Why is everyone suddenly saying bomboclat?
Both online and offline, multicultural London English (MLE) and patois are taking centre stage, but what is MLE, where did it come from and why is everyone now using it?
Firstly let's make something clear, MLE is a sociolect, not a dialect or a type of accent. The difference being that sociolects come from groups and classes of people that share similar language rather than being a regionally specific way of speaking. But where did it come from?
MCLE is a more recent sociolect in comparison to others. It developed after the wave of immigrants that arrived in the UK during the Windrush generation. The children of these immigrants grew up and shared their Caribbean dialects with their British counterparts. MLE was initially called Jafaican, a combination of the words Jamaican and fake before it was officially named multicultural London English by linguists. As it evolved from working class young people and is not fully regionally or racially specific it has expanded not only across the country but the world.
The popularity of Caribbean music, particularly Jamaican reggae, calypso and ska led to Jamaican patois being used in the UK, which served as the foundation for what MLE would become. But it’s important to note that MLE isn’t only descended from Jamaican or Caribbean and has influences from many cultures and other languages such as African dialects. MLE was initially based on the traditional East End Cockney dialect, which has evolved. Over the years MLE has become more varied, diverse and rich in culture, and the growth of music genres such as grime and drill has spread MLE worldwide. Linguists have estimated that MLE could become Britain's dominant dialect within 100 years, and social media platforms and music have spread it across the UK and the world.
So why is it spreading?
The main rabble rouser seems to be TikTok.Videos using patois and phrases such as bomboclat (which is a swear word if you didn't know) have been going coral consistently all over tiktok and other social media platforms. The expletive, has wormed its way into the platform with people lip syncing and reacting to these videos and audios alongside making compilations.
The rise of “bomboclat” on TikTok is a textbook case of how Caribbean slang gets pulled into global meme culture and often stripped of its roots. It is a strong Jamaican expletive, often used to express shock, anger, or emphasis. On TikTok, it’s taken on a new form, often used for comedic effect, and used to exaggerate surprise or confusion. People are now tossing it out casually, unaware of its cultural significance. Although bomboclat has become the main victim, many other phrases have also had the TikTok treatment. For example:
Although a prominent part of UK and London culture, MLE is often frowned upon. Systemic racism and biases within society often associate this way of speaking with lower classes, crime and violence. Many people refer to it as “speaking like a roadman”, or “chav”.
It has also become a topic of conversation as we are seeing an influx of white upper-class young people speaking in this way. When the same phrases that were once mocked or policed suddenly become trendy and cool it can sometimes feel like a caricature or mockery. People start to wonder if this is cultural exchange, appreciation, or appropriation. And who is profiting from this?
Although some may not mind this globalisation, there is a serious danger of decontextualisation. Without background information, these phrases and words can lose their original meaning or even worse, become punchlines and caricatures of the people who coined them.
