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Old 26-Mar-2006, 15:10
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Default Re: How to learn an accent?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyDay
I don't believe I heard any apple and pear references in Harry Potter.
That would have been inappropriate. That's an example of Cockney rhyming slang, which is used only in certain situations by Cockneys, i.e. Londoners, although a few of the more common expressions have since found their way into the speech of other people. But Harry and his friends are pretty much typical middle- to upper-class and would never use such expressions.

It would be a bit like watching an American movie set in Beverly Hills and wondering why nobody ever says "aw, shucks!" or "there ain't room in this mansion for both of us, partner". (The classic comedy series The Beverly Hillbillies, of course, did do something like that, but for comic reasons.)
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