Stone The Flamin' Crows!
- Thread starter walsworth
- Start date
Isinglass
At the Start
My ex boyfriends GrandFather was a true cockney and had a great accent. I have not heard anyone speak like he did for years. He'd be 100 now so I guess therein lies the reason - time has moved on.
I think there is a London accent now, all kind of blended in. I used to like the different areas, South Of The River, Hammersmith, East End gangster, they all sound the same now.
I think there is a London accent now, all kind of blended in. I used to like the different areas, South Of The River, Hammersmith, East End gangster, they all sound the same now.
What's largely replaced a true Cockney or a normal London accent is the ghastly 'Estuarine' which is the awful whine which gives us 'haitch', 'narmean', 'innit', 'like' and so on. It's whinier than Cockney, which was a good sharp, snappy way of speaking. 'London' didn't drop its aitches quite as much, but would leave off the 'g' from 'ing' endings, thus "I'm goin' into town on the bus - are you comin' with me?". I suppose the MLE would be "I is gwine tatown onner bus, is you, like, comin' wiv me, or what?"
jinnyj
Senior Jockey
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And there was me thinking this thread was really about stoning crows and I was about to jump in and agree! We have a problem you see, usually about 5.20 every morning where the local rooks alight on our roof and sound like they are playing in the World Cup - they are actually picking the moss off the tiles but they're that bleedin' noisy, we had had to start going out with an airgun to frighten them off. You wouldn't have believed a few birds could have made so much noise thundering across the tiles!
I'd like an airgun - no, wait! I'd like an AK-47 - to frighten off the bawling idiots which shriek, whistle, kick cans around from midnight to 4.00 a.m. When you're done with the peace and quiet of the countryside, j/j, lend me the pistol, will you?
Desert Orchid
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It's how language is, though.
It's always evolving. I have a good laugh with the kids when I talk about words/phrases used in the 60s/70s (fab, groovy, etc)
I also have a laugh doing accents. I do the Glasgow hardman accent of the 70s (as per Ford Kiernan in Naked Video) and compare it with the modern one, which is high-pitched and squeaky (and totally unintimidating - the only way you know you've been threatened is when you come to in the recovery room).
It's always evolving. I have a good laugh with the kids when I talk about words/phrases used in the 60s/70s (fab, groovy, etc)
I also have a laugh doing accents. I do the Glasgow hardman accent of the 70s (as per Ford Kiernan in Naked Video) and compare it with the modern one, which is high-pitched and squeaky (and totally unintimidating - the only way you know you've been threatened is when you come to in the recovery room).
:lol::lol: Love it! "The only way you know, etc... " !
There's a grand book available through Past Times called Altered English, which tells us how much we've changed the meanings of words. Put together by Jeffrey Kacirk, ISBN 0-7649-2019-7 if anyone wants to order it. Here's a little selection:
Aftermath: that which comes and grows after mowing (1736), the second crop of grass mown in autumn (1789), and by 1895, math or mowth, a mowing.
Bamboozle: a Chinese or Gypsie word meaning to dress a man in bamboos to teach him swimming. Like the bladders used to the same purpose by little wanton boys, the apparatus is dangerous and deceitful. (E. Cobham Brewer, 1887) (I do love little wanton boys - another change of use there.)
Leech: a physician, a surgeon. (1878)
Macaroni: an exquisite of a class which arose in England about 1760, and consisted of young men who had travelled and affected the tastes and fashions prevalent in continental society; a fop, a dandy. This seems to be from the name of the Macaroni Club, a designation probably adopted to indicate the preference of the members for foreign cookery, macaroni at that time little eaten in England.
Zany: an imitator, mimic, especially a poor, bad, feeble or ludicrous imitator. Adopted from the French zani or Italian zanni, name of servants who act in the Commedia dell'Arte (1888-1928). So that's where those 'zany' Hollywood comedies come from!
There's a grand book available through Past Times called Altered English, which tells us how much we've changed the meanings of words. Put together by Jeffrey Kacirk, ISBN 0-7649-2019-7 if anyone wants to order it. Here's a little selection:
Aftermath: that which comes and grows after mowing (1736), the second crop of grass mown in autumn (1789), and by 1895, math or mowth, a mowing.
Bamboozle: a Chinese or Gypsie word meaning to dress a man in bamboos to teach him swimming. Like the bladders used to the same purpose by little wanton boys, the apparatus is dangerous and deceitful. (E. Cobham Brewer, 1887) (I do love little wanton boys - another change of use there.)
Leech: a physician, a surgeon. (1878)
Macaroni: an exquisite of a class which arose in England about 1760, and consisted of young men who had travelled and affected the tastes and fashions prevalent in continental society; a fop, a dandy. This seems to be from the name of the Macaroni Club, a designation probably adopted to indicate the preference of the members for foreign cookery, macaroni at that time little eaten in England.
Zany: an imitator, mimic, especially a poor, bad, feeble or ludicrous imitator. Adopted from the French zani or Italian zanni, name of servants who act in the Commedia dell'Arte (1888-1928). So that's where those 'zany' Hollywood comedies come from!
walsworth
Journeyman
Not to mention "gay"
On the other hand, language hasn't evolved far enough for Richard Dawkins. This, his recent letter to The Grauniad:
'I am attempting to book a British Airways flight online, and need to know whether my ticket is cancellable. This is what the airline regulations say: "Cancellations any time ticket is non-refundable. Note - where this fare is combined with another fare the cancellation penalty of each fare component will apply changes any time changes not permitted. Note - a change is a date/flight/or routing change or upgrade where this fare is combined with another fare the highest penalty of any of the changed fare components will apply." Was somebody paid to write that?'
And my very own contribution, from the housing association which is the freeholder of my leasehold flat. I inquired whether, for enhanced marketing possibilities, it would be possible to extend the current 75-year lease, and this is what I received:
'The Association is able to offer an extension voluntarily and may be able to offer an extension to 2145. The Association wishes to keep all voluntary leases at the same expiry date. The premium payable, however, follows the statutory criteria which is the sum of:
... the reduction in the value of the Association's freehold by the lease extension. In this case there will not be any immediate loss of any ground rent.
.... 50% if any marriage value - any increase in the value of the lease because it has been extended. Marriage value is only payable if a lease has less than 80 years remaining.
... Any compensation to the landlord for any other loss arising to the block from the lease extension. Should this be of interest to you, the next step would be for you to obtain a valuation and make an offer for the premium. The Association will then reply, usually after obtaining another valuation, either accepting the offer or proposing another price.'
I've not idea where marriage comes into it, I don't pay ground rent, and surely the Association can just simply say yes or no, you can have an extension? I've put in a call to the man who wrote it, asking for a ringback to explain it in simple English. That was five days ago...
'I am attempting to book a British Airways flight online, and need to know whether my ticket is cancellable. This is what the airline regulations say: "Cancellations any time ticket is non-refundable. Note - where this fare is combined with another fare the cancellation penalty of each fare component will apply changes any time changes not permitted. Note - a change is a date/flight/or routing change or upgrade where this fare is combined with another fare the highest penalty of any of the changed fare components will apply." Was somebody paid to write that?'
And my very own contribution, from the housing association which is the freeholder of my leasehold flat. I inquired whether, for enhanced marketing possibilities, it would be possible to extend the current 75-year lease, and this is what I received:
'The Association is able to offer an extension voluntarily and may be able to offer an extension to 2145. The Association wishes to keep all voluntary leases at the same expiry date. The premium payable, however, follows the statutory criteria which is the sum of:
... the reduction in the value of the Association's freehold by the lease extension. In this case there will not be any immediate loss of any ground rent.
.... 50% if any marriage value - any increase in the value of the lease because it has been extended. Marriage value is only payable if a lease has less than 80 years remaining.
... Any compensation to the landlord for any other loss arising to the block from the lease extension. Should this be of interest to you, the next step would be for you to obtain a valuation and make an offer for the premium. The Association will then reply, usually after obtaining another valuation, either accepting the offer or proposing another price.'
I've not idea where marriage comes into it, I don't pay ground rent, and surely the Association can just simply say yes or no, you can have an extension? I've put in a call to the man who wrote it, asking for a ringback to explain it in simple English. That was five days ago...