LEARN TO SPEAK
BACKSLANG
Its History and Culture.
"BACKSLANG" was (is) a strange language, much loved by the Victorian Pickpocket Gangs, it was also spoken with enthusiasm by my Grandmother (A School Headmistress) and my Father (A Skilled Aircraft Engineer) during the 30's, in Portsmouth.
The purpose of "BACKSLANG", was primary as a means of secret
communications, for street gangs, active in Dickens time.A 'Looker' ,would notice a 'Gent' with a gold watch in his left waistcoat pocket. He would inform the "Nudger" and the 'Lifter" of this, by saying to them 'Lda enta eda opheta olda atcha efta aistcoata", translated to "Old gent red tophat gold watch left waistcoat".
Less skilful "Backslangers" would not be so descriptive, knowing how to convert less words. The details of the intended victim would be given via a nod towards him, with the only spoken comment being, "Olda atcha aistcoata" , i.e.: Gold watch waistcoat.
Very often "Backslang" words were mixed with normal words, "Lady fine pink dress earla ecklacea', for example, would be used in place of, "Lady fine pink dress pearl necklace", this being subject to the discretion of the speaker.
One "Charlotte Street Mob" in Portsmouth. Hampshire, dropped the method of dropping the first letter, and adding an 'A' to end each word, by moving the first letter, to be the last letter, this was known as speaking "Andportl", Landport, being the area from which the gang came. This method did not catch on, as it proved hard to use.
Whilst, I understand my Grandmother leamt "Backslang", while a Teacher at York Road Girls School. Battersea. London, it was very common in Portsmouth. Hampshire. with mainly the underclass, Pickpockets, Snatch Thieves, Prostitutes. etc. Pimps would often inform their lady's, as to their clients, and their clients requirements in "Backslang". Also to pass on 'special' information, such as, "Lita hoata icka alleta", I'll let you work that one out.
"Backslang", did for a while, become fashionable, and is still spoken, although in a limited manner. So, how do you speak "Backslang", or "Ackslanga" as 1. suppose we should call it. Easy, very very easy, drop the first letter of each word and add an 'A', as the last letter of each word, "Hea ata ata na hea ata", right now you have seen the main problem with 'Ackslanga", The cat sat on the mat, ends up with 'ata' 3 times, cat sat mat, all become ata, this is mainly why "Ackslanga", as we shall now call it, never became a main stream language.
It is very unlikely, in the environment, which produced 'Ackslanga", you would ever use such a sentence, but if you did, you would say, "Hea cat ata na hea mat", if you get repeat words, due to lack of letters, you only 'convert' one of these repeat words, in each sentence. But as I said, "Ackslanga", needs to be used only when appropriate, and not all the time, "Oua nderstanda".
I think it best to try to team a few little phrases, "I ovea oua" may prove of use, by the way, please note, I and A, remain as I and A, maybe "Eta osta", or "Usha ffa" could be handy, try "A inta esta ittera", when next in a pub, or if your a welcome lady reader, 'A orta nda emona leasea".
To be honest, some words 'convert' better than others, so a skilful
"Ackslanga", selects his or her words with care, so "Ooda ucka" and "Appya Ackslanginga".
copyright John Meyer 2000
Dr. Bill Thompson would like to say ...
Oi, Uu din orr wot?
'arber? dount evree mush talk pompey
dare u t' tell me wymrin mates talk posh
an u get yer face dun in
The bizarre idea that the noted Pompey accent is restricted to the harbour area, or emanates from the over-hyped mudlark romanticism, is simply wrong; though it may have much to do with the dockyard.
It was - and for many still is - a feature of every working class person in the town who would be far more likely to be 'gunna deyn teyn' (are you going down to the town centre) than to Sarfsee (Southsea).
Over the last two years, I have had a wonderful time interviewing the so called Paulsgrove rioters (which the judge declared members of a legal and lawful assembly), and the accent is as alive an' well as is the tradition of rough music. How come no one else spotted this?
Being a Wymering old boy - who dare not cross Washbrook Road, it was a pleasure to hear the old sounds again. I wasn't there five minutes before hearing the classic 'weee' (as when one expresses surprise).
The issue of the origin of the accent was always raised when I was entering spoken English Competitions to test my progress in received English - in order to help me 'pass' as middle class - necessary in my future career. Indeed, as it always came up in the 'free conversation' sections, it made my examinations a little easier.
Without exception, I would tell the examiners, (who being sharp eared could always detect accent no matter how hard the candidate tried to hide it) "No, I did not come from London, nor was I a Cockney, but was born in Portsmouth."
They would then express surprise, never having noticed this similarity before; but then, they were hardly likely to have too many working class candidates from the southern slopes of Portsdown.
I would then explain that the most likely reason for the accent (which was purely a guess on my part), and its similarity with Cockney (which incidentally I have never heard around the Bow Church area), that I could think of was that:
when the dockyard was dramatically expanded towards the turn of the nineteenth century many of those with the requite skills would have been found from the east end of London - the major docks starting out from Stepney and going east.
Where it becomes intriguing is that ship workers were also imported from Bristol. Perhaps the accent is a mixture of both London and Bristol dock workers.
This Bristol addition may also explain why Pompey is a 'fuller' sound than the London one, has nothing in common with country Hampshire (e.g. the peasant accent in the Meon Valley, possessed by my relatives called Ham), and doesn't have the evil shreak heard amongst the tribe known locally as the Scummers.
Such an explanation is viable as there were so few people living on the Island when the expansion took place. But can we stop calling it Portsmouth Harbour accent before that becomes the common currency, PLEASE. Its the POMPEY accent and was not confined to the harbour area (unless this clumsy term is being used to include Gosport, where the accent is NOT so thick).
Guy Dugdale may also be advised that there is a clear division between slang (always time bound) and words that are formed - and maintained - as the result of an accent. Confusing the two may lead to an overemphasis upon the dockyard when the accent pattern could be found all over the Island and hinterland.