Public schoolboys speak “mockney” to hide their privileged education, a former headmaster has claimed.
Barnaby Lenon, ex-headmaster of Harrow School, said its pupils, as well as Etonians, kept the habit years after leaving school.
“There has long been a tendency for schoolchildren at private schools to adopt their own language, and certainly with an emphasis on mockney,” he told The Sunday Times.
“It continues into adult life. George Osborne and Tony Blair are both prone to lapse into Estuary English so they resemble the Kray brothers rather more than the private school background they come from.”
Mr Lenon said the ex-chancellor and the former prime minister did not “appear to be upper-class, because being upper-class these days is not a good thing”.
Erm, yes?
Fitting in is necessary requirement for everyone, innit?
“the former prime minister did not “appear to be upper-class”
W the actual F?
Blair was always a ghastly parvenu, but Cameron?
Mick Jagger? Not a public schoolboy. When I was at school with him (admittedly it was a grammar school) his diction was typical of the area.
That was how the poshos from Eton and Harrow spoke at Oxford when I was there.
Nigel Kennedy springs to mind.
Wut? The cool kids spoke mockney to each other at my “top Public school” back in the mid-to-late 90’s. It was supposedly a cool affectation, and a bit of a nod to the rave culture which was also considered cool at the time.
When they spoke to not-cool-kids they switched back to neutral Southern accents, of course.
This was 20+ years ago, so it’s hardly new…
There are quite a few popular musicians who downplay their higher class origins. James Blunt, Chris Martin, etc. But does this happen in any other field? Has an accountant ever pretended to be a “beancounter of the people”, to further his career?
When you make money out of a particular group you play to that group. So an accountant would play to middle-class professionals who use accountants, mass pop artistes would play to the mass populous who buy mass pop music.
“being upper-class these days” hasn’t hindered JRM
Blair & Osborne would still be cnuts whatever “accent” they used.
““being upper-class these days” hasn’t hindered JRM”
JRM is basically a punk rocker by today’s standards.
The orhodox is being a leftie, pro-abortion, dressing casual, trying to pretend you like football, staying away from the latin.