I said it's not just which side of London, but class too. Back then I was surrounded by south London accents in a lower/middle middle-class area, and this was different to East London accents, not as broad, different vowel sounds. But there was a stronger south London accent, more working class, probably more like a traditional East London accent, e.g. dropped Hs, which I was definitely taught not to do! It's all mixed together now as everyone moves around a lot more these days. I'd like to see someone do a video with people who were around then and haven't lost their accent, to hear the differences explained.
I would argue that RP and BBC English aren't the same at all. RP is essentially a public school English, and not a standard English, or particularly easy for non-natives to speak. BBC English is the (I'd argue), based on south west England, middle class accent. Also, for us northerners.... Aren't there way more working class accents from around different parts of London, is it really the same in Bow and north West London? (Genuine question)
I can distinguish from the voice as most black British have the same accent because of their background and their ethnic accent mixing with the British accent
Id say most people are RP leaning, as in they try to adopt it or something close to it when necessary. But it probably isn’t the most spoken. Maybe the most widely understood. But I have never met a person who speaks perfect RP without deviating to other accents.
If you’re reading this, please don’t forget to smash the like button and subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already! 🙏
RP.. otherwise known as mums telephone voice 😂
🤣🤣😅
We call it Queen's English in my own parts back then
People with that accent today are not as many as one would expect when compared to London's external image.
It's the accent foreigners especially the older ones pre-social media are used to associating with London and even Britain by extension
The ‘Hyacinth Bouquet’
Of course I code switch, I wouldn't thrive in this crazy town without doing it!
I do too. It's funny how the accent changes around certain people/area.
You can hear any of these accents at any given time around London, and there's a good chance people with all three of these accents will be hanging out together at your local skatepark. People of different backgrounds just getting on with each other, is one of the things I love about London 😄
Spot on!! Same thing I love about the capital.
😂😂 yeah Barnabys mum and dad is gonna let him hang around the council estate to get robbed. Wouldn’t happen.
Yup I am all three, grew up in west London african heritage. Grew up with Afro/Caribbean/Cockney friends and neighbours.
I love this! Haven’t seen someone black break down the MLE accent like that, subbed already 🎉
Much appreciated and thanks for the comment 🙏
Definitely subbed after this video, and I don't even come from London I'm from Wolverhampton 😂
@@genoshajames By the way, the Multicultural London English vid is up now. Go check it out!
Tbf though that MLE name/description is misleading. That accent is basically roadman: a working class youth vernacular. A 50yo working class black person doesn't habitually speak like that - I come from a GIANT black (Jamaican heritage) London family and the only ones who habitually speak like that are the younguns. The rest of us deffo 'sound black' and can generally jump into roadman vernacular if we feel like (same as we can and do with RP), but it's mainly 'youth' (increasingly of all ethnicities) who 'own' that way of speaking. Also, btw, the different areas of London have different accents: north Londoners don't sound like south Londoners, etc. You have to have a keen ear for that, though. 😊
@@jackiedelvalleseconded. south east
I Grew up in London in the 80s. But moved all around a lot so definitely have a hybrid accent like yours. Feel like the MLE accent started to become more of a thing after the garage/early grime scene in London. I lived in Essex for a bit in 00s and I would say Essex has its own accent. It’s like a hybrid between the cockney accent and whatever the local accent was at the time. If you listen to a genuine cockney such as Barbara Windsor and compare it with o Gemma Collins you will hear the difference. Many people who live on the London fringe/Essex areas are originally from London but moved out 70s/80s. Anyway great video!
Much appreciated and welcome to the channel!
I grew up in the 80s and 90s and my feeling is that MLE was actually a hybrid with the working class South London accent rather than cockney. To anyone not from London at the time the differences are subtle. The key one though is the intonation which rose at the end of sentences in the South London accent but not in Cockney. Also H's are almost always dropped in cockney but only sometimes or partially in SL. Think of the H in house in MLE. It's still there just a bit degraded rather than the full on owse of cockney and estuary English. Good video.
Oh and it makes perfect sense that it's more South than East as Brixton and Clapham, Balham and Tooting (aka my endz) were where the Windrush generation were initially housed. First off in bunks in the old Clapham Common air raid shelters.
In south Essex between Thurrock and Southend, and as well as Chelmsford now, I've noticed anyone born essentially after 2006 speak MLE. I noticed recently at work.
@@RollerbazAndCoasterDad Yes think you might be right. So interesting how accents develop.
This was a great video. Observations were spot on! I code switch between the 3 too!
Thank you for the comment and I’m glad I’m not the only one 😂😂😂 seems like nobody else wants to admit to code switching 😅
@@Patricio_Marcel absolutely to the point my wife takes the micky as I can have 3 different phone conversations in a row and use all three in different variations 😂
This video is real gold. It’s really difficult to find such well researched linguistic analysis of accents! I can’t wait for your next video about MLE.
Stay tuned, I am dropping it this weekend! Appreciate the comment 🙏
By the way, the Multicultural London English vid is up now. Go check it out!
@@Patricio_Marcel Thank you!
Great video, this channel will blow up soon for sure. Love this content!
🙏
I use RP when I'm on the phone to strangers and switch between cockney and MLE with family and freinds.
I feel you on that one. You think it’s a habit you built by subconsciously watching your elders when growing up?
@@Patricio_Marcelas a londoner, I think we all have to be hybrid in nature, lessons are taught in RP but especially for us from the 90s and earlier more likely to be all 3 fluent whereas gen z seem more limited in cockney since they are now more Essex than East London. I also believe there is London cockney and Essex cockney
Yesss! Same! The accent switch just comes so naturally to me I dont even think about it at the time. But have often wondered why I do this lol 🤣
@@Patricio_Marcel a bit of both i think
i switch often to a black country accent cus i got about half my family there and sometimes it sticks so when i come back home my friends question why i sound so weird lol
Quality vid bro, subbed
I’m 50 and I grew up in Hackney. I use all three accents depending on who I’m talking too. I’ve heard/seen MLE develop and a child of Caribbean immigrants I couldn’t be prouder hearing how we’ve added our part to the accents of London.
I'm the same age, and grew up in Hackney, Lower Clapton.
Interesting. One thing I noted growing up in Croydon through the 80's was that we used to have 2 main accents, the full on South London "awight, mate" and the Surrey "ok, ya", that have now seen to have merged into one.
Nice one, geezer. Just earned yasself a subscriber :)
Much appreciated 🙏
Innit, doh!
Unpopular opinion: I believe black people have a different tone of voice (might be to do with larynx/vocal cords etc…)
There’s certain pitches and tones of how we say the exact same word cockney person would say. Also I’ve noticed South Asian have a different spin on their MLE accent
Yup. That’s why it’s MLE. At its root/foundation, it’s cockney-ish but its trunk and branches are African, Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Vietnamese, or Chinese, depending on what family you come from.
People can always hear these influences heavily permeate the cockney accent.
This is very true you just know if someone is Black, White or South Asian based on the tone of the voice even if they have the same accent but I have always been curious why this is the case.
How is that an unpopular opinion? It isn’t even exclusive to the U.K.
@@orange2pointo i only said unpopular because when I bring it up in real life some peeps get cagey about how they sound. Some peeps don’t want to be identified by how they speak so they have picked up another accent and try to be someone else
@@scarzwryou are right! People don’t like to hear they sound Asian or African just cos they were born in London lol as if it’s a bad thing!
Interesting video. I can relate when you said you have a hybrid accent containing all three, as I do myself (At my workplace I'll pronounce the TH sounds but revert back to MLE with my friends and family lol).
Thanks for the comment and I feel you! I can even go full African English at home depending on context.
There is a difference between the Essex and Cockney accents.
There’s also a difference between RP (Upper Middle/ Middle-Middle class) and the ‘rah rah take it too far’ Upper Class (aristocracy, Royalty and most people who went to very posh boarding schools, basically 😂).
You showed an Upper Class Rah Rah accent in the ‘RP’ section.
Also, don’t forget that there’s a growing number of people who have a somewhat mixed London accent.
Other than that, this is brill! 💜👌
Much appreciated. Thanks for the comment. 🙏
I thought that it made more sense to focus on the extremes of each accent to draw the stark contrast between each. You could argue most MLE speakers (like myself) do not sound like the MLE clip, most cockney speakers don’t sound like Danny Dyer and most RP speakers do not have a made in Chelsea stiff upper RP accent. But to illustrate my points for a global audience, I intentionally used the extremes.
@@Patricio_Marcel Very true!
I’m sure you’re aware of what I said being a Londoner yourself. 😂
Sorry if I came across in a condescending way. That really wasn’t the intention!!
And your video was great! I’m looking forward to watching more. 💜
Born and grew up in West London, I moved (ironically) to the Caribbean in the early 80s and was surprised when I came back many years later to discover MLE. It wasn't a thing - at least in my neck of the woods - in my day (although I dare say it was already developing elsewhere), but now seems to be quite widespread. Cool. It's fascinating to see how aspects of various immigrant cultures become absorbed into the dominant culture, becoming part of it. I do think the glottal stop (Ts skipped in the middle of words like little or bottle) is a big part of the Cockney accent and should have been mentioned as such rather than just being ascribed to MLE. It doesn't seem to be a feature of the part of the Caribbean I live in (Trinidad and Tobago), although I can't speak for Jamaica - maybe it's common there. Anyway, minor quibble about an otherwise interesting video.
Great point, I should have also ascribed the missing "T" to Cockney. Perhaps food for thought for a future video!
Spot on
@Patricio_Marcel absolutely
A lot of the community I mix with are Iraqi and Pakistani. Imagine an Iraqi cleric speaking English with the missing 't', 🙂, or a high ranking Pakistani cleric saying 'I'm going Najaf'. Just interesting to see. I've been in London for 30 years so I have no idea what my accent is these days.
@newcivilisation I lived in Puerto Rico for a couple of years after I left the UK. I was surprised one day when my dad asked me on a phone call why I sounded Spanish. I wasn't aware that I had developed any sort of accent. I've lived in T&T for close to 40 years now. Whenever I visit the UK I make a conscious effort to sound "English" as my family find it unnerving to hear me speak however it is I speak now instead of like the Londoner I was. It's inevitable that you pick up the way of speaking of those around you - at least for me it is. What's fascinating about MLE is how it so transformed English in England for so many people.
I love this video. You've earned a subscriber.Any South Londers in the house?!
Appreciated and yes you’ve got one here! 🙌🏽
@@Patricio_Marcel Sweet. You've earned a subscriber! It's funny I never realised I had an accent till I went to uni. Great content once again.
Language is always changing throughout history , Slang is a huge factor in the way that language has changed over the years , The amount of French words that are in the English language " Cul de sac " , Saviour , Perfume " the list goes on . TV shows like " Eastenders " and " Only Fools and horses " had an effect on how a lot of people " mostly not from London " started to talk like they came from London , When really they came from the suburbs , But most of the slang comes from the " Youth " but they in time will be the older generation ............. And their children will come up with words of their own , Its all one Big melting pot ....And there"s nothing wrong with that . ....... Great Vid ,
Love this perspective. It’s funny you should say that because I have met younger folks from places like Burnley who have adopted MLE from London and out their own spin on it.
This is an interesting video as someone who is obssessed with the history of accents. Especially as someone who grew up in East London/Essex so my accent switches from MLE and Cockney more commonly than maybe someone from South/North Londoners and I have West London friends who's accents switch between RP/MLE. Proper crazy
Yeah, my accent slides about all over the place depending who I'm talking to - not helped by growing up with one mum from South Africa, and one a Cockney who very quickly lost her accent when she went to uni because people assumed she was thick - I default to a modified less posh RP for most situations. My niece literally asked one time where I grew up, and was confused when I said 'London... like your mum' - 'But you have a really different accent to her and to dad!' - they have more of an Essex twang I encounter a lot around some of the outer suburbs
Super interesting. It is amazing to see how cultural influences, travel, work and immigration impact our accents.
Ahhhhhh, but were you born within the sounds of the Bow Bells?
@@jaxcoss5790 Nah, Hackney mate! I do now live in Bow though...
That's funny, I grew up in east London and have a mild cockney accent but also dropped it when I went to uni and work as I didn't want to be perceived as thick too. It definitely comes out when I get mad, though 😅
Question... what about Estuary? It's like a hybrid of Cockney and RP - Jamie Oliver/Lily Allen etc etc
Didn't think it was worth noting in this video. Trying to keep it under 7 minutes, so I wanted to cover things with the largest scope. I did however, touch on people adapting their accents depending on context.
I think that’s more an accent of the south east e.g. Essex, Kent and Hertfordshire rather than a London accent.
@@MarkS_1768100% right, estuary English specifically refers to accents of people in the counties that satellite around London.
I’m an American who visited London. Some people I understood fine and others I had no idea what they were saying although I could tell it was English. Usually the most difficult for me is Cockney. I didn’t understand Adele well in interviews the beginning and I noticed she has changed her accent over time. The first guy wasn’t as difficult for me but might be for other Americans depending on their exposure. I know people from the Caribbean and have been there. I am accustomed to hearing think and tink and thing as ting. Also there are Americans some of whom are of African descent who pronounce th in some words as a d. Dis, Dat, and Dos, Dey, Dere. So I can kind of translate it my mind. I think some Irish people do this too.
Some top notch observations
As a british jamaican in my mid 30s code switching just became natural. I go ftom mle with my london boys o(f all colours) to cockney when i played semi pro football in essex. I noticed being from east london we were generally abit more cockney than the other parts
Yeah I can definitely understand and relate to this!
Same. I was born in Islington 81, moved to Ealing 94 and depending who I'm around the accent naturally changes 😂😂
Very nice video. As an American, Is the MLE accent, (grouping) analogous (or a nicer way of saying) to the (grouping) of the common black American accent? Which doesn’t officially have a name over here. The 3 most common stereotype accidents over here the foreigners know, only know of are New York, Southern drawl, & California Valley girl. (excluding the grouping of of the plane, typical Americans that don’t have an official accent category name)
Interesting stuff. There is a similar issue in Birmingham (UK) with at least two different dialects within the City and Solihull!
Then there are the neighbours in the Black Country (Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall etc)…
I’m also from Birmingham originally, I don’t live too far away now, and I’ve noticed some subtle differences between the form of Brummie spoken in the North and South of Brum, as well as some Black Country vowels creeping into the speech of those from Western Brum. The way Yamyams (Black Country folk) use twangy vowels, saying ‘roa-ud’ and ‘dow-un’ instead of ‘road’ and ‘down’ reminds me of the twangy vowels found in some Irish accents. You can hear the influence of some Irish accents. Listen to ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’ and the singer sings about having a ‘Connacht brogue’ and being from Galway and says some words in a similar way (ua-cam.com/video/p3nXku80y2Y/v-deo.htmlsi=8_IAp4XWTcYvpklh)
Patricio and what kind of accent do you have yourself ? Loved your video and subscribed!
Much appreciated! I would say I have an MLE accent and depending on context it can go from being very informal to very formal. I lived in Miami for just under 6 years and this also altered my accent. So I may pronounce or say things like someone who speaks African American Vernacular English and or Miami English.
@@Patricio_Marcel Thanks for the answer. In case you have an MLE accent, it’s a much softer and more elevated version of what I’ve heard so far. Very beautiful.
Can you make more videos on MLE and Estuary English, maybe with some interview analysis, would be awesome. And good luck to you with your channel! ☘️
@ekko-english appreciate the comment. I’ll be making more videos like these in the future for sure. Stay tuned!
Good video bruh…subscribed
Cheers!
Great video. New sub. Please keep up the good work
Much appreciated 🙏
What about Estuary English which I would say is the most common accent particularly in the outer boroughs. Maybe it really is an amalgamation of RP and cockney (maybe also MLE these days)
This is an interesting one because it’s a hybrid and can lean towards RP or cockney depending on context. As such, I decided to leave it out of this video for simplicity’s sake. I may make a video on it in the future though.
Ex and his dad (now passed) had strong South London accents. Once they got going, along with the slang and diction, I couldn't understand a word. 'Arris, Sausage, and a lot of swear words were standard.
If I tune into MLE I get it but the kids are coming up with new words all the time and as a middle aged person, it can be tricky to keep up.
Great and insightful video
Much appreciated!
Born and bred in East London/Essex. Moved to Cardiff 15 years ago when I was 23. In Cardiff they also have the same variations of accents. Whenever I visit home I'm always delighted how cockney everyone sounds. I feel my accent has become more 'neutral' since moving away
No surprises there. I also left London and moved to Miami for ~6 years. This shifted my accent in an effort to be widely understood.
This will help a lot of people abroad, great video
That was the intention. I lived in Miami for almost 6 years and there was a failure to recognise among some that in London there are so many ways of speaking.
@Patricio_Marcel it's obvious there are at least 2 different ways
the Innit/Mandem
And the type you hear in Parliament for instance
Great video. I’m more RP, but when I chat to my brothers, we slip into a hybrid of cockney and RP
Glad you enjoyed it and completely understandable!
Grew up in north London being teenager in the 90s. Definitely a hybrid of all 3
I have a hybrid of RP and East Midlands and I move between them depending on context and don't particularly have control over it either
Interesting! I don’t think I’ve heard this blend before in person……
@Patricio_Marcel My Mum grew up in Lewisham and had elocution lessons, but met my Dad at King's College London when he was training to be a dentist and she was training to be a nurse, and when they got married they moved back up to Leicester where my Dad is from, so I speak partly with my Mum's RP and partly with the East Mids accent my Dad has and that I grew up around. I went to some private schools and some state schools so my accent blended further through that. I have quite a few friends that I went to private school who have a similar accent to me. I don't know if theirs morphs to be stronger one way or the other depending on the situation though, as I only ever hear them talking when they're with me if you see what I mean 🤣
I now work in a Jobcentre in quite a troubled suburb of Nottingham, so I try and keep my accent between neutral and leaning more to the East Mids side so as not to create a perceived barrier between me and the people I'm helping
Interestingly, my 4 year old has no one in her life that speaks like my Mum except her, and she goes to pre-school, dance class, swimming class etc so is surrounded by strong Notts and Leicester accents, but for some reason mainly has my Mum's accent (grar-ss, bar-th etc), rather than the one literally everyone else around her has, including me (gr-ahss, b-ahth etc) 🤷🏼♀️
100%, my accent changes depending on who I'm talking to and match their dialect.
Completely understandable!
The working class London accent can certainly be heard in Kent but the Essex accent is definitely slightly different. Great video though.
Cheers 👍
100%
My dad is from east London and my Mum from the west. I can switch between both accents but we have all settled on something in the middle for the day to day, but use either end of the spectrum for emphasis or to deliver a tough message but using some humour. If my dad has done something silly, I’ll tell he is a “fool” in an RP type voice. But when I hand him a cuppa, I’ll say “ere ya are”
You don’t hear the cockney accent so much these days. As an East Londoner that’s sad 😢.
I also think the Essex accent is commonly mistaken for the cockney or vice versa. They are distinct but seeing as a lot of cockneys moved out to Essex over the decades I can see how there has been a conflation.
Great point!
@@Patricio_Marcel perhaps an Essex vs cockney side by side would be interesting.
Perhaps, I’ll definitely short list the idea….. 🙏
Good video.
I'm from herne Hill but now live in Australia.
What people don't realise even in your local area your accent changes.
I was talking to this woman who was from dulwich and not surrounding areas just buy her accent, it wasn't the posh dulwich accent she had.
It's what we called the upper working class south London accent.
It's funny
Appreciate the comment. Has your accent adapted again now you’ve moved to Australia?
This was a great video! I am mix between cockney and RP LOL my Nigeria husband has told me a few times I am not MLE.
I’m glad you enjoyed it and welcome to the channel!
interesting this video came up! i've been thinking about this for a while and how I switch between all three. with my closest people, it's right down the middle. with others, it changes.
@@Lorcsss i think this more common then you’d imagine.
As someone in the US, I am a bit confused about _Received Pronunciation (RP)_. A site like “RP (Received Pronunciation) vs SSB (Standard Southern British) vs GB (General British)” says RP sounds old-fashioned (think King Charles). (Meanwhile SSB and GB appear to be alternative names for the same thing, which is the “general” middle and upper class accent spoken in southeastern English, it seems.)
So it might be a good idea to follow up with a video going through the distinctions of RP vs. SSB/GB vs. Estuary English vs. Cockney vs. MLE.
Im non native speaker not coming from any english speaking countries. Tbh I think the boundaries between SSB/GB/RP are too ambiguous. Some brits even regard all southern English accents as posh RP. RP originally meant a very old fashioned accent which is mostly heard from the 50s 60s BBC broadcast and has almost disappeared since the millennium. RP has since been used for referring to a sort of tuned down version of RP which is mostly called contemporary RP/modern RP nowadays. And now, we have Mainstream RP/Comtemporary RP/Modern RP/SSB/General RP , making a big confusion to me. Someone has to define the accents clearly.
Great video 💯✊🏾
Thank you 🙏
I lean between the three but you can hear hints of MLE even while I’m in a professional environment, this is because you can use RP however you may have the cadence or pitch/tone of MLE…
People leave the meeting thinking wow that was an intense conversation😂 when really and truly I’m calm
Very nice video, as an American, I wish someone could explain to me how “Almost” all British people sound American when they sing, I still don’t understand that phenomenon) - The only British songs/artist that don’t sound American, when they sing, would be the Proclaimers, Billy Bragg, Johnny Rotten, Squeeze, “Cool for Cats” song, “Always look on the bright side of life” song, & “I’m Henry the eighth“
Thanks for the comment I have always wondered the same. I guess it’s about the money. Why change something if it is tried and tested? American English has broader scope globally, so potentially it has to do with that.
@@Patricio_Marcel Thank you very much for your reply. I still am confused. . .Are you implying that they’re are purposely “faking” an American accent?
I’m wondering if that’s something that naturally happens when when British people sing? Or something they consciously do when they sing?
-
And if they are purposely imitating am American accent, why can’t they do it so easily when they’re speaking in their normal voice.
Like I barely understand the Gallagher Brothers when they speak in their normal voice. But when they saying their accent magically goes away.
@
Correct! You don't accidentally imitate an accent. It is a decision.
I’m from west london , totally 💯 agreed 👍 with you
I started with received pronunciation, picked up MLE when I was in secondary school with my friends and went back to RP when I left. I don't really hang around people that speak MLE anymore, so there's no point in using it. 😄
Subscriber 667 loving the content and doing the Lords 😇
@@joshuaconnage9959 much appreciated 🙏
Yo I been blending the accents since day dot. In south, we refer to RP as the Queens English or just posh accent. I also mix accents but more based on specially who I'm talking to and where. How I speak at work differs significantly from I chat wid da man dem and my cuzzies. Demo'ed in dis msg 😂😂😂
Good explanation video although I’d say the GC has an Essex twang that is very slightly a degree away from the normal cockney to the trained ear.
Thanks 👍
Exactly, she is Essex, not London
Haha the house as ouse!! Micky Flanagan has a good bit on this
Not ouse - ahhhssss with A at the start. Very east end London.
There is a 4th accent: East London has it's own. Might sound like Multicultural, but still has its distinctive abbreviations and words.
In it?! Isn't it?!
Woon it ? ( Wouldn't it?!)
But I think among the 4 accents cockney is the most common. I would hear RP or sort of posh English only when I'm in Central London.
Both cockney and MLE speakers use these abbreviations
Just as 'Cockney' spread more widely in the south and south east, I detect signs that MLE is spreading beyond London. Within it, I occasionally hear people who code switch between MLE and RP which , originally coming from a working class northern background, I think is hilarious.
👍
My accent is a combo of all three, but I don't switch it up to match different crowds. I rigidly stick to this hybrid accent and as a result, I kinda fit in but don't fit in fully to any group lol
The first accent was clear with me, sir, thank you! *PUTS PHONE BACK IN POCKET* 😅
Rah you sound like a battyboy..that ain't no accent..
I think there’s lots of asian influence in MLE as well, since words like “innit” come from asian languages.
Hey you should go and check out my other video on MLE specifically where I discuss south Asian influence.
Innit absolutely does not! 😂😂😂 Otherwise yeah, maybe some Asian influence in mle but I've tended to notice the reverse: Asian youth adopting mle. To me that mle is basically working roadman English. My Jamaican dad speaks with a strong JA accent and sounds nothing like them. Neither does my JA mum. It's just roadman youth, very specially. MLE is too all encompassing. Most multicultural people in London/the UK do NOT speak like that, actually.
I struggled so much when I first moved here! But you get used to it once you learn the language properly
Glad you figured it out in the end!
They all sound different, but very understandable. I know a Cardiffian lived in London for 20 years. Now, she sounds like the RP people with hints of Cardiff.
As a Clapham common native, it's definitely a mix of mle and RP, also Saturday at midnight is mainly lotus, aquum etc, definitely mle, some rp, more mle as revolution has shut down.
My parents were born in the 60s to Jamaicans with thick accents, they sound more cockney as that's what most youth sounded like in most places that weren't as posh, they're from Brixton, obviously accents have become regional and also scattered since then ❤
Yeah, I put café sol on screen for a reason 😂😂😂😂.
I tap into multiple accents/dialects depending on context, too. Think it's the product of being brought up with a diverse background. I just do it without even realising.
Completely understood. Which ones do you tap into?
Which London accent is your favorite?
COCKNEYYYYYY
Just for the ease of comprehension for this Canadian, RP is my favourite. But I'm learning to hear the Cockney accent. MLE will take a lot more time and effort.
I prefer RP, but grew up mostly hearing something akin to Cockney, something _like Cockney_ or _an RP with the 'edges' roughened_ !!
What I _hate most_ is the word for the letter 'h' / 'H' - _aitch_ mispronounced as "haitch" Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr😡😡😡😡 !!
I can put up with 'F' instead of 'Th', as that mostly seems to be caused by physical changes re mouth / lips / tongue, but sometimes it's due to speech not being corrected as a child learns to speak.
My son used to (when just a 'toddler') struggle saying "sh" and said instead "s" so would say sop instead of shop, but with _encouragement_ _and_ _practice_ he learned how to say 'shop' etc...
For those who say the 'v' or "vv" sound instead of "th" (bruvver, muvver, etc) or "monf" instead of 'month' etc, I don't like to hear it, but _I_ have _no say_ in how others speak and thus will not make (verbalised) judgements - it's _not_ my place to do so, I merely accept this as fact.
If this makes me "stuck up" / "a snob" / or overly "posh" ...so be it, I cannot help how I was raised, anymore than others who were not brought up to speak correctly, as I was.
My (late) Mum would have hated how Londoners speak these days...but then, she always did, she was born in Scotland, lived in London as a small child but then raised by her Aunt in Suffolk, and hated London.
She lived in London on and off through the era of WWII, (according to where she was billeted when she was a Sergeant in the Army) and after her marriage, but eventually, and (belatedly) for just three weeks before her eventual demise, she lived in Kent with my (now also late) half sister and her family...
I think she liked Kent only slightly more than London, but aged 98 years (+ 7 months) she was in no position to move back to her beloved Suffolk.
Whereas London is home to me, with all of its many and varied accents, some of which I like, others less so, but again
...not my business to teach others how to speak...!! Although I will offer corrections on misspellings via YT comments - like it or not!!
(71 yo English female, SE.Londoner).
👍🙂🏴💜🇬🇧🤭🖖
West London.... all day everyday! 😀
West London is not an accent in the video 😅
As a young black brit from east London, I kinda have a mixture of all 3. I'm mostly RP, but when I'm with friends I'm more MLE. Then I have a bit of a cockney twang as I'm from east.
Completely understand this!
Now I'm going to walk around saying "Gla-ee-eh-ah" for at least a week.
Great video. You should do a video on how west africa has influenced the london accent.
Thanks and great idea!
Bros mastered the art of code switching 😂
😂😂😂
You can come across many people with these 3 accents at the same time.
💯
Reminder to place the end card for your 24 hour Spanish in London video
Thanks for the comment. The card is already placed. I think sometimes it shows and on other occasions it doesn’t. If you watch video on the TV and or on your phone’s web browser instead of the actual UA-cam app it may not show up.
@@Patricio_Marcel strange. I watched on the UA-cam app and didn't see it. By the way found you through your Spanish is easy vdeo. You seem to have grasped UA-cam to a T and no doubt will grow stupid fast. Certainly more than my pathetic attempt. Keep up the good work. 👍🏾
@RileySerola thanks for the heads up, I’ll be investigating what the real issue is. Also appreciate the comment! Hopefully this channel sees success 🤞
It's funny, i was born, raised and have lived my whole life in London, but i have an accent that isn't MLE, Cockney or RP, and so have loads of the people i grew up with in Streatham and Tooting
Thanks for this comment. Feel free to make a video discussing this nuance, would love to see it.
Yup, the south London accent. It's not East London, Cockney or MLE. I haven't seen a video on accents yet that has grasped this! I'm from south London (Streatham area). It would be so interesting to see someone do a comparison video. Also witht the differences between the working class and middle class versions.
I’m from SW London and I agree, my accent isn’t MLE, RP or Cockney.
There's also queen's english, but I guess that goes under "Received Pronunciation"
I read it out loud how my Nigerian mum says it 😂😂😂😂 yeah I would say they are one and the same.
There is also a difference between Londoners from south London and north of the river.
How so?
@@Patricio_Marcel South Londoners often put an pronounce words in a slightly more exaggerated way.
So south or souf north of the river becomes saff or sarf south of the river.
My fathers family are from south London, but I grew up in north London, and I can definitely hear it.
@@ultrademigod are you sure it is the area which influenced the accent, or the cultures with which the different members of your family engaged with?
Also chelsea is "north" of the river and battersea is "south" of the river. Someone who grew up on Battersea Park Road likely sounds similar to someone who grew up off Brompton Road. So this would suggest the river is not necessarily the dividing point or what determines how you speak.
There IS definitely a difference but souf Londoners most certainly do NOT say saff or sarf.
@@jackiedelvalle Or maybe you just can't hear it.
Have you come across accents from "New Towns," like Hemel Hempstead? I think HH is an evolution of blended 1940s London accents as spoken by all the people 'transplanted' from war-torn / derelict areas of London. What do you think?
Yeah I would put them more in the Estuary English category. I’ll making a video on that soon also!
There's lots of accents in London. North, south, east and west. Plus. I'm from ealing/ Acton, and I speak differently to my aunt from Nottinghill Gate. My kids speak north London, because they grew up here.
Does anyone still define themselves as a 'cockney'? I call myself a londoner.
Okay cheers for the comment. I agree that there lots of London accents, but you can’t base a London accent on area entirely. If we take one street, kings road in Chelsea for example, depending on your upbringing and context your accent could easily be one of the three mentioned in the video despite living on the same street!
I'm from west London, I don't speak like the RP examples in this video - I am not that posh/upper class sounding - but I don't speak with a Cockney accent either. I speak something in between, I thought it was called "Estuary English" - and most of the people I know and work with (in professional services) speak with that accent. The accent might move more toward RP if speaking to important clients at work etc and a little more toward cockney if speaking to a friend/the plumber. But "Estuary English" has replaced RP as the main/normal "received" accent in London.
Spot on. Although I will say ALL the examples in this video were intentionally the extremes of each accent. So you could hear the stark differences.
@@Patricio_Marcel I would even say RP is not a London accent at all - it’s a posh accent that posh people from all over England use - even up north.
There’s a variety of RP accents. Traditional RP sounds more upper class, but more modern RP is a lot more relaxed and less “posh”.
Clapham must have changed a lot since i lived in Tooting. The posh stayed north of the river back then. Even taxi drivers wouldn't take you over the bridge to south london.
Oh really, wow! When was this? 1951?
Code switching is a real thing (ting) and it happens automatically, I’ve always said I could go from speaking to the King of England to speak to a roadman in 2.2 seconds
Sick video, you’ve got a new sub in me
Hahaha same here 😅😅😂👌 Also thanks for subbing!
I have lived in East London and West London (East Ham and Westbourne Park) but cannot distinguish different geographically based accents in the city. There is a huge difference depending on age (and class) though. I found the strongest old style London accents in Harlow and Stevenage. I don't think it is my ears as I can recognise at least five distinct accents between Liverpool and Manchester. Maybe you all sound like cockneys to me because I am from the North?
Thanks for comment.
Maybe you being from up north makes it difficult for you to distinguish. Who knows? 🤷🏾♂️
@@Patricio_Marcel Of course I recognise MLE but to be honest that is how the youth talk up in Norwich now as well. I blame Ali G.
Though I’m more familiar with hearing Midlands accents personally, it does seem to me that there’s a difference between how Londoners and Essexians(?) say the word ‘mental’ - it’s MEN’aw in London and men’AW in Essex. Certain vowels and consonants get elongated in Essex too, so ‘Essex’ comes out as ‘Esssseekssss’
For me RP is how the King speaks or old BBC recordings from the early days of television. Standard/Modern Southern British (SSB/MSB) would more accurately describe RP in your video. If you listen to how the King speaks vs how William and Harry speak, it is quite different. Dr Geoff Lindsey has a great video explaining this difference.
Like with anything I think you have gradients. Some who fall more towards the stiff upper end of the spectrum and others who don’t. The video opted to use extremes of each accent to illustrate a point for a non English audience.
But also there are loads of different types of MLE, cockney and posh
Indeed. Video for another day.....
I find myself too using all of them
I always wondered why cockneys pronounce 'Monday' as Mon-di.. Strange that 😂
Funny enough, I’ve always thought the MLE is the main accent in London but that’s probably due to the area I live in etc
MLE?!
@@jaxcoss5790 Multicultural London English - it's the first accent shown in the video. MLE not the main accent in London though, it's too "street" to be that. Estuary English is the "mainstream" accent for London these days, but it wasn't shown in the video.
I come from Kent but from a cockney family. I drop my h's & use f instead of th. I now live in NE with a geordie & even after 16 yrs he still dont understand me & yet l understand him no probs. My geordie m8s love my accent especially when l curse lol but l say to my old man... l dont know why you can't understand me cos lm the only one speaking proper english! Lol
We often talk about the 5 main accents of London with friends 😂.
Cockney
Essex
Roadman
General London
Posh
Nah, north, east, south, west subtly different. There's no general London if you have a good ear.
Essex isn't a London accent.
@@jackiedelvalle I hear you bro but like what the host said I'm just talking about the bare basics of London lol. But there's a general London accent. Where you can't tell which part of London people are from without asking but you know they're from London. Because they use a mixture of all / most of the 4 other main accents in they're daily lifes. By using words like "innit" "you nah what I'm saying" which are universally used in London even in places like Richmond & Ruislip. I hope this makes sense..
@@YG-qg1hs Chingford, Dagenham, Barking, Ilford, Upminster, Romford, etc are all still considered apart of Essex even through they're in London.
My cousins - for example - are born n bred east London. They went to primary school in Wapping but secondary school in Camden/Chalk Farm (a posh school). They emphatically do not have cockney accents. They have generic… idk… middle class accents. I know a few others like that.
My name is eastender - but I’m not one, had just been living there at the time and for nearly 20 years, so called myself that. I too have a generic southern accent unlike some of my mates who have strong cockney or similar accents.
The odd word from me maybe.
IMO, the MLE accent is a bit contrived.
You hear it in other places.
I even spoke like that a little bit in my late teens/early 20s circa 2000 (depending on who I was with) 🥴
If you want to be pedantic, the real RP is an accent that was formalised in the 20th/19th century and that no one except maybe a few of the oldest and poshest. The examples in this video are more like Standard Southern British (SSB), with maybe one or two extra posh syllables thrown in.
Thanks for the comment.Although I’d tend to disagree. That’s the beauty of UA-cam though you can always upload a reaction video pointing this out!
❤️💯🫶🏿👍🏿👏🏿 interesting
Appreciated 🙏
I have the strangest accent, I just pronounce all letters that need to be pronounced and being born in Midlands but raised in South London I pronounce all letters for example I do say t in water and ts in butterfly
I also say grass, glass & bath 😂 there is no r/aa/ar in my pronunciations
Now having a Jamaican background I can speak patois if I am joking or responding to my mum in mid conversation
But I would never be speaking to my friends and say "I'm in my yard"
As I'm sure you know there are a lot more than three London accents! But I appreciate it's a beginner's video. London and Essex accents are not the same. I'd be interested in a more detailed analysis from you, e.g. differences between south, east, west, north London accents, especially the difference between the working class and middle class versions. Difference between modern and traditional RP (Jamie Laing is kind of in the middle I think). I have a mixed RP/south London accent so for example I switch between a glottal stop and pronouncing the t, but I would never ever say things like free instread of three or fink instead of think.
Absolutely there are more accents. In fact most folks who come to London from West Africa, South Asia, Latin America and or Somalia at a young age tend to adapt an MLE accent with a base in their mother tongue. This is something I’ll touch on in another video.
However, I don’t think there are differences in accents based on which part of London you live in when referencing north, south, east, and west.
For example if you live in Chelsea’s world end estate you live in south west London, and if you live in Woolwich you live in south east London. Both south London, but this hypothetical person will not have the same accent. So this video concept will be nearly impossible. Far too many nuances.
With the Jamie Lang point you are correct. But, as with all the other examples I chose to use, they are the extremes of each accent, so that the differences are clear as day. Most MlE speakers are not as animated as the first example, but that goes without saying.
@@Patricio_Marcel I can see there would be too many nuances. There are - or maybe I should have said 'were', as I was thinking of the 70s and 80s - definitely differences between different sides of London. When there was not yet any (or very little) multicultural influence except in certain pockets. You're too young to remember! Class is also part of it. That's why I said it's not just which side of London, but class too. Back then I was surrounded by south London accents in a lower/middle middle-class area, and this was different to East London accents, not as broad, different vowel sounds. But there was a stronger south London accent, more working class, probably more like a traditional East London accent, e.g. dropped Hs, which I was definitely taught not to do! It's all mixed together now as everyone moves around a lot more these days. I'd like to see someone do a video with people who were around then and haven't lost their accent, to hear the differences explained.
I would argue that RP and BBC English aren't the same at all. RP is essentially a public school English, and not a standard English, or particularly easy for non-natives to speak. BBC English is the (I'd argue), based on south west England, middle class accent.
Also, for us northerners.... Aren't there way more working class accents from around different parts of London, is it really the same in Bow and north West London? (Genuine question)
Good video bro, cockney and Essex accents are defo different
What about the brummie accent ?
That will have to be in another video about Birmingham
I can distinguish from the voice as most black British have the same accent because of their background and their ethnic accent mixing with the British accent
Okay cheers.
I'd say RP is the most popular accent. It's like the standard one. Cockney is dying out & MLE isn't used much amongst the majority (white Brits)
Id say most people are RP leaning, as in they try to adopt it or something close to it when necessary. But it probably isn’t the most spoken. Maybe the most widely understood. But I have never met a person who speaks perfect RP without deviating to other accents.
@@Patricio_Marcel yeah I guess that's what I mean. Most people are RP leaning
Id say yrs is MLE just a little refine
Agreed