A Yank is bloody confused 'ere.

Gordion Knott — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:53:53 -0800

Been watching early episodes of The Office (UK version). The lead character, a vain, self-important white-collar middle manager, speaks with a Cockney accent. This Yank is damn confused. Yeah, I know that The Office is situated in a bedtown on the outskirts of London, hence the Londonspeak. But even so, I would have thought that David, the main character, would speak in a slightly more upperclass dialect. He seems to drop h's and swallow consonants with aplomb, though perhaps not to the extent of a true, born-and-bred Cockney speaker.

Even more confusing to my Yank mentality, none of the characters speak in "posh" British English. After watching Monty Python, in which John Cleese, when playing MPs or even mid-level bureaucrats, invariably spoke with a posh accent, I'm stymied.

Has the outlook on posh accents changed since the filming of Python (and Fawlty Towers) in the seventies? At the same time, have Cockney accents and other regional accents gained greater acceptance? What's the state of British English as a register of class these days?

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A Yank is bloody confused 'ere.