The difference between Standard English and Cockney in pronunciation

1. Dropping the sound /h/ at the beginning of words: ave (have); and adding it to words beginning with vowels:

e.g. atmosphere – hatmosphere

influence – hinfluence

2. Dropping /v/ in of

3. Substituting /v/ by /w/ and vice versa,

e.g. wery and vith

4. The simplification of the diphthong au to a:

e.g.houses /'ha:ziz/

Cockney is lively and witty and its vocabulary is imaginative and colourful. It has set expressions of its own. Its specific feature is so-called rhyming slang.

e.g. head – loaf of bread

wife – trouble and strife

Rhyming Slang phrases are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word, e.g. the word "look" rhymes with "butcher's hook".

In many cases the rhyming word is omitted – so you won't find too many Londoners having a "bucher's hook", but you might find a few having a "butcher's". "Use your loaf" is an everyday phrase for the British, but not too many people realise it is Cockney Rhyming Slang ("loaf of bread: head").