Surprise accent even the QUEEN sometimes used revealed as scientists find it’s spread across the UK
THE late Queen sounded increasingly Cockney through her 70-year reign, according to research.
Experts say certain words evolved more of an East End twang than her traditional “received pronunciation”.
Essex University linguist Dr Amanda Cole has linked the gradual changes to the accent migrating from its traditional London roots to the surrounding Home Counties.
She said: “It was less Queen’s English and a little bit more Cockney.
“Compared to the 1950s, by the 1980s the way she pronounced ‘goose’. ‘food’ or ‘moon’, for instance, had changed subtly.
“Her later pronunciation, with the tongue a little bit further forward in the mouth, was in line with the general patterns of change in southern England.
“And due to migration and settlement, the way vowels are pronounced in places like Australia and New Zealand has notable similarities with Cockney.
“Like Cockney, the Australian way of saying ‘bake’ sounds more like the word ‘bike’.”
The distinctive dialect has impacted most of the country — even Scotland — but Young Londoners are now mixing Cockney with speech patterns from around the world.
Cockney traditionally includes rhyming slang — with the Queen called Baked Bean.
Other examples include titfer for hat, from the phrase tit-for-tat, butchers for look, from butcher’s hook, and dog and bone for phone.
It is also known for swapping “th” for “f”, dropping the “h” in words such as “house” and replacing “ing” with “ink”.
Dr Cole found much of the first post-war generation who grew up in Essex after moving from East London in the 1940s and ’50s use these linguistic elements.
She added: “Cockney hasn’t disappeared — it just moved to a semi-detached house in Essex.
“Cockney’s descendants in Essex have kept the foundations the same, but they’ve knocked through some walls, built an extension and added a lick of paint.
“The Cockney dialect has lived a rich and colourful life — travelled widely, borne a large family of children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and she even met the Queen.”
Arthur's insight
FINGS ain’t wot they used to be dahn at the Baked Bean’s gaff.
When I read this research, I’d have bet a monkey (£500) they were having a giraffe (laugh).
But when I took a butcher’s at the late Queen’s first speech in 1947 at the age of 21 and her last Christmas speech, in 2021, Her Majesty’s voice really had changed.
Princess Elizabeth did not go to school and mix with ordinary children.
She was educated at the Palace where everyone spoke with plums in their mouths.
I’m sure it was because she travelled far and wide, mixing with millions of people, that her accent softened and she spoke more like us.
The King’s accent has also changed.
But I sincerely hope Charles the Third does not replace Richard the Third in Cockney rhyming slang . . .