A study of some cockney rhyming slang words as recorded in A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang - USD Repository
A STUDY OF SOME COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG WORDS
AS RECORDED IN A DICTIONARY OF COCKNEY RHYMING
SLANG
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DEA ROSARI P SUKATENDEL
Student Number: 064214099
Trying is tiring but it’s the only way to succeed
Anonymous Keep hoping things will
get better
“Being Erica” This Undergraduate Thesis is Dedicated to
My wonderful Parents
My Lovely Bestfriends
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is very special and precious that I can do and finish this thesis.Therefore, firstly I would like to thank You, God, who always gives me strength and blessing in my life. Hence, my deepest gratitude goes to my advisor, Dr. Fr.
B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. for guiding, helping me and being patient. I am sorry for troubling him because of my laziness. My special gratitude also for my co- advisor, Linda Valentina Budiman, S.S., M.Hum. who has spent her precious time to read and correct my thesis.
I would like to express my gratitude to my father and my mother for giving me the greatest love, support, pray, and the great attention during my finishing this thesis. You have encouraged me to face this life, and have taught me about struggles I have to do in order to get the better life.
Then, to my besties, Dimas, Kiki, Herni, Puput, Elsa, Cumi, Cacat, Vindra, and Fariz for accompany me in bad days, giving me strength and courage and making me learn about the value of friendship. The faith, hope and love will help us to gain our dream and defend our friendship forever. I also thank to Enal who always make me laugh and give me his hands and love.
I would like to give special thanks to all the lecturers in English Letters
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………….............. i APPROVAL PAGE……………………………………………………… ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE………………………………………………...... iii LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI………...... iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY......................................................... v MOTTO PAGE.......................................................................... ................ vi DEDICATION PAGE…………………………………………………... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S……………………………………………... viii TABLE OF C ONTENTS………………………………………………... ix ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………….... xi ABSTRAK………………………………………………………………... xiiCHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study…...……………………………......... 1 B. Problem Formulation…………..…………………………........ 5 C. Objectives of the Study…………..………………………........ 5 D. Definition of Terms……...………………………………......... 6 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies……..…….………………………… 8 B. Review of Related Theories……………………………………. 10
1. Theory of Rhyming Slang …………………………………... 10
2. Theory of Sociolinguistics …………………………………... 11
3. Theory of Etymology ………………………………………... 14
4. Theory of Distinctive Feature ……………………………….. 15
5. Theory of Syllable Structure ………………………………… 17
C. Theoretical Framework……..………………………………….. 19
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study………..…………………………………… 21 B. Approach of the Study…..…………………………………….. 22 C. Method of the Study………………………………………….... 22 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Characteristics of Cockney Rhyming Slang......................... 24
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION
…………………………………………. 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY
………………………………………………………... 52
APPENDIX .................................................................................................. 54
ABSTRACT
DEA ROSARI P SUKATENDEL. A Study of Some Cockney Rhyming Slang Yogyakarta: Words As Recorded in A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang. Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2012.
Cockney rhyming slang is a regional dialect that is most prominent in London. Cockney refers to people who live near St. Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside, London and they can hear the sound of the bow bells of the Church. This dialect is also used to refer to working-class Londoners (East End area). Linguistically, it can refer to the accent and form of English spoken by this group.
Related to the title of this study, the writer would like to answer the problems: 1) What are the characteristics of cockney rhyming slang? 2)What is the possible etymological explanation for the cockney rhyming slang words found in A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang? 3) What are the phonological similarities between the slang words and their targeted words?
In order to get the main analysis of the study, the writer analyzes the etymology of cockney rhyming slang phrases. The next step is the writer analyzes the expressions from the phonological aspect. The writer used both library research and internet research method in this study. In this analysis, the writer uses sociolinguistics approach. The theories which are applied in this study are theory of rhyming slang, theory of sociolinguistics, theory of etymology, theory of distinctive feature and theory of syllable structure.
The result of the analysis of this study shows that not all of cockney rhyming slang words have etymological meaning. Rhyming slang works by replacing the word to be obscured with the first word of a phrase that rhymes with that word. Cockney rhyming slang is talked about more often than it is actually used. Cockney rhyming slang has some typical features. They are T-
, H-dropping and diphthong alterations. There are some common
glottalisation
patterns in rhyming slang such as word-word and noun phrase that consist of determiner + head. In the noun-noun patern, it is divided into common nouns, proper nouns, verb-verb, pronoun- pronoun, adjective-adjective and numeral- numeral. From phonological analysis, the writer found that cockney rhyming slang does not focus on the number of syllable but it focuses on the rhyme within them.
ABSTRAK
DEA ROSARI P SUKATENDEL. A Study of Some Cockney Rhyming Slang
Wods As Recorded in A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang. Yogyakarta:
Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2012. adalah dialek daerah yang paling menonjol di
Cockney rhyming slang
London. Cockney merujuk pada orang-orang yang hidup berdekatan dengan gereja St Mary-le-Bow di Cheapside, London dan mereka dapat mendengar suara lonceng gereja tersebut. Dialek ini juga digunakan oleh para kelas pekerja London (wilayah East End). Secara linguistik, dialek ini dapat merujuk kepada aksen dan bentuk bahasa Inggris yang dipakai kelompok ini.
Sesuai dengan judul skripsi ini, penulis akan menjawab permasalahan- permasalahan yang muncul, yaitu: 1) Apa saja karakteristik dari cockney rhyming ? 2) Penjelasan etimologi apa yang memungkinkan untuk kata-kata cockney
slang
yang terdapat di A Dictionary of Rhyming Slang? 3) Apa saja
rhyming slang
persamaan-persamaan fonologi yang terdapat diantara slang words (bahasa gaul) dan targeted words (arti yang dituju)? Untuk mencapai analisis utama dalam penelitian ini, penulis menganalisa etimologi dari beberapa kata cockney rhyming slang. Dalam langkah selanjutnya, penulis menganalisis ekspresi-ekspresi dari aspek fonologi. Penulis menggunakan baik studi pustaka maupun metode penelitian internet dalam penelitian ini. Dalam analisis ini, penulis menggunakan pendekatan sosiolinguistik. Teori-teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah teori rhyming slang, teori sosiolinguistik, teori etimologi, teori distinctive feature dan teori syllable structure.
Hasil analisis penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa tidak semua kata-kata
cockney rhyming slang memiliki makna etimologis. Rhyming slang bekerja
dengan mengganti kata yang akan disamarkan dengan kata pertama dari frase yang berima dengan kata tersebut. Cockney ryhming slang lebih banyak dibicarakan daripada yang digunakan. Cockney rhyming slang memiliki beberapa fitur khas. Mereka adalah T-glottalisation, H-dropping dan diphtong alterations. Ada beberapa pola umum dalam rhyming slang seperti kata-kata dan frase kata benda yang terdiri dari determiner + head. Dalam pola kata benda-kata benda, ini
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Language is a very essential thing in our life. Nowadays, there are many
kinds of language in every part of the world. The development of human civilization influences the language itself. Human civilization makes language spread out in the world.
Basically, language builds a system of communication which connects everybody in the world. We can transfer a message to one another by using language that is why language plays very important role for human life. Ac cording to O‟Grady and Dobrovolsky (1989), language is many things. It is a system of communication, medium for thought, a vehicle for literary expression, a social institution, a matter for political controversy, a factor in nation building (1989:1).
A group of people who speak a certain language may find it difficult to understand what is said by another group using exactly the same language.
English language, known as international language, is not only spoken differently by its users from around the world but also by its users in its native land.
There are two kinds of language. They are formal language and informal language. Slang itself occurs in informal language which means it is not used in formal speech or writing.. The nature of the slang is to a great extent, depends upon the locality, as it chiefly is concerned with colloquialisms or words and phrases common to a particular section.
Slang is used by all kinds of groups of people who share situations or interests. The group which uses these words is always in the minority, and often uses slang to set themselves apart or make it difficult for ordinary people to understand them. When a particular new expression is known and used by a large majority of the population, it is no longer slang, but part of the regular language or usage .
In this study, the writer discusses cockney rhyming slang. According to A
Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang (2010),
The term „Cockney‟ originally means someone who lives near St. Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside, London, just down the road from St. Paul‟s Cathedral. In those days, all of the City of London can hear the sound of the bow bells of the Church.
The etymology of Cockney has been long discussed and disputed. The word originated as “cocken-ay”. Cockney literally means “cock‟s egg”, a misshapen egg such as sometimes laid by young hens. It was originally used
(http://www.uab.ro/reviste_recunoscute/philologica/philologica_2003_tom3/55.d oc), August 23, 2012.
This thesis focuses on seeing cockney rhyming slang related on the background of expressions found in A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang
(2010) . There are many of expressions that we do not know how those
expressions come from.As seen from its name, Cockney rhyming slang is slang which is formed by deriving the final rhyme of the referential word to make up its slang word having exactly or apparently the same final rhyme with the one of the referential word. Some of the earliest slang words of Cockney rhyming slang, including the „codes‟ socially accepted by the East End thieves are
Slang Word Meaning
Adam and Eve believe apples and pears stairs tea leaf thief trouble and strife wife uncle Fred bread
(Girardi, <http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/html_cockney_english.html> The writer found the article about the origin of Cockney rhyming slang from the online source, taken from According to Jeremy
- – understood. It uses a phrase that rhymes with a word, instead of the word itself for example stairs becomes apples and pears, phone becomes dog and bone and
shirt becomes dicky dirt. It can become confusing when sometimes the rhyming
part of the word is dropped: thus „daisies‟ are „boots‟ (from „daisy roots‟).the origins of Cockney rhyming slang are uncertain. It is not really a language since the words spoken are clearly English. On the other hand, it is not a dialect either, since the speakers of this slang are also perfectly capable of not using it. Some stories said that this slang originated in the market place so that the vendors could communicate without the customers knowing what was being said. Other stories said that it originated in the prisons so that inmates could talk without the guards listening in.
The criminal fraternity had never been faced with such a concerted effort to thwart them, so they developed Cockney Slang, the idea of which being that, two or more criminals could hold open conversation, within earshot of a "Peeler," without fear that their plans were being overheard by the police." It is very difficult to describe what Rhyming Slang is without using an example. Basically, you take a pair of associated words where the second word rhymes with the word you intend to say, then use the first word of the associated pair to indicate the word you originally intended to say. < . (February 2, 2012)
When a language can develop into varieties depending on social backgrounds of its speakers, the chance of it to perish gets smaller and smaller.
B. Problem Formulation
There are three problems which are the major concerns of this study. The three problems are formulated as follows:
1. What are the characteristics of cockney rhyming slang? 2.
What is the possible background explanation for the cockney rhyming slang words found in A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang (2010)?
3. What are the phonological similarities between the slang words and their targeted words?
C. Objective of the Study
The purposes of this study are to help us to understand more about cockney rhyming slang and to see the etymology of cockney rhyming slang expressions. How the background of those people has connection with those expressions and finally, this study will analyze the phonological similarities between the slang words and non-slang words.
D. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid the misunderstanding of the terms used in the study the writer feels important to give the definition of the terms.
1. Cockney
According to Mandy Barrow in British Life and Culture article, cockney is a person who was born within hearing distance of the sound of Bow bells, meaning within the sound of the bells of the Church of St Mary Le Bow in Cheapside, London, and refers to an East London accent.
<http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/cockney.htm> (March 13, 2012)
Geographically and culturally, the term Cockney refers to working class Londoners (particularly those in the East End). Linguistically, it refers to the form of Engish spoken by this group.
2. Slang
Based on Keith Allan and Kate Burridge (2006, p.70) in the book ,
Forbidden words: taboo and the censoring of language
Slang is a marker of in-group solidarity, and so it is a correlate of human groups with shared experiences, such as being children at a certain school or of a certain age, or being a member of a certain socially definable group, such as hookers, junkies, jazz musicians, or professional criminals (2006: 70).
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines slang as 'very informal words and expressions that are more common in spoken language, especially used by a particular group of people, for example, children, criminals, soldiers, etc.'
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW This chapter covers three parts; review of related studies, review of
related theories, and theoretical framework. The first part includes reviews of other studies which also discuss similar topic with this analysis. The second part contains some theories about Cockney rhyming slang including theory of rhyming slang, theory of sociolinguistics, theory of etymology, theory of distinctive features, and theory of syllable structure.
A. Review of Related Studies
The writer gets two references from online articles. The first source is taken from suite101.com (The genuine article. Literally). According to Jenny Ashford,
Cockney rhyming slang, also known as “Rabbit,” was purposely developed as a code by shady merchants and other members of the criminal element in order to confound customers, the authorities, or anyone else who happened to be listening. Rhyming slangs in general are fairly common in many languages; even American English has a few lingering examples, such as “brass tacks” being possibly derived from a rhyme with “facts,” and the colloquial term “bread” meaning money coming from the rhyming phrase “bread and honey.” . (March 3, 2010).
Rhyming slangs are common in many languages, even American English has a few lingering examples, such as brass tacks being possibly taken from a rhyme with facts, and the spoken term bread meaning money coming from the rhyming phrase bread and honey.
Historically speaking, a “Cockney” is anyone born within the sound of the bells of St. Mary-Le-Bow in the Cheapside area of London, but many expressions that started out as Cockney rhyming slang have infiltrated the speech of other Britons, sometimes without the speakers even being aware of the derivation of the expression.
The second source is taken from www.helium.com. According to Rena Sherwood,
The best way to understand Cockney rhyming slang is to be around people that use it every day. New rhyming phrases are added all of the time, so native speakers are the best people to learn new phrases from. You begin to see the strange twists where a "nun and habit" really means "rabbit". (Then you have to determine whether "rabbit" means the small furry mammal or the act of running on at the mouth) <http://www.helium.com/items/1621937-learning-cokney-rhyming- slang>. (March 3, 2010).
In the second article, Sherwood tries to explain that cockney rhyming slang is a daily language which is used only in certain group or community. In other words, cockney rhyming slang is not as same as universal language. In addition, there is only the member of certain group or community who can understand about cockney rhyming slang.
The writer also gets another reference from www.london.allinfo-
about.com
. In this article, the writer gets information that when we use this slang in the conversation, we must know when we use the full phrase and when we just use the last phrase.
You have to know, though, when to use the whole phrase and when to abbreviate. Another example: "Would you Adam and Eve it? I was on me Jack Jones when I saw me old china half inching a whistle from the market. Well, I ain't no grass and he's borassic, so I kept me north and south shut." Translation:"Would you believe it? I was on my own when I saw my old mate (friend) pinching (stealing) a suit from the market. Well, I'm not a nark (informer) and he's skint (got no money, hard up) so I kept my mouth shut. (http://london.allinfo-about.com/features/slang.html) Sept 1, 2012 B.
Review of Related Theories 1. Theory of Rhyming Slang
According to Encyclopedia, the theory of cockney rhyming slang is, Cockney rhyming slang is an unique example of a highly developed set of codes used by a particular speech community, the Cockneys, devised on the basis of disguise mechanisms. It uses witty and ingenious coded formulas to refer to objects of affection and hostility as well as taboo topics. <http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/793/Rhyming- Slang.html>. (March 3, 2010).
By this theory, reader can sum up that cockney rhyming slang is unique and secret language which is used as secret code to communicate in the
According to A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang (2010), the term „cockney‟ definitely meant someone who was born under the sound of the Bow Bells of St Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside, London, in the road from St. Paul‟s Cathedral. In the past, all of the city of London would have been within that sound. The first development of rhyming slang started from
th th
the late 18 century and the early 19 century. There are no exact reasons why it is started but the most popular theories, that the first development of this language is only for a good-humored joking by Cockneys so that outsiders such as the gangs of Irish navies working on canal and railway construction will not understand.
Another theory, Cockney was being used by thieves and criminals to communicate in public without being understood by outsiders. The last theory is because of the development of this language by an oppressed minority as a secret language and a defense to give them a bit more inner strength (2010: 3- 4).
2. Theory of Sociolinguistics
In the book An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (1992), Janet Holmes says that sociolinguistics is a study which deals with language and society.
According to Gumperz (1971, p.223) in the book An Introduction to , sociolinguistics is an attempt to find correlations between social
Sociolinguistics
structure and linguistic structure and to observe any changes that occur. Social structure itself may be measured by reference to such factors as social class and educational background; we can then try to relate verbal behavior and performance to these factors. The most important thing of sociolinguistics lays on the role of social dialect which is perform by speakers in a certain area as it is clearly stated from this quotation :
The bulk of sociolinguistic enquiry falls under the heading of performance, since it deliberately highlights the great heterogeneity within people's speech. For example, the differences between speakers caused by dialectal variation are compounded by variation within the speech of a single person, as with the switch from formal to informal styles, according to the social context . (March 5, 2010).
Basically, the scope of this study is Sociolinguistics. It is the study of relationship between language and society. It explains why people speak differently in different social contexts. It also identifies the social functions of language. In sociolinguistics, the way people use language in different social contexts can provide huge information about the way language works, as well as about the social relationships in a community. We can also know why men and social factors and social dimensions create different language varieties (Holmes, 1992).
According to Holmes, social factors here include four things, they are participants, which deal with who is speaking and who are they speaking to; setting or social context of the interaction where they are speaking (e.g. home, work, campus); topic, which deals with what is being talked about; function, that deals with why are they speaking. The social dimensions here include four scales. They are social distance scale concerned with participant relationships whether it is intimate (high solidarity) or distant (low solidarity), it is useful in emphasizing that how well we know someone. Status scale concerned with participants relationships whether it is superior (high status) or subordinate (low status).
Formality scale is related to the setting or type of interaction whether formal (high formality) or informal (low formality), it is useful in assessing of the social setting or type interaction on language choice. These scales are useful in assessing the influence of the social setting or type of interaction on language choice.
The language used will be influenced by the formality of the setting. The language choice at a religious service will be very different from language choice on a friendly chat; functional scales, which relating to the purposes or topic of interaction, that consist of two things, referential (information); whether high basic. Language can convey objective information of a referential kind, and it can also express the feeling of someone.
3. Theory of Etymology
According to Onions, e tymology has been briefly defined as „the origin, formation, and development
(of a word)‟. For words derived from French, the ultimate source is given where possible, and the same treatment is given to many Latin originals from which the English has directly or mediately been derived (1966 : vii).
Since literate Englishmen have been acquainted with both French and Latin throughout the Middle Ages and down to our own times, either channel, or both, could be assumed as the means of entry into English, other things being equal (1966 : vii-viii).
As Onions stated in The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the etymologist always added the exact time of each word. As time goes by, we can see the development of the words that we can conclude it as progressive development.
The etymologist might be content to give the earliest recorded date of each word, with its previous history, whether of English or Germanic descent or admitted to citizenship from other languages, thus accounting for their „origin and formation‟. There remains, An etymology is the history of a linguistic form, such as a word; the same term is also used for the study of word histories. A dictionary etymology tells us what is known of an English word before it became the word entered in that dictionary. If the word was created in English, the etymology shows, to whatever extent is not already obvious from the shape of the word, what materials were used to form it. If the word was borrowed into English, the etymology traces the borrowing process backward from the point at which the word entered English to the earliest records of the ancestral language. Where it is relevant, an etymology notes words from other languages that are related to the word in the dictionary entry, but that are not in the direct line of borrowing.
4. Theory of Distinctive Feature
Based on Fromkin in the book An Introduction to Language, distinctive feature organizes language by defining groups of sounds which may exhibit similar sound patterns.
When a feature distinguishes one phoneme from another it is a distinctive feature (or phonemic feature). When two words are exactly alike phonetically except for one feature, the phonetic difference is distinctive, since this difference alone accounts for the contrast or difference in meaning (1996: 256). Usually a single feature has two values, plus (+), which means its voiceless] and /p/ as [+voiceless]. The presence or absence of nasality also can be designated as [+nasal] or [-nasal].
This is a more explicit description of /p/, /b/, and /m/:
p b m Stop + + + Labial + + + - Voiced + + Nasal - - +
The distinctive features of the voiced stops are shown in the following table:
b m d n g ŋ + + + + + Stop + Voiced +
- + + + + + - - - - - Labial + - + + - - - Alveolar -
+ + - - - Velar
- - - + - - Nasal -
According to Crystal (1994, p.162) in the book The Cambridge , distinctive features are the important point when
Encyclopedia of Language
analyzing phonology. It is because they reveal more about the way in which the statements within and between languages, than do descriptions based on phonemes and allophones.
5. Theory of Syllable Structure
The syllable is a basic unit of speech studied on both the phonetic and phonological levels of analysis. No matter how easy it can be for people and even for children to count the number of syllables in a sequence in their native language, still there are no universally agreed upon phonetic definitions of what a syllable is.
Based on Crystal in the book The Cambridge Encyclopedia of The (2003),
English Language
Vowels and consonants typically do not act alone, the vast majority of English words contain a combination of vowels (V) and consonants (C), such as CV (go), VC (up), CVC (cat), CCVC (stops), and CCCV (screw). (2003: 246)
The syllable, usually marked as small Greek sigma: σ, has two immediate constituents (it is divided into two elements, to put it in another way), the Onset (O), which includes any consonants that precede the nuclear element (the vowel), and the Rhyme (R), which subsumes the nuclear element (the vowel) as well as any marginal elements (consonants) that might follow it.
The Rhyme, in turn, is divided into Peak (P), also known as Nucleus (N), syllable. Syllable structure may be represented graphically by means of a “tree diagram”. The example the writer shall take is run /rʌ n/.
/r n/ Run
Ʌ Onset Rhyme
/r/ Nucleus (Peak) Coda
/ /n/ Ʌ /
From the example above, run /r ʌ n/, the Onset, Nucleus (Peak) and
Coda each consist of one segment: the consonant (C) /r/ occupies the Onset, the vowel (V) / ʌ / is the Peak, and the consonant /n/ is the Coda of this syllable.
A syllable is a phonological unit which is formed of one or more phonemes. According to the book An Introduction to Language (1996), Every syllable has a nucleus, usually a vowel (but it may be a syllabic liquid or nasal). The nucleus may be preceded by one or more phonemes called the syllable onset, and followed by one or more segments called the coda. The nucleus and coda constitute the subsyllabic unit called a rhyme. The same explanation is explained by Asher in the book Encyclopedia of
(sometimes „nucleus‟). The initial C is called the „onset,‟ and the final C the „coda.‟ A unit called the „rhyme,‟ and consisting of the sequence peak plus coda, is recognized by many scholars.
According to O‟Grady in the book Contemporary Linguistics, all languages have syllables. The forms of these syllables aregoverned by various kinds of constraints, but certain universal tendencies are observable: 1.
Syllable nuclei usually consist of one vowel (V) 2. Syllables usually begin with onsets 3. Syllables often end with codas 4. Onsets and codas usually consist of one consonant (C)
As we see these tendencies, we find that the most common types of syllables found in languages take the form CV and CVC (p.78; 2010).
C. Theoretical Framework
The contribution of theories is extremely needed in order to answer the problems mentioned. Theories of rhyming slang, sociolinguistic, and etymology are used by the writer, by using these theories we can get deeper understanding about what rhyming slang is. The writer uses theory of sociolinguistics to get more knowledge about the cockney rhyming slang toward the environment which share certain (phonetic) properties. The last is theory of syllable structure, this theory is used to help the writer to explain the words based on their syllable and to identify their segment or their syllabic unit.
Thus, the review of related studies is needed to add some more information about cockney rhyming slang. The review of related theories will accompany the review of related studies to give a deeper understanding about the study. The elaboration of review of related studies and review of related theories helps the writer to find out the answer of the problems.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY This chapter consists of the method that the writer will use in collecting
and analyzing the data. There are three parts in this chapter. The first is the object of the study. The second is the approach of the study. The last is the method of the study.
A. Object of the Study
In this study, the writer analyzes the etymology of cockney rhyming slang expressions as seen in A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang (2010). This dictionary was published by Watchya.com, the site contains interesting and useful e-books, in 2010. The main point here is that this dictionary shows the uniqueness of cockney language. This dictionary consist of two parts; Cockney-English and English-Cockney. The strong point of this dictionary is the list of cockney phrases from clasical cockney rhyming slang until the up to datee cockney rhyming slang which is still being used by Londoners until now.
B. Approach of the Study In conducting the research, the writer used sociolinguistic approach.
According to Gumperz (1971, p.223) in the book An Introduction to , sociolinguistics is an attempt to find correlations between social
Sociolinguistics
structure and linguistic structure and to observe any changes that occur. Social structure itself may be measured by reference to such factors as social class and educational background; we can then attempt to relate verbal behavior and performance to these factors.
The writer think that this theory help the writer to analyze the problems that will be discussed in this thesis. The writer also can get deeper understanding about the cockney rhyming slang toward the environment and the use of cockney rhyming slang is to communicate their ideas or to show their social identities.
C. Method of the Study
The writer used both library research and internet research to complete the accomplishment of the scientific research paper. In the library research, the writer used some books that have relation to the topic. The writer also browsed the internet because the writer had difficulties to find some reliable books about cockney rhyming slang and also to get the theory related to the topic and most of
In this research, the writer used the data from the book A Dictionary of . The writer took some steps to analyze this case.
Cockney Rhyming Slang (2010)
The first step, the writer collected Cockney rhyming slang on the book A . Second, the writer looked for some
Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang (2010)
further information about the meaning in the books, dictionary, and internet. The next step, the writer found the connection between the expression itself with the background or the etymology of those expression. The last step, the writer analyze the phonological similarities between the slang and their targeted words based on their syllable structure.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS In this chapter, the writer analyzes the problems in chapter 1. In
analyzing those problems, the writer focuses on each problem first so that finally the writer can find the connections of all the problems listed in the problem formulation.
There are three problems that are going to be analyzed in this chapter. First section analyzes about cockney rhyming slang. Second section will analyzes about the condition between the background, the expressions, and the names of celebrities used in cockney rhyming slang. The last section analyzes about the phonological simillarities between slang words and non-slang words.
The writer found seventeen cockney rhyming slang words which are going to be analyzed. Not all of those words can be analyzed in the background analysis and phonological analysis either.
A. The Characteristics of Cockney Rhyming Slang
Cockney rhyming slang uses substitute words, usually two, as a coded alternative for another word. It uses a phrase that rhymes with a word. For example, the cockney rhyming slang for “believe” is “Adam and Eve” as in According to Jenny Ashford from the article at suite101.com (The genuine article. Literally), cockney rhyming slang is a type of argot that is structured by replacing one word with two-word phrases that has the same rhymes. Usually the second word is dropped and the original word is replaced by a word that has no same rhyme, and then people usually use the word with has no same rhyme when they‟re in conversation.
The argot is structured by replacing one word with a (usually) two- word phrase that rhymes with it. The second word of the phrase is then generally dropped, so that the original word has now been replaced by a word that does not rhyme, and that on immediate hearing has nothing to do with the original word. For example, the word “head” is sometimes rendered as “loaf” through the intervening rhyming phrase “loaf of bread.” By the same token, an American may be called a “Sherman” or a “septic,” through the phrases “Sherman tank” or “septic tank,” both of which rhyme with “Yank.” (http://languagestudy.suite101.com/article.cfm/origins_and_structu re_of_cockney_rhyming_slang) Modern Cockney slang that is being developed today tends to rhyme words with the names of celebrities or famous people, for example: a. Beers
Britney Spears b. Harry Nash Cash
Based on the article
“Languages of the World”, Asya Pereltsvaig said
that there are some typical features of Cockney accent: a.
T-glottalisation (the use of the glottal stop instead of [t] and sometimes [p] c.
)
H-dropping (house = „ouse d. alterations (for example, replacing /eɪ / with [æɪ ~aɪ ], as in [fæɪ s] „face‟ or
[ta ɪ k] „take‟).
There also common patterns that are usually used by people when they use cockney rhyming slang in the conversation.rhyming slang terms can be summarized as follows: a.
WORD and WORD i. Noun and Noun : Common nouns
pleasure and pain means rain, You don't have to take an umbrella.
e.g.
There won't be any pleasure today. means mouth, He gave me a punch right up the north north and south e.g.
and south.
Proper nouns: means table, e.g. Sit yourself at the cain.
Cain and Abel Jack and Jill
“hill,” e.g. Their cat is up the jack. and Eve
Adam “believe,” e.g. I can't Adam and Eve it!.
and Verb:
Verb read and write means fight, e.g. He'd rather read than walk away.
means river, e.g. He jumped right into the shake.
shake and shiver
me and you means menu ii.
Pronoun and Pronoun : iii.
Adjective and Adjective: sorry and sad means bad, e.g. That dinner was a bit sorry. iv. means loo-toilet
one and two
Numeral and Numeral:
b. NOUN PHRASE consisting in DETERMINER + HEAD:
M other‟s ruin means gin, e.g. Mother's ruin and tonic, please. B utcher‟s hook means look, e.g. Take a butcher's at this.
Tea leaf means thief , e.g. He‟s a tea leaf.
The use of proper nouns (place names and proper names) is specific to today‟s slang. In most rhyming slang terms, there is no obvious connection between the phrase and the word replaced: Hampstead Heeth
“teeth”; Scotch
pegs
“legs”; Irish jig “wig”; Conan Doyle “boil”; Mickey Mouse “house”; Auntie
Ella “umbrella”; Mutt and Jeff “deaf” (Neagu 2001:35).