As part of the inaugural Modern Cockney Festival we explored how the Cockney language is evolving. Cockney speech and dialect is arguably one of the main signifiers of Cockney identity and culture. Yet, there are reports that it will disappear from the streets of London over the next 20 years.
On the other hand, is it growing, evolving and continuing its 660 year-old cultural identity of the ‘common Londoner?
On 9 March I hosted an online discussion to explore Cockney speech and had the pleasure of being we were joined by:
- Author Tony White (@tony_white_) who read from his cult classic novel Foxy-T, a story of love, jealousy and murder that captures the streetwise verve and linguistic gusto of modern-day London
- Dr. Johanna Gerwin (@jo_gerw) who runs London Talks which investigates the language of everyday Londoners
- Jonnie Robinson (@voicesofenglish) from the British Library who shared from its sound archive a few treasures of how Cockney has evolved over the generations
You can watch the discussion back below or on our YouTube channel.
0 Comments