Estuary English Estuary English Estuary English is an English dialect or accent associated with South East England, especially the area along the River Thames and its estuary, centering around London. Phonetician John C. Wells proposed a definition of Estuary English as "Standard English spoken with the accent of the south-east of England" but criticised the notion that the spread of language from London to the southeast was anything new. The name comes from the area around the Thames, particularly its Estuary. Estuary English can be heard from some people in London, north Surrey, Kent, south Hertfordshire, Essex and is now also becoming
Estuary English more widely spoken in parts of Sussex, Hampshire, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Middlesex as well. Estuary English shares many features with Cockney, and there is some debate among linguists as to where Cockney speech ends and Estuary English begins. The variety first came to public prominence in an article by David Rosewarne in the "Times Educational Supplement" in October 1984. Rosewarne argued that it may eventually replace Received Pronunciation in the southeast. Studies have indicated that Estuary English is not a single coherent form of English; rather, it has some of the phonetic features of working-class London speech spreading at