The Little Londoner [antikvár]

PREFACE. It had long been my intention to prepare a parallel volume to my Petit Párisién; in obedience to repeated requests it is now issued. I have called it The Little Londoner for two reasons; firstly, because it treats of almost every aspect of London daily life, London being generally recognised as the leading English city to which the foreigner usually goes first, and where he makes his longest stay; secondly, because the book is written in such English as the educated Londoner of the present day uses in his ordinary unconstrained conversation; London speech is spreading among the educated classes throughout the country, and many authorities do not hesitate to regard it as the standard. The Little Londoner has been written on the same lines as the Petit Párisién, and many valuable suggestions made by readers of the latter volume could be utilised here also. I have been able to draw upon personal experience gained during a continuous stay in England extending over two years and a half, and on numerous later occasions when my holidays were spent there. It is not necessary to take the chapters in the exact order in which they appear in the book, as each chapter is complete in itself. The words and phrases given in brackets serve to explain the text or to extend the vocabulary by the suggestion of synonyms. Chapter XXVI, which deals with the language, contains an alphabetical list of the most common slang expressions with explanations in good English, and is largely based on my own observation. I have added a brief enumeration of the chief peculiarities of cockney speech. The chapter is intended to enable the foreigner to distinguish what is good from what ought not to be imitated in the conversation of the native. Those who have little experience are too much inclined to make an indiscriminate use of slang, without considering whether it may not be regarded as a sign of offensive familiarity by the person addressed. The pronunciation has been indicated only in the case of a fevv common abbreviations; thus p. m. is to be pronounced pee ernm (these letters having their usual English value).