COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG
What a surprise!!!! For me that is difficult enough to understand p English speaking people, to discover there are so many accents and so different forms to speak English depending of the area where people is living . This make me the things more difficult…
But in spite of that I go to the Goggle as Felicity suggest as to find more information about Cockney Rhyming Slang
And I have found some interesting thinks that help me to understand better this king of language that I want to write to you.
Cockney Rhyming Slang is a coded language invented in the 19th century by Cockneys so they could speak in front of the police without being understood.
It uses a phrase that rhymes with a word, instead on the word itself .
For example.
“stairs” becomes apples and pears
“phone” becomes dog and bone
The cockney language can be traced back to the early part of the 19th century , when Sin Robert Peel formed the fist police force stationed at Bow street, People living here belonged to the lowest class of the society, and they had a lot of problems with the Police, so they invented this kind of language to hide the true meaning of discussions from the Police and the informers for the Police.
But Who is a Cockney????
A cockney traditionally is a person born within hearing distance of the sound of Bow bells, meaning within the sound of the bells of the Church of Saint Mary Le Bow in Cheapside, London, and refers to an East London accent, however to most people living outside London the term Cockney means a Londonder….
The I want to write you some amusing examples:
He rarely using his loaf of bread means He rarely using his head
He’s always telling porkies, means He is always telling lies
Pull on yer weasel means put on your coat
You have got a lovely set of Bacons means You have got love legs
The currant bun’s hot today means The sun shines hot today
She is always on the dog means She is always on the phone
I was amusing me discovering the meaning of the different sentences
Buy for the English society this is not a game, because Cockney Rhyming Slang , is like a kind of culture and behaviour in London, not in the 19th century, nowadays too…because in “el Periodico” newspaper I found last Saturday an article about a punk group “The Cockney Rejects” that will play in the Razzmatazz pub
This group was founded in 1977, his members belonged to the London worker class and the Jamaican Immigrants…without any political context and his most famous song is “Oi Oi Oi” and with his last song ”Unforgiven” they want to translate the rhythm of OI to the 21 century…
Maybe you that are younger that me know the history of this music complex formed by four musicians.
…
lunes, 18 de mayo de 2009
miércoles, 13 de mayo de 2009
Hello kids..
Reading “WATCHING THE ENGLISH” again, I am discovering a lot of things about English people that I haven’t imagined before….
I didn’t know that social classes are so important for English people. Here, in Spain , almost in the circle of people that I am, social classes are not very important, I hope.
I have discovered that for English people exist a big range of social classes and levels: upper class, middle class, middle-middle class, higher class, modest-middle class, working class, low class. And it is very difficult to pass from one class to another, so, to climb from the middle class to the upper class
The middle classes are particulary uncomfortable about class to the upper class, and well-meaning upper middles are the most squeamish of all. Upper class English people are also often rather blunt and no-nonsense about class.
Following the book, English people generally do not have problem to recognize at the most three classes: working, middle and upper. They have a sort of class radar, but for us, the foreing people things are more difficult, but I want to tell you a key that is a kind of class indicator to discover at what class belong your English friends….
“THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS”
they are seven words that the English uppers and uppers middles regards as infallible shibboleths
PARDON
This word is the most notorius pet hate of the upper and upper middle classes, so, all of them know that “pardon” is as much worse than “fuck” . Some even refer to lower-middle-class suburbs as “Pardonia”
A lower middle or middle-middle person will say “pardon” and an upper-middle will say “sorry”
TOILET
Toilet is another word that makes the higher class flinch. The correct upper-middle/upper term is “loo” or “lavatory”.
The working classes say “toilet” and may also sometimes say “bog”
SERVIETTE
A serviette is what the inhabitants of Pardonia call a napkin
Upper middle and upper-class mothers get very upset when their children learn to say “serviette” from their lower-class nannies and have to be painstakingly retrained to say “napkin”
DINNER
There is nothing wrong with the word “dinner” itself, it is only used by the working class to refer the midday meal, with should be called “lunch”
Calling your evening meal “tea” is also a working-class indicator, the higher echelons call this meal “dinner” or “supper”
A supper is an informal family meal eaten in the kitchen, and the uppers and upper-middles use the term “supper” more than middles and lower-middles.
“tea” for the higher classes is taken at around four o’clock, and consists of tea and cakes and perhaps little sandwiches, the lower classes call this meal “afternoon tea”
SETTLEE
If people called a seat for two or more people “settle” or “couch” , they are no higher than middle-middle class. If they called it “sofa”
They are upper-middle class.
LOUNGE
And what do they call the room in witch the settle/sofa is to be found?? Settles are found in “lounges” or “living rooms” , sofas in “sitting rooms” or “drawing rooms” . You may occasionally hear an upper middle-class person say “living room” but only middle-middles and below say “lounge”
SWEET
Like dinner, this word is not in itself a class indicator, but the upper middle and upper classes insist that the sweet course at the end of a meal is called “pudding” , never “sweet” on “afters” on “desert”
Sweet can be used as an adjective, but as a noun it is a piece of confectionery.
The course at the end of a meal is always “pudding” whatever it consists of a slice of cake or a lemon sorbet, But nowadays thanks to the American influence some young upper middles ate starting to say “desert” but it can also cause confusion, because for the upperclasses “desert” traditionally means a selection of fresh fruits to eat after the pudding.
So, now you have a good class test you can try when talking to a English people.. Ask them some questions and hear their answers with attention. If they say sorry or pardon,
If they used sweet or pudding, serviette or napkin…. But attention, because this is a particulary useful work for spotting middle-middle social climbers trying to pass an upper middle, they may have learn not to say pardon as toilet but they are often not aware that lounge is also a deadly sin.
MY GOD!!!! This is so complicated for me… I fell so happy when I can follow and understand English people talking that I can realized hearing their accent or the words than they used to recognized at what kind of social class they belong…
But may be you can try!!!
See you soon
Montserrat.-
I didn’t know that social classes are so important for English people. Here, in Spain , almost in the circle of people that I am, social classes are not very important, I hope.
I have discovered that for English people exist a big range of social classes and levels: upper class, middle class, middle-middle class, higher class, modest-middle class, working class, low class. And it is very difficult to pass from one class to another, so, to climb from the middle class to the upper class
The middle classes are particulary uncomfortable about class to the upper class, and well-meaning upper middles are the most squeamish of all. Upper class English people are also often rather blunt and no-nonsense about class.
Following the book, English people generally do not have problem to recognize at the most three classes: working, middle and upper. They have a sort of class radar, but for us, the foreing people things are more difficult, but I want to tell you a key that is a kind of class indicator to discover at what class belong your English friends….
“THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS”
they are seven words that the English uppers and uppers middles regards as infallible shibboleths
PARDON
This word is the most notorius pet hate of the upper and upper middle classes, so, all of them know that “pardon” is as much worse than “fuck” . Some even refer to lower-middle-class suburbs as “Pardonia”
A lower middle or middle-middle person will say “pardon” and an upper-middle will say “sorry”
TOILET
Toilet is another word that makes the higher class flinch. The correct upper-middle/upper term is “loo” or “lavatory”.
The working classes say “toilet” and may also sometimes say “bog”
SERVIETTE
A serviette is what the inhabitants of Pardonia call a napkin
Upper middle and upper-class mothers get very upset when their children learn to say “serviette” from their lower-class nannies and have to be painstakingly retrained to say “napkin”
DINNER
There is nothing wrong with the word “dinner” itself, it is only used by the working class to refer the midday meal, with should be called “lunch”
Calling your evening meal “tea” is also a working-class indicator, the higher echelons call this meal “dinner” or “supper”
A supper is an informal family meal eaten in the kitchen, and the uppers and upper-middles use the term “supper” more than middles and lower-middles.
“tea” for the higher classes is taken at around four o’clock, and consists of tea and cakes and perhaps little sandwiches, the lower classes call this meal “afternoon tea”
SETTLEE
If people called a seat for two or more people “settle” or “couch” , they are no higher than middle-middle class. If they called it “sofa”
They are upper-middle class.
LOUNGE
And what do they call the room in witch the settle/sofa is to be found?? Settles are found in “lounges” or “living rooms” , sofas in “sitting rooms” or “drawing rooms” . You may occasionally hear an upper middle-class person say “living room” but only middle-middles and below say “lounge”
SWEET
Like dinner, this word is not in itself a class indicator, but the upper middle and upper classes insist that the sweet course at the end of a meal is called “pudding” , never “sweet” on “afters” on “desert”
Sweet can be used as an adjective, but as a noun it is a piece of confectionery.
The course at the end of a meal is always “pudding” whatever it consists of a slice of cake or a lemon sorbet, But nowadays thanks to the American influence some young upper middles ate starting to say “desert” but it can also cause confusion, because for the upperclasses “desert” traditionally means a selection of fresh fruits to eat after the pudding.
So, now you have a good class test you can try when talking to a English people.. Ask them some questions and hear their answers with attention. If they say sorry or pardon,
If they used sweet or pudding, serviette or napkin…. But attention, because this is a particulary useful work for spotting middle-middle social climbers trying to pass an upper middle, they may have learn not to say pardon as toilet but they are often not aware that lounge is also a deadly sin.
MY GOD!!!! This is so complicated for me… I fell so happy when I can follow and understand English people talking that I can realized hearing their accent or the words than they used to recognized at what kind of social class they belong…
But may be you can try!!!
See you soon
Montserrat.-
lunes, 4 de mayo de 2009
watching the english 2. composition
Composition
WATCHING THE ENGLISH
RITES OF PASSAGE
Rites of passage are rites which accompany every change of place, state social position and age. ( like: christenings, weddings, funerals…..and other big celebrations along the year like Christmas, New Year’s ’eve, Easter, mayday Halloween, Mother’s day, Valentine’s day, and other special moments like graduations, eighteen birthday celebrations….)
These kind of celebrations with little or big differences are common in our society.
Because only humans seem to feel the necessity to make an almighty song-and-dance over each of these life-cycle transitions, surrounding them with elaborate rituals and investing every biological and seasonal change with deep social significance.
There are a lot of things that are similar to the United Kingdom and other areas in Western Europe, so our babies are christened in white and have godparents, girls wear white wedding clothes, we wear black at funerals, we exchange gifts at Christmas, eat chocolate eggs in Easter, sing “happy birthday to you”, translated in our languages and so on….
When I was reading this part of the book I remember the film “Four weddings and a Funeral” and I realized that there are little differences. Each wedding can be different, there are a lot of thinks and connotations like: the quantity of money that you can spent for the celebration, season, place, moment of the day morning or evening…….it is not the same a wedding in spring or in winter, or in a religious or a civil ceremony….
When I saw this film, I realized that for English people are more important friends than family and relatives…. Here in Spain, parents, parent’s friends or family are very important, specially if parents pay the celebration….and there are a lot of old people in this kind of celebrations….
For funerals, here in Spain, people make a lot of noise, people cry, with a lot of tears, specially if you live in a village, all the people go to visit the deceased house, talking and kissing the family,,,, and the family have to make coffee and serve drinks… it is very sad, specially if the deceased is a very close relative, like mother, father or same son.….I remember when my father dead, he was a young man, and my sister and me have to receive all the people that came home, all the people kissed us, and it was extremely nasty, after five of six hours, when almost all the village people passed there, we needed to clean our faces with hot water and soap.
Here we don’t use to put so many flowers over the coffin as English people, and relatives or friends don’t talk at the celebrations, just the clergymen do formal eulogies at funerals….but some thinks are changing, because nowadays it is more modern to go to the morgue and there things are more formal than at home.
I remember that once I was at Montserrat with a group of British tourists, (I think that you know that is very useful to celebrate weddings there)….and wedding took place, all the people look very smart with beautiful and expensive clothes, new bags and shoes, and so on. It was in winter time and a lot of women were wearing in black….British people were very interesting to look how the things took place….and they made me a “strange question”: Why all the women were wearing in black??? Well, because black is an elegant colour, specially in winter when we wear warm clothes, was my answer, what??? For them black was the colour that people use to wear at funerals only….
Then I remember that the Mother Queen, in spite of that she was a very old lady, she used to wear pink, almond green, baby blue, lemon yellow coats, so very very clear colours in winter too.
Little differences of taste….
Another day I would like to write to you about the use of alcohol in the rites of passage…. We (people on the Mediterranean countries) have another concept about wines and champagne or cava wines.
WATCHING THE ENGLISH
RITES OF PASSAGE
Rites of passage are rites which accompany every change of place, state social position and age. ( like: christenings, weddings, funerals…..and other big celebrations along the year like Christmas, New Year’s ’eve, Easter, mayday Halloween, Mother’s day, Valentine’s day, and other special moments like graduations, eighteen birthday celebrations….)
These kind of celebrations with little or big differences are common in our society.
Because only humans seem to feel the necessity to make an almighty song-and-dance over each of these life-cycle transitions, surrounding them with elaborate rituals and investing every biological and seasonal change with deep social significance.
There are a lot of things that are similar to the United Kingdom and other areas in Western Europe, so our babies are christened in white and have godparents, girls wear white wedding clothes, we wear black at funerals, we exchange gifts at Christmas, eat chocolate eggs in Easter, sing “happy birthday to you”, translated in our languages and so on….
When I was reading this part of the book I remember the film “Four weddings and a Funeral” and I realized that there are little differences. Each wedding can be different, there are a lot of thinks and connotations like: the quantity of money that you can spent for the celebration, season, place, moment of the day morning or evening…….it is not the same a wedding in spring or in winter, or in a religious or a civil ceremony….
When I saw this film, I realized that for English people are more important friends than family and relatives…. Here in Spain, parents, parent’s friends or family are very important, specially if parents pay the celebration….and there are a lot of old people in this kind of celebrations….
For funerals, here in Spain, people make a lot of noise, people cry, with a lot of tears, specially if you live in a village, all the people go to visit the deceased house, talking and kissing the family,,,, and the family have to make coffee and serve drinks… it is very sad, specially if the deceased is a very close relative, like mother, father or same son.….I remember when my father dead, he was a young man, and my sister and me have to receive all the people that came home, all the people kissed us, and it was extremely nasty, after five of six hours, when almost all the village people passed there, we needed to clean our faces with hot water and soap.
Here we don’t use to put so many flowers over the coffin as English people, and relatives or friends don’t talk at the celebrations, just the clergymen do formal eulogies at funerals….but some thinks are changing, because nowadays it is more modern to go to the morgue and there things are more formal than at home.
I remember that once I was at Montserrat with a group of British tourists, (I think that you know that is very useful to celebrate weddings there)….and wedding took place, all the people look very smart with beautiful and expensive clothes, new bags and shoes, and so on. It was in winter time and a lot of women were wearing in black….British people were very interesting to look how the things took place….and they made me a “strange question”: Why all the women were wearing in black??? Well, because black is an elegant colour, specially in winter when we wear warm clothes, was my answer, what??? For them black was the colour that people use to wear at funerals only….
Then I remember that the Mother Queen, in spite of that she was a very old lady, she used to wear pink, almond green, baby blue, lemon yellow coats, so very very clear colours in winter too.
Little differences of taste….
Another day I would like to write to you about the use of alcohol in the rites of passage…. We (people on the Mediterranean countries) have another concept about wines and champagne or cava wines.
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