What Was That Mate?| Quiz

Do you know how Londoners talk?

Welcome!

This is a light-hearted quiz to see how much you know about Londoners with a specific focus on the language used. This is aimed at EAL speakers or those wishing to visit or learn more about “good ol’ Londoners.”

The main dialects we will focus on are cockney (East London), MLE (Multicultural London English) and RP (Received Pronunciation).

Let’s go!

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I.

Setting: You’re meeting your friend’s new partner from London, his name is Phil. You’ve exchanged the greetings and now are having a conversation where you made a joke.

Phil asks you:

“Oi, you nicked me apples an’ pears up the frog an’ toad, or you just ‘avin’ a bubble?”

What does he mean?

This is cockney rhyming slang, don’t worry not many people use this today, even cockney speakers may get slightly confused!

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II.

Setting: You’re on the bus sitting next to a passenger who turns to another stranger who just got on and asks:

“Rah, you man jumped on without tapping in, man’s moving mad, you good or what?”

This example is MLE, a very common type of dialect with multiple cultural influences.

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III.

Setting: You are walking around in the Tate Modern, a beautiful gallery looking at the artwork. A stranger approaches you and says:

“Pray, might you indulge me, do you find this composition a sincere meditation on transience, or merely an affectation masquerading as profundity?”

This is RP at its finest, a very eloquent type of speech in this context. Not all RP speakers use such language.

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IV.

Setting: You are waiting in a queue when you overhear customers arguing. One of them responds aggressively and says:

“What was that mate?”

An example of Cockney dialect.

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V.

Setting: You are waiting at the bus stop, it’s raining and someone is hurrying to get shelter. They look at you and say:

“The rain seems rather intent on making a spectacle of us both.”

This is an example of RP.

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VI.

Setting: You are eating at a very popular restaurant, you notice lots of people waiting to be seated. A woman walks over to you and says:

“Yo fam, you good if I just slide in here? Looks bare packed out there.”

MLE example.

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VII.

Setting: You are taking photos with a friend at Hyde park, a couple walk over to you and one of them says:

“Oi, mate, snap us proper, yeah? Don’t go blurry with it, innit.”

Cockney dialect.

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VIII.

Setting: You are at Waterloo train station, the trains are delayed and everyone looks quite annoyed. You ask someone for an alternative route to your destination. They respond:

“Bruv, you best hop on the Jubilee and switch at Canary Wharf, innit?”

MLE example.

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IX.

Final setting: You are buying a drink during the interval of a theatre performance. A man walks over to you and says:

“It appears the interval crowd has left scarcely a spot to stand.”

RP example.

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X.

Which London dialect was easiest for you to understand?

How do you think you did?

Were any of the terms or words new to you?

What do you do when you don’t understand what someone has said?

If you’d like to find out the answers:

Thanks for taking part!

𝓒 𝓢𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓮 ✨

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🎧The Real Streets of London

🎧London Classrooms: Culture, Rules & “Lord Gawd”

🎧London Dating Language: Linking, Ghosting & Say Less