Tag: Multicultural London English

Tag Archives: Multicultural London English

11Mar/24

‘Bengali Cockney, Black Cockney, East End Cockney, Essex Cockney, Jewish Cockney, Sylheti Cockney’: why community languages matter

March 11, 2024Human InterestAlena Veasey|Shutterstock, Boishakhi Mela, British English, Canterbury, Charles Dickens, Chaucer, Christopher Strelluf, Cockney, Creative Commons, East End of London, Elocutionists, English language in England, Estuary English, J. Bridges, London, London English, Multicultural London English, Oi, Piers Plowman, Rhyming slang, SHUTTERSTOCK, United Kingdomadmin

Christopher Strelluf, University of Warwick

In response to a community petition, Tower Hamlets council in east London has designated Cockney as a “community language”. This recognition paves the way for the borough to actively challenge the linguistic discrimination that speakers of “non-standard” English dialects face.

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27Feb/23

The cockney dialect is not dead – it’s just called ‘Essex’ now

February 27, 2023Human InterestAmanda Cole, Australia, Cleveland, Cockney, Creative Commons, Culture, Dialect, Elizabeth II, English language, English language in England, Essex, Essex dialect, Estuary English, Glasgow, Language, London, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Multicultural London English, New Zealand, READING, Rhyming slang, Richard Cole, Teeside, United Kingdom, University of Essex, Yorkshireadmin

Amanda Cole, University of Essex

As English dialects go, cockney is one of the most influential. Long considered the preserve of working-class communities in east London, it has shaped the way people speak across the country, from Reading, Milton Keynes and even Hull all the way to Glasgow.

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