Mockney

In British English, the term Mockney (a Portmanteau of "mock" and "cockney") has come to be used, predominantly in the media, to describe those who present themselves as cockneys (or, by extension, other working-class groups) with the intention of gaining popular credibility. A stereotypical mockney comes from a middle or upper-middle class background in England's Home Counties.

The mockney speaks in the working-class London accent popularly known as "cockney" (although spoken by many who are not cockneys at all) and often referred to as estuary English.

It is an affectation sometimes adopted for aesthetic purposes, other times just to sound "cool" or in attempt to generate street credibility. The phenomenon was first named in the mid-1990s and was made famous in describing Britpop bands such as Blur and, on occasions, politicians such as Tony Blair. It has been noted as being especially common among vocalists in indie bands.

Other celebrities who are, or have been accused of being, mockneys include:

• chef Jamie Oliver
• actor Jude Law
• film director Guy Ritchie
• violinist Nigel Kennedy
• musician Mike Skinner

The term has also been used to describe Dick Van Dyke's execrable cockney accent in the film Mary Poppins.

External links

• Mockney (Everything2 node)

Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.

Submit a Site - Open Directory Project - Become an Editor