Accents in Whitechapel

[Steven_Rex]

I admit I don't know a great deal about the social makeup of 19th century Whitechapel, but I got to thinking about the various theories about the Ripper, and how they often point to foreigners (including Tumblety and the 'Polish Jew') or the upper classes (eg. Gull or Sickert) whose accents would betray their status as 'aliens'. In the midst of the killings, was Jack heard at all by any witnesses, other than the possible 'LIPSKI' comment? If not, where did theories about Polish Jews and semi-Royals originate?

Also, was the Eastend so diverse in the period that anyone who spoke with a non-London accent may not have aroused suspicion? I understand that there was a large immigrant population, of which there were many non-native Jewish people. However, would a cockney Ripper have been more likely to gain the trust of his victims than, say, an American, a Pole or a well-spoken Toff? It seems to me that a lot rests on just how Jack managed to accost these women at the height of a violent murder spree. Depending on how ethnically diverse Whitechapel was at the time, it seems to me that we might go some way to reducing the 'credit' of some suspects if their accent would have likely led the women to recognise them as 'different'.

[John Casey]

I've always assumed the victims were so desparate for drink/doss money that they wouldn't have taken much notice of something like somebody's accent.

[Steven_Rex]

Well I imagine this would most certainly have been the case pre-Autumn 1888. However, if the rumours about a Polish Jew, an upper class gent or a foreign sailor were around at the height of the 'autumn of terror', then perhaps the women would have been less likely to trust anyone who had such an accent. With suspicions running high, I think they might have taken the loss rather than flirted with a violent death at the hands of a unknown 'foreigner'.

[Ben]

Hi Steven,

I agree with your observations, and would suggest that the tried and tested average local "Joe" would have stood the best chances of success when attempting to inveigle prostitutes at the height of the ripper scare. Conspicuous outsiders, "toffs" and foreigners would probably have struggled in this regard for the reasons you've outlined. I recall one journalist's experience of entering a Flower & Dean Street lodging house for the purpose of interviewing its residents about the murders, only to be asked if he himself was Jack the Ripper! This provides a good indication, I'd suggest, of the extent of fear and paranoia in the district occasioned by the murders.

All the best,
Ben

[Errata]

Well I imagine this would most certainly have been the case pre-Autumn 1888. However, if the rumours about a Polish Jew, an upper class gent or a foreign sailor were around at the height of the 'autumn of terror', then perhaps the women would have been less likely to trust anyone who had such an accent. With suspicions running high, I think they might have taken the loss rather than flirted with a violent death at the hands of a unknown 'foreigner'.

The irony is that this is the worst possible time in British history to try and identify a person as a foreigner. With the Raj, you have Indians speaking like Cambridge graduates. The nobility is aping the monarchy, and therefor speaking with a bizarre Germanic-type accent. Refugees from eastern Europe are now into their second or even third generation, so they speak like a local but look Slavic. There are about 20 separate accents native to London alone, never mind the rest of England, and none of this takes into account the western Europeans, the mimics of the Buffalo Bill show, and the not insignificant tourist population. And all this is even assuming that the killer can't fake a convincing enough accent for the two or three sentences it takes to procure a prostitute. I'm surprised more people didn't collapse with nerves.