In this lesson, you will be introduced to English street slang, an informal kind of vocabulary that is common among young people in the UK. This kind of speech can often be overheard in conversations on the streets of London, on public transit, and in movies. These words and expressions are not appropriate to use in polite conversation, but they are fun to learn and useful to know in order to understand popular culture. In this video, you will learn the meaning of „pattymouth”, „sket”, „blud”, „wagan”, and many more. Do you know any street slang words that I don’t mention? Watch this video, and comment below!
Take the quiz at http://ww.engvid.com/british-street-slang/
TRANSCRIPT
Hello. My name is Jade, yeah? And today, I’m going to tell you about the real London accent. Yeah? Because that’s where I’m from. And, like, we don’t talk, like, how you learn it in your textbooks. You know what I’m saying? We talk like we’re from the street. We talk in a different way. So what I’m telling you today is some words that, like, people like me speak with.
So we’re going to look at this accent. Sometimes, I’m going to speak in my normal accent, but I’m going to do this accent a lot here because this is what I’m talking about. So this accent, sometimes, like, those clever people, yeah? They call it „Multicultural London English”. What does that mean? It basically means — this accent that I’m using, it’s not like the cockney accent. You’ve probably heard about the cockney accent. And that’s supposed to be the accent that working class people in London speak with. Everyone’s supposed to be a cockney. But the truth is, like, no one — not that many people talk in a, like, speak that cockney anymore. 'Cause this accent, Multicultural London English, is, like, a lot more normal now. People speak like this.
Some people, you know — some rude people, they’re calling it „Jafaican”. And they’re calling it „Jafaican” because they’re saying that, like, we’re trying to sound like from Jamaica. But I grew up in London. Do you know what I’m saying? I ain’t been to Jamaica.
So for some people, what they hear in that accent is, like, „Oh, you’re West Indian” or, „You’re trying to sound like you’re West Indian even if you’re a white person. You’re trying to sound like you’re from Jamaica.” But actually, it’s — black people have this accent. White people have this accent. It’s just a really common accent in London now.
Who speaks with this accent? Here are some people. Ali G — actually, he doesn’t really speak with this accent because Ali G is not a real person. Plus, Ali G is a character, and that stuff is about ten years old now. And maybe when it was even first made, he doesn’t really speak in this accent. It’s just an exaggerated version. If you don’t know who Ali G is or any of these other people, you can search for them on YouTube and listen to them.
These are the people — they’re music people in the UK. We’ve got Dizee Rascal, Wiley, and N-Dubz. And if you search for N-Dubz and try to listen to him, you probably won’t understand very much, I’m thinking.
So now, I’m going to introduce you to some of the, like, words that we use when we speak in English, yeah? So that you know what we saying when you come to London. When you come to my endz, you can say all the right things, yeah? So let’s have a look at some verbs. In your textbooks, you’re told to ask for something. In this accent, you „axe” for something. „Axe dem blud.” That means, „Ask them for something.” „Buss” — to „buss” something means to wear something. So, „You’re bussing sick creps. Do you know what I’m saying?” „Creps” are trainers or shoes or sneakers. „You’re wearing very nice trainers.” „You’re bussing sick creps. Do you get me?”
„Cotch” means to relax somewhere. „Come we go cotch.” „Let’s go relax somewhere.”
„Fix up” — I’ve got a sad story about this one that’s true. When I was in secondary school, there was this girl in my secondary school, and she was a bully. And I remember I was cuing up for my lunch, and she just came behind me, hit me on the head, and she’s, like, „Go fix your hair.” And I was, like, „What’s wrong with my hair? I’m really sorry.” And I felt really bad. So if somebody says „fix up something”, it’s like, „You’re looking really bad.” „Nah. You ain’t good, you know?” So in Dizee Rascal’s song, which is quite famous, he says, „Fix up. Look sharp.” And that means, like, „Try and wear something good when you go out into the world.” So moving on from the verbs.
Nouns, essential nouns in this vocabulary. You know the word „house”, right? Well, the other word you can use for it is „yard”. „Come to my yard, yeah? I’ll meet you later.” „Fam”, „blud”, and „yout” are all words that could be used for „friend”. „Yout” would be, like, a young friend. „He’s just a yout. Leave him. He ain’t worth it. Do you know what I mean? Leave him.”
