How to Speak with a Cockney Accent

Use Cockney dialect., Voice vowels differently., Use glottal stops., Drop your Hs from the beginnings of words., Don't pronounce Rs at the ends of words., Drop the G from -ing endings., Pronounce some short As as "ah".

7 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Use Cockney dialect.

    Part of pulling off a convincing accent is using the correct dialect along with it.

    Parts of Cockney dialect include:
    Use of "ain't" instead of "isn't"/"is not." Use of double negatives (such as "I didn't see nothing!").

    Using "me" instead of "my" ("I'm going on a walk with me dog" or "I'm wearing me best suit").

    Cockney rhyming slang is another aspect of Cockney dialect.

    To people from other countries, rhyming slang may seem nonsensical, but the concept is fairly simple.

    One common example of rhyming slang is "apples and pears." The last word in this phrase, "pears," rhymes with the figurative meaning
    - "stairs." Other common examples of Cockney rhyming slang include: "Ruby" (short for "Ruby Murray") = curry "Adam and Eve" = believe "Kettle and Hob" = watch ("hob" rhymes with "fob," an old term for a pocket watch) "Butcher's" or "Butcher's Hook" = look "Trouble and Strife" = wife
  2. Step 2: Voice vowels differently.

    The long "a" (as in "late" or "tomato") is pronounced more like "ay" (as in "say" or "play"). , Glottal stop is the linguistic term for dropping the sound of the letter T from the middle of a word. In the case of Cockney pronunciation, it can also be applied to the sound of letters P and K. "Glottal stop"

    for instance, would be pronounced "glo'le stop." A common example you may be familiar with: "Scottish" would be pronounced "Sco'ish."

    Some dialects pronounce herb as "'erb" (in some forms of American English, for instance.

    Do this for other words that begin with H. "Horse" becomes "'orse," "hopefully" becomes "'opefully."

    This is common to most British accents. "Mother" becomes "MO-thah." "Anger" becomes "AN-ga."

    Thus "starting" becomes "startin'

    " "laughing" becomes "laughin'

    " and so on. , This may sound a bit cryptic, but it isn't too complicated.

    Think about the word "cat." This is the typical short-A sound.

    Now think of the word "father." The "ah" in "father" is how you should voice the short As in "bath," "can't," and "apples."
  3. Step 3: Use glottal stops.

  4. Step 4: Drop your Hs from the beginnings of words.

  5. Step 5: Don't pronounce Rs at the ends of words.

  6. Step 6: Drop the G from -ing endings.

  7. Step 7: Pronounce some short As as "ah".

Detailed Guide

Part of pulling off a convincing accent is using the correct dialect along with it.

Parts of Cockney dialect include:
Use of "ain't" instead of "isn't"/"is not." Use of double negatives (such as "I didn't see nothing!").

Using "me" instead of "my" ("I'm going on a walk with me dog" or "I'm wearing me best suit").

Cockney rhyming slang is another aspect of Cockney dialect.

To people from other countries, rhyming slang may seem nonsensical, but the concept is fairly simple.

One common example of rhyming slang is "apples and pears." The last word in this phrase, "pears," rhymes with the figurative meaning
- "stairs." Other common examples of Cockney rhyming slang include: "Ruby" (short for "Ruby Murray") = curry "Adam and Eve" = believe "Kettle and Hob" = watch ("hob" rhymes with "fob," an old term for a pocket watch) "Butcher's" or "Butcher's Hook" = look "Trouble and Strife" = wife

The long "a" (as in "late" or "tomato") is pronounced more like "ay" (as in "say" or "play"). , Glottal stop is the linguistic term for dropping the sound of the letter T from the middle of a word. In the case of Cockney pronunciation, it can also be applied to the sound of letters P and K. "Glottal stop"

for instance, would be pronounced "glo'le stop." A common example you may be familiar with: "Scottish" would be pronounced "Sco'ish."

Some dialects pronounce herb as "'erb" (in some forms of American English, for instance.

Do this for other words that begin with H. "Horse" becomes "'orse," "hopefully" becomes "'opefully."

This is common to most British accents. "Mother" becomes "MO-thah." "Anger" becomes "AN-ga."

Thus "starting" becomes "startin'

" "laughing" becomes "laughin'

" and so on. , This may sound a bit cryptic, but it isn't too complicated.

Think about the word "cat." This is the typical short-A sound.

Now think of the word "father." The "ah" in "father" is how you should voice the short As in "bath," "can't," and "apples."

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Matthew Young

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