Learn the Cockney (London East End) Accent

(77.8MB, 76 minutes) 2011 Edition

This download includes a written examination of how to learn a Cockney/London East End accent,and the following sound files featuring Accent Help coach Jim Johnson:

Play Audio Sample:

1. Introduction to Sound Placement, Intonation and Helpful Hints for East Ender accents (8:27)
2. Consonant sound changes for a Cockney accent (14:49)
3. Vowel sound changes for this working-class London accent (6:27)
4. changes to Diphthongs for Cockney (4:58)
5. Alternate Pronunciations of words when speaking with a Cockney accent (2:39)
6. Wrap up on the basics for learning a Cockney accent (3:12)
7. London Male "Repair Shop" reading (1:00)
8. + his conversation (2:16)
9. Bethnal Green neighborhood Female "Beauty Salon" reading (:54)
10. + her conversation (2:40)
11. London Female "Bus Station" reading (1:20)
12. + her conversation (1:54)
13. London Male "Traveling" reading (1:02)
14. + his conversation (2:30)
15. London Female "Decorator" reading (1:28)
16. + her conversation (5:48)
17. London Male "Driver" reading (1:32)
18. + his conversation (8:51)
19. Cockney Female "Baby Sister" reading (1:05)
20. + her conversation (3:51)

Cockney is the working-class accent of London.  Cockney commonly refers to the "East End" of London, though it is also spoken throughout the London area.  (Michael Caine, for example, is from South London, but he is commonly thought of as a Cockney speaker - though his accent has shifted over time.)  There are also elements of Cockney that can be heard in a variety of accents throughout England.  It's certainly a factor on the modern London Estuary accent, which is a bit of a blend of Cockney and Standard British, the more upper-class accent of England which is also strongly associated with London.

I also recommend that you get our guide to basic ideas behind learning accents - and it's free! (and included in this download, too.)

Though these sound files have been remastered to reduce background noise, most of these recordings are made "in the field" so you will hear such things as birds, cars or other people in the background.  A transcription of the conversations is included to help you follow along. This download also contains four versions of the written materials:  A printer-friendly pdf, a pdf that is in a larger format for use on a portable reading device, and both mobi and epub editions for other portable readers.