Lady Penelope and Parker

Another article about my childhood favourite, Thunderbirds.

In the TV series "Thunderbirds", there is a London agent called Lady Penelope. She is a duchess and lives in a manor located in London. There seems only a butler and a cook who serve her, so I believe the aristocrats in the future England live in quite an economized household.

Parker serves Lady Penelope. He is the butler, the chauffeur, plays almost every role of the servants, and also assists her in the rescue missions. He is quite a character, and as a butler for an aristocrat family, he has an extraordinary background.

Lady Penelope is a duchess so of course, she speaks in the Received Pronunciation, very posh indeed. However, her servant Parker' accent is quite a contrast.

Parker speaks Cockney, the accent which divides the middle class and the working class. His accent has a lot of the characteristics of Cockney -

glottal stops
lady -> la'y   and -> an'    waiting -> wai'in'
bit -> bi'  difficult -> difficul'
Parker -> Par'er, calling -> callin'

vowel shifts
same -> sime   lubricated -> lu'rikited
right -> roite, life -> loife,  away -> awhy, trade -> tride  waiting -> whitin'

dropping h-s
haven't -> 'aven' , hope -> 'ope
home -> 'ome    ahead -> a'ea'

Another features that I like about his accent is that he drops the aitches, and put them in places where it is not needed.

I -> hi   is -> his   alright -> halrigh'  other -> hotha   air conditioner -> hair con'shona
aristocrat -> haristocra'    all -> hall

My idea of a butler is like Mr. Stevens in "Remains of the Day" or Mr. Carson in "Downton Abbey". Mr. Stevens speaks in RP both upstairs and downstairs, and Mr. Carson in near RP upstairs and in Yorkshire downstairs. The butler is the head of the servant household so he must sound respectable. Never Cockney.

I think it is quite unusual for a butler to an aristocrat family speaking Cockney. In Parker's case, he was a professional burglar in his past, had spent some years in jail. After his release from jail, he was caught at the scene of the crime by Lady Penelope who had heard of Parker's status in the underworld, and promised him she would not turn him in if he agreed to work for her in her spy missions. Parker, the butler is one of a kind.