Here is another kind reply to my query: Duncan wrote: > Jean Accents in the UK change very quickly within short distances and whilst > foreigners might not notice this , native Britons will. Yes there would be > many words in common usage in Liverpool that would not be heard in Tunbridge > Wells. Tunbridge Wells is now a very affluent area but that may not have > been the case for the average person there in 1900. More than likely it > would have been a countrified accent in 1900. Usually accents from country > areas are much slower. > > No Tunbridge Wells folk have never had Cockney accents. Cockney accents > are confined to a small area in the East End of London. Cockneys are famous > for rhyming slang, although most areas have their own rhyming slang. > Examples = apples mean stairs, ( apples and pears) whistle means suit of > clothes (Whistle and flute ) Micheal Cain has a Cockney type accent. > > Liverpool accents are influenced very much by Ireland and are similar in > some ways to Dublin accents. The Beatles are the best example. Again not > sure of the Scouse (Liverpool) accent in 1900 but many words are not used in > the south of England . Butty for sandwich is one example. In Cockney a > sandwich would sound like sarnie. > > To a Scot like me both accents , Scouse and Cockney, are very nasal. Y My query: > > Hi Listers -- I know there are some Britishers on this Irish list and > wonder if you can answer my question. Would the children of a blended > Irish/English family attending school in Liverpool in the early 1900s have > accents and/or names for everyday items that differed greatly from say their > more affluent cousins who lived closer to London, in Tunbridge Wells, Kent? > In the former, is that what they refer to as "Cockney" accent?. > > > > Can anyone give me examples of of how Liverpudlians might have pronounced > particular words as opposed to their counterparts living closer to London? > > > > This is one of the questions I wish I had asked my Liverpudlian father > before he died. He had lost his accent quickly after emigrating to the USA, > and before I was born - still used a few British words for items, though - > and I have been wondering about this for years. Jean > > > >