London’s Slang & Phrases
How to understand different Londoners’ dialect
People from all over the world travel to London. Those who study English usually learn American English or Received Pronunciation (RP) also known as “The Queen’s English” or Standard English.
If they haven’t learnt English, they’ve most likely been exposed to it through the news, music or films with posh actors like Hugh Grant or Hollywood actors like Will Smith.
The UK itself has over 37 dialects ranging from Cockney, Estuary, Geordie, Yorkshire, Scouse, Northern Irish & many more.
We’re going to focus on the two major dialects from London; Cockney and Urban.
Not only can a tourist get lost wondering the streets of London, they may get lost when a Londoner opens their mouth.
Just like every city, country and continent has their own dialect(s) of their main language(s), London has its very own.
RP is called “The Queen’s English” for a reason. Each word is pronounced with precision. There are no lazy consonants and the use of flamboyant words are a must. This is just not the typical way most people speak.
Of course many speak correctly, yet they don’t often sound like the Queen, I think this should be associated with the term Standard English. Even…
