Estuary English
Estuary English is a contemporary variety of British English, commonly found in the Southeast of England, especially along the River Thames and its estuary, including London. It is a mixture of non-regional and southeastern English pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Estuary English is characterized by features of both Received Pronunciation (RP) and Cockney accents. It has gained prominence and is often considered a modern and dynamic form of English.
- Glottal stop: Replacing "t" in the middle or end of words (e.g., "water" becomes "wa'er")
- H-dropping: Dropping the "h" at the start of words (e.g., "house" becomes "ouse")
- Th-fronting: Replacing "th" with "f" or "v" sounds (e.g., "three" becomes "free")
- L-vocalization: The "l" at the end of words sounds like a "w" (e.g., "milk" becomes "miwk")
- T-flapping: "t" between vowels sounds like a "d" (e.g., "butter" sounds like "budder")
- "Ain't" used for "isn't", "aren't", "hasn't", and "haven't"
- Use of "me" instead of "my" (e.g., "me mum" instead of "my mum")
- "You alright?" as a common greeting, meaning "How are you?"
- "I'm gutted" to express disappointment
- "Mate" as a term for friend
- "Cheers" used to mean "thank you"
- "Fancy" to express liking or interest (e.g., "Fancy a cuppa?")
- "Sorted" to indicate arrangements are made or problems are solved
- "Bare" meaning "a lot of" (e.g., "bare money")
- "Banter" referring to playful teasing
- "Chuffed" to express pleasure or pride
- "Gutted" for deep disappointment
- "Bollocks" as an expletive or to denote nonsense
- "Quid" for pounds sterling
- "Skint" meaning broke or without money
- "Blinding" to describe something excellent
- "Knackered" meaning very tired
- "Taking the piss" for mocking or joking at someone's expense
- "Leg it" meaning to run away quickly
- "Nicked" for stolen or arrested
- "Kip" referring to sleep or nap
- "Gobsmacked" to express astonishment
- "Snog" for kiss or make out
- "Lost the plot" meaning gone crazy or acting irrationally
- "Miffed" to be annoyed
- "Naff" for something seen as uncool or tacky
- "Pukka" meaning genuine or very good
- "Sod's law" equivalent to Murphy's law, where if something can go wrong, it will
- "Waffle" meaning to talk on without getting to the point
- "Zonked" for exhausted
- "The Beeb" referring to the BBC
- "Bog" for toilet
- "Butty" meaning sandwich, often a "bacon butty"
- "Cuppa" for a cup of tea