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 it to be a working-class accent, but it is often used by lower middle classes as well. In the debate that surrounded a 1993 article about Estuary English, a London businessman claimed that RP was perceived as unfriendly and so Estuary English was now preferred for commercial purposes. Some people adopt the accent as a means of "blending in" to appear to be more working class or in an attempt to appear to be "a common man". That affectation of the accent is sometimes derisively referred to as "Mockney". A move away from traditional RP accents is almost universal among