Re: CHAT: Cockney Orkish as she is spoken.

On Tue, 23 Feb 1999, Andrew Smith wrote:

> The
> agency through which I am auditioning advised me to do the audition in a
> British accent and they suggested Cockney.  I'm still trying to see the
> connection.  So can anyone suggest what is so 'orkish' about Cockney, and
> how I can 'debase' that dialect to sound authentic.
My guess is that they advised you to do Cockney because many people (not
me) find it a rather 'grating' accent.  In my opinion, it's not the
dialect but the intonation - all malice and hatred - which makes speech
'orkish'.  If you want tips on how to 'orkify' your speech, why not
pick up a copy of an American action movie, where three quarters of
the dialogue consists of shouting and mindless use of obscenities.

The choice of Cockney as a replacement for orkish dialects makes
*some* sense, though, if you look at the sociological underpinnings
of the Lord of the Rings:  If the Shire is meant to stand in for rural
England and rural English values (as is commonly assumed), then Mordor
could be seen as a stand in for grimy, polluted, industrial London.  From
that point of view it makes sense to portray Orcs as Cockneys, who are
commonly stereotyped as being crass, vulgar, and criminal.  I'm not saying
I agree with the analogy (I actually find it quite offensive), but I can
understand where it might come from...

Matt.