From the main list: Cockney Rhyming Slang

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106167

From:  "Geoff Bannister" <gbannister10 at aol.com> 
Date:  Wed Jul 14, 2004  10:25 am 
Subject:  Re: Cockney rhyming slang (berk) (Was James the Berk)
 
--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister"
<gbannister10 at a...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67"
> <justcarol67 at y...> wrote:
>
> Carol:
> > Almost forgot the point of my post, which was to ask you for a
> > clarification of your Cockney rhyming slang remark. (I'm one of your
> > "American cousins," as I'm sure you know, and I've never quite gotten
> > the concept.) Berk = jerk? And wasn't it Sirius himself who first
> > applied the term to James and himself, so if *he* admits it, maybe
> > it's JKR's view, too?
> >
> > Also are there any other examples of Cockney rhyming slang in the book
> > that we should know about? And on a somewhat related note, Steve I
> > think) mentioned Ron calling Harry "mate" in OoP--the first time he
> > does so in the American editions. Does he do it earlier in the 
British
> > editions? (It grated on me at first; it seemed as if he was trying to
> > sound like the twins.)
>
> Geoff:
> Berk, nowadays, is generally considered a fairly mild term to apply
> to someone but in origin was a particularly unpleasant expression to
> use. It is a contraction of "Berkshire Hunt". For the sake of
> delicate eyes, I must leave the word with which it rhymes
> unwritten...... You just use your fertile imaginations.
>
> At this moment, I am furiously packing to go away for 10 days to the
> Isles of Scilly where I haven't got access to the Net (chorus
> of "aaah") and haven't time to follow up your second question - other
> UK posters may well do that. I hope I shan't return to find myself
> submerged in posts. The group seems to have gone into overdrive
> lately and, even severely limiting the threads I read, keeping up is
> a real headache.
>
> I'll be back....

Geoff again:
Answering my own post.

Being delayed, waiting for our travelling companion, I had
opportunity to look in my archive.

the following is a repost of message 80241, in which I tackled the
quesiton of rhyming slang......

*******
The topic of slang, idioms and pejorative language is interesting
when you look at the levels on which it operates and at JKR's use of
it – or non-use - in Harry Potter.

A recent poster was not quite accurate in saying that the rhyming
element in Cockney slang is omitted; this is not always the case. I
lived in London from 1949-94 and obviously knew how both "true"
Cockneys and "ordinary" Londoners spoke. The example of "use your
loaf" (loaf = loaf of bread = head) was cited. Two others which come
immediately to mind are "take a butcher's" (butcher's = butcher's
hook = look) and "barnet" (barnet = Barnet Fair = hair). However,
some do not get curtailed in this way. "Apples and pears", rhyming
slang for stairs and "trouble and strife" for wife are still used in
full – although they tend to be used by older folk nowadays. One I
also recall hearing once in my teens was "box of toys" for noise.

I was interested to learn that "berk" is from rhyming slang. I think
its origin is lost to many in that the pronunciation is different to
the original. "Berkshire" is one of those words where the "e" is
pronounced as an "a", i.e. pronounced "Barkshire". Other examples
include "clerk" pronounced "clark" and "Derby" pronounced "Darby".
Berk is pronounced as it is spelt. (As an aside, the reasons for this
as for many other quirks of English spelling and pronunciation are
well-documented in Bill Bryson's excellent "Mother Tongue").

Berk is one of those words which is used as a mild reproof despite
its "4-letter-word-which-may-not-be-named" origin. I would use it
jokingly in response to a friend saying or doing something
daft. "Git" or "prat" are stronger expressing a greater
dissatisfaction whereas the "Fs" and "Bs" etc. of this world
expressive very strong dissatisfaction. JKR seems to hold to these
rules in her writing as well. Obviously, as a children's book, the
language needs to be controlled. One of the things which has
surprised me in the films is that Ron, in particular, is a little bit
free and easy with some mild swearing which might still offend
listeners when coming from a child and which does not echo what is
said in the books.
*****

The thread continues, if you want to follow further.