Awright me ol’ chinas, come an’ read abaht stuff like rhymin’ slang, cockney roots an’ just ge’ a bi’ a cultcha.
Phew! Just like Talk Like a Pirate Day, I can’t keep it up – although it is, in part, where some of my original accent comes from. I am not a cockney – my true accent is part rural market town and part Estuary English (which I will come on to shortly). I am now reduced to attempting to “talk proper” as I have to converse with people whose first language is not English on a regular basis – but then it’s to be expected if you live in a country where people think you lazy for only speaking two languages. Every so often, I drop my guard and revert back to my true accent, which leaves the poor natives of Belgium staring at me in the way a German Shepherd dog does when you whistle at it – head to one side, mouth slightly open. Apologies in advance, people of Belgium for any future transgressions.
