THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, BOOK 2 CHAPTER 7, H. G. Wells

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InThe War of the Worlds, Book 2, Chapter 7, the narrator reunites with the artilleryman, who excitedly shares his grand plan for surviving the Martian invasion by hiding underground and forming a tough, secret society to preserve human knowledge. He dreams of one day rising up against the Martians. But as the narrator listens, he realizes the artilleryman’s talk is mostly fantasy — the man has done little to prepare and is caught up in grand but empty visions, highlighting humanity’s mix of hope, pride, and helplessness.

Notes on the 1896 Cockney accent vs. todays modern Cockney:

A comparison between the 1896 Cockney accent and the modern Cockney accent reveals how London’s working-class dialect has changed over more than a century. Here’s a breakdown across key features:

1. Pronunciation (Phonology)

TH-fronting (e.g., “think” → “fink”)

•1896: Rare or absent. “Th” sounds like /θ/ and /ð/ were usually preserved.

•Modern: Very common. “Th” becomes /f/ or /v/ (e.g., “brother” → “bruvver”).

Glottal stop (e.g., “bottle” → “bo’le”)

•1896: Emerging, but not yet dominant. “T” was often pronounced more clearly.

•Modern: Extremely widespread. Glottal stops replace “t” in many positions.

H-dropping (e.g., “house” → “’ouse”)

•1896: A key Cockney trait already present.

•Modern: Still common, though less so among younger speakers due to influence from other accents or dialect leveling.

L-vocalization (e.g., “milk” → “miwk”)

•1896: Very rare or non-existent.

•Modern: Very common. Final or pre-consonantal /l/ becomes a /w/-like sound.

Diphthong shift (e.g., “face” → “fice”)

•1896: Diphthongs more conservative; “face” would be more like [fæɪs].

•Modern: Vowels are more centralized or shifted (e.g., “face” → [faɪs], “goat” → [gəʊʔ]).

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