Estuary English is an English accent, continuum of accents, or continuum of accent features associated with the area along the River Thames and its estuary, including parts of London, since the late 20th century. In 2000, the phonetician John C. Wells proposed a definition of Estuary English as "Standard English spoken with the accent of the southeast of England". He views Estuary English as an emerging standard accent of England, while also acknowledging that it is a social construct rather than a technically well-defined linguistic phenomenon. He describes it as "intermediate" between the 20th-century higher-class non-regional standard accent, Received Pronunciation (RP), and the 20th-century lower-class local London accent, Cockney. There is much debate among linguists as to where Cockney and RP end and where Estuary English begins, or whether Estuary English is even a single cohesive accent.
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Estuary English in the context of English language in Southern England
English in Southern England is the collective set of different dialects and accents of Modern English spoken in Southern England.
As of the 21st century, a wide class of dialects labelled "Estuary English" is on the rise in South East England and the Home Counties (the counties bordering London), which was the traditional interface between the London urban region and more local and rural accents.
Estuary English in the context of Cockney
Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners from working-class and lower-middle-class families. The term Cockney is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, or, traditionally, born within earshot of Bow Bells.
Estuary English is an intermediate accent between Cockney and Received Pronunciation, also widely spoken in and around London, as well as in wider South Eastern England. In multicultural areas of London, the Cockney dialect is, to an extent, being replaced by Multicultural London English—a new form of speech with significant Cockney influence.