Talk:Chav

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  1. September 2004 - September 2005
  2. September 2005 - April 2006
  3. May 2006 - September 2006
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[edit] tone

Can we reformat this page to follow more closely the layout and tone of other offensive slurs on Wikipedia? i.e. this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_trash etc? Currently this page looks like a middle class critisism of 'Chav' culture, rather than a properly written description of a slur.

[edit] ivardj Norwegian Chavs

Could someone please change the Norwegian equivalent back to Harry as a Fjortis is of a certain age (around fourteen. Fjorten = fourteen), and doesn't really have the same "qualities" as a chav? Harry is the closest you'll get in Norway.

[edit] The Cheltenham Connection

I have recently discoverd that the Cheltenham derravation of Chave is CHeltenham AVerage man.

[edit] Mike33 Yeah me too

it seems they're everywhere nowadays, hiding around the corner waiting to mug you and intimadate you. it was pisses me off though. I mean aged 16, 4 kids, claiming every penny they can get doing drugs booze, pills anything, and get a council house. All paid by the tax payers though...damn slackers...we sould have a few more [chav's] around! =p

[edit] List of Stereotypes

The list has really gotten out of hand. I've tried pruning it back before, but the edit was undone. Honestly, the list is twice as long as the article itself, not to mention a lot of the stereotypes mentioned really aren't similiar to chavs at all! I'd like to try again to revise this section, but I'd also like to see how the other editors feel on the subject so as to avoid the edit being undone. DuckieRotten 14:13, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Chavs Ambitions

Chavs ainnt as bad as people say when someone mentions a chav they badmouth them but there are good and bad of everyone!!! so dont judge by one chav you know!!!


chavs have different ambitions it all depends on the person

[edit] Is mush a slang term for mate used by chavs?

The Mush dab page has this line:

Does this accurately report how the word mush is used by chavs? --Jtir 10:22, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

No, "mush" is a long-standing word in English slang and pre-dates the chav phenomenon by a long way. Itsmejudith 11:20, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
Thanks. I copied the above to Talk:Mush. --Jtir 18:33, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Think Mush come from Anglo-Indian/Urdu or Romany meaning face. It has the same currency as "oh, same old faces...", but much more familiarly. Mike33 13:09, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Only one picture?

Only one picture? A cartoon at that, hell I could spend 10 seconds down town on a friday night and get pictures of thousands of the things. i posted loads I took myself to illustrate. one of our better editors decided that Wikipedia is not the place for candid camera shots in a derogatory setting. Waste of time posting pix they just get deleted by the PC IMAGE MAFIA. Good faith they can WP:GF!!!! Mike33 13:01, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] deleted guido and bridge and tunnel from list of similar stereotypes

i am not an expert in this subject but it seems that although guido and bridge and tunnel are negative/derogatory stereotypes, they are not equivalent to chav for their part of the world. the other terms on the list seem to refer to similar phenomena localized around the world. these two items IMHO do not fit on the list. if you feel strongly enogh otherwise, go ahead and restore them. the problem is that this list could easily become just a list of derogatory slang, as opposed to chav-like terms outside of england and wales. uri budnik 01:41, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chav in common use in Cheltenham in the 1990's

As someone who has lived in Cheltenham for the last 18 years, and one of whose children attended Cheltenham Ladies College, I can confirm that the word 'chav' has been in common useage in Cheltenham for many years. Our children used it when they were smaller (say 10 years ago, so 1996). We had to stop them using it as it has derogatory overtones.

Interestingly they believe that it was in far more common use at the boy's school Cheltenham College (CC) rather than at Cheltenham Ladies College (CLC). It is generally held that the media attributed the word to CLC as it made better copy to imagine posh girls looking down on local boys.

I have no idea whether the word originated in Cheltenham, or was imported, but it certainly predates the media interest of the last few years.

The current Oxford Dictionary of English predates the gals at Chel'nam by 150 years and puts it down to a Romany word meaning child. In current parlez it certainly is 15 years old, but from where and when???? Mike33 13:18, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Radjee

Now I thought I knew everything - but RADJEE as in

common expample of a chav band is http://www.myspace.com/sealhaven their music is proppa radjee

What on earth does Radjee mean? Mike33 13:25, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

‘Radjee’, is the term ascribed to the behaviour of an individual who is rather annoyed; approximate to ‘flying off the handle’ or in a huff etc.Mrheathcliff 17:20, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cheltenham - Chavs, Mush, 90's and cheap jeans

I also come from Cheltenham (and went to Pate's Grammar, where we also looked down on the locals from Hester's Way), and the term 'Chav' has been in use since the mid 90's around here. However the use of the word 'mush' was in wide use before 'chav'. The Hesters way (stereotype here, it was area wide) locals would wear really baggy jeans with words like 'Eclipse', 'Spliffy' on the back pocket, we called them 'Trackies', they used to call everyone 'mush' which we all thought was Romani for 'man'. Becuase there were large groups of kids like this, they got called 'chavs' which we thought was Romani for 'kid'. I guess the people that attended the public schools picked up the local lingo.

[edit] Spelling mistakes

In the similar stereotypes section, under the subheading The Pacific
whoever wrote Ferral probably meant to write Feral, I have changed it to reflect the correct spelling
shiyoushi 16:05, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi there,
in the section "Rest of Europe" (6.2.1.1) you'll find:

Pissis Finland)
Harry, Soss,(Norway)

plz someone change it into:

Pissis (Finland)
Harry, Soss (Norway)

thx ;) i'd have done it myself but - well - you know why not ;)

[edit] Pronunciation?

How about a guide to pronunciation? I have no idea how this is said (shav, chav?), so I can't help.

It's in the wiktionary: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chav

[edit] UK Debate

I believe the term "Chav" is only used in England and Wales. I now for a fact where i live (Scotland) we use the term "Ned" (see [Ned (Scottish)]) and also think they don't use Chav in Northern Ireland. I would suggest the opening sentence is changed to account for this fact but i wont change it until some people reply to this. This is the discussion page after all. Zippokovich 00:56, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

I think you are right. Moreover, as has been said, "charva" is the more common term in the north of England and the meaning is not necessarily identical. Unless we have any evidence that the term is in common use outside England, then the lead to the article should specify England rather than UK. Itsmejudith 11:04, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
Except that it has been established that everywhere has its own terms for the group and that 'Chav' is unique in that its use by mainstream media means that it would be understood by people across the UK, whereas regional variants arent. Kev, Ned, Scally, Charva, Townie etc. all = Chav. --Robdurbar 11:14, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
'Chav' is only used by the English press, as most of them are based in the south of England, where Chav is used. However all the Scottish papers/News use Ned and most Scots don't know what a Chav is. Furthermore Chav is just another local variant, spoken by the largest minority. Since the term is not in use in any where other than England/Whales (and in the evidence that Itsmejudith give possibly just the South of England) I still up hold that the article should be changed from:

"Chav is a derogatory slang term in the United Kingdom (UK)" to "Chav is a derogatory slang term in the South of England and Whales". It would also be good if someone could give me conformation on what is used in Whales. Zippokovich 00:56, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Changed lead to "England" since a) we know it is in common use in at least part of England and b) we know there are alternative terms in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Note that this wording does not actually rule out the idea that "chav" would be recognised in other parts of the UK. However, with "England", the article is playing safe and sticking to what the sources tell us. Itsmejudith 11:55, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
I think charva is just the north east, not all of northern england. My family certainly use chav and they are in Yorkshire. However this counts as original research, we need sources. Secretlondon 18:10, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
Appearance of vandalism-type material referencing Cheshire would tend to show that it is current in the north west, as you say. However, as you point out, that's original research. Itsmejudith 15:01, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

How about The viz--Josquius 22:11, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

If you mean Viz magazine as a source for references to chav/charva, it would seem to be relevant. Why not try adding something? Itsmejudith 15:02, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

“Charva” redirects to this page. Wictionary indicates that the terms have distinct etymological origins. The term is in common usage in the North East which is, generally speaking, comprises Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and Cleveland. Yorkshire culturally, politically and linguistically is distinct from the North East, it is therefore unsurprising that residents are not familiar with the finer parts of Geordie dialect.

As far as printed sources go, the word has been recognised by the national media. [*] The North East press (Evening Chronicle, Journal, Northern Echo &c.) frequently use the word. [*] The Gloucester Citizen: February 23, 2006, pg 12 [*] Daily Mail: October 13, 2004 pg 64 Laura Clark [*] Western Morning News (Plymouth): September 17, 2004, pg 22 [*] The Liverpool Daily Post & Echo: October 23, 2001, pg 6 Rosie Williams

A close reading of this article would seem to indicate that whilst there is no mutual exclusivity, the two terms can be distinguished. The label ‘chav’ is affixed to anyone who conforms to a fashion driven consumerist stereotype; as exemplified by celebrities mentioned in the article body. The label ‘charva’ is affixed to members of the ‘Lumpenproletariat’. Many members of this latter group do ascribe to the same consumerism as those of the former, as evidenced by increasing theft of mobile phones and fashionable shoes amongst teenagers. Mrheathcliff 19:09, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Seems popular here in Wrexham, Wales - too popular for my liking! Marbles333 18:03, 15 December 2006 (UTC)


hmm...It seems charver is editable once more.
The previous VFD on that article was not fair at all- none of the editors of the article were informed and it happened overnight with none of us being any the wiser.
Now things are different too, there is far more of a case for it being its own....Should we go and split this one into chav/charva making a note for the Londoners that this is referring to the fashionable type of chav and charva is on the scummy type?--Josquius 13:16, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I live in scotland and (in my school at lest) chav is used alot, N.E.D(Non Educated Delicwit) is basicly a chave who dosent go to school. alot of 1st years co to the park at lunch (amoung them alot of chavs) and the chavs are alot of trubal,basicly chavs are the lafing stok.

[edit] ireland

do they have chavs in ireland

See the See Also, Other Europe for Irish (including northern Irish) synonyms. Itsmejudith 22:58, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Heads up

Just a heads up, you'll have already noticed, people pissing about with the page. I can see how it might be amusing if they were being subtle, but ffs... Oh, and dont forget the 'emo' reference in the 'Criticisms' heading. Who want's to bet it was some 13 yr old kid with a persecution complex? I'd do this myself but my html/editing is genereally a bit too crappy not to risk messing something up (and the urge to badmouth Julie Burchill might be too much even for me). Cheers

139.184.30.16 20:28, 7 December 2006 (UTC)MNONE

[edit] Kapper?

In the similar stereotypes section, under the subheading The Pacific, one of the Australian terms listed is Kapper. I've never heard this term before and honestly it sounds like a word that would be used by a small group of people considering a quick Google only returns surnames for this term.
Can whoever added this term please create an article explaining it, or remove it if it's not in wide use. shiyoushi 16:23, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I didn't add this, but in Scotland Kappa is a term for a chav, from the clothing brand Kappa (which is allegedly popular with chavs)


Ah ok then. Kappa sounds exactly the same as Kapper, so whoever made that entry probably just misspelt it. I'll just change the spelling in the article then :) shiyoushi 14:03, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What about 'Lads'?

I'm from Sydney, and I know terms such as 'Yobbo' and 'Westie' aren't related to Chavs. These stereotypes are more linked to socio-economic status, fashions and social dispositions which are affilitated with attempting to achieve class and a higher standard of living, but to no or limited avail. I'm wondering why a widely accepted (and loathed) parallel to Chav culture, namely Sydney's 'Lads', aren't referenced at all. They are virtually identical in demeanor and fashion, and are a common sight in the harbour city's inner and outer suburbs. 203.51.57.109 08:07, 18 December 2006 (UTC)blasko_88

[edit] Total re-write

Does anyone feel this whole article could have been written a whole lot better? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.146.55.19 (talk) 23:33, 23 December 2006 (UTC).

Yeah I've been thinking along those lines for a bit but am a bit too busy with non-wikipedia stuff right now...Maybe in mid Jan I'll take a look and split it more fully into charver and chav and hopefully try and get it to be less...bitty--Josquius 17:44, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chav jokes

I suspect the inclusion of a few chav hater jokes in the article would contravene the rules but is it OK for the discussion.

What do you write on a chav's birthday card?

To a Grandma whose 27 today!

[edit] Music in the lead para

The suggested types of music liked by chavs keeps being altered and we have no source for it anyway. Unlike, say, heavy metal fans, this stereotype/subculture is not really defined by its taste in music. Do we have consensus for taking the types of music out of the lead? Comments welcome. Thanks.Itsmejudith 13:47, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree that music is transitory, however the places that chavs tend to spend their holidays tends to be fairly constant. This is not mentioned in the article anywhere at present. Faliraki, Ibiza, Tenerife, anyone? Tobycek 17:08, 9 January 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Bro (in United States and Canada)

Deleted 'bro' because it's a parody of a drastically different part of culture dealing with preps.


[edit] End of first para

The claim that "Chav is short for council houses and violence" should be removed. It doesn't seem to come up when I try to edit it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.69.28.55 (talk) 12:46, 17 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Definition of pubic hair

"Some young male chavs tend to have pubic hair like facial hair, notably a moustache"... this needs to be changed to something that makes a lick of sense. Pubic hair does not grow on faces, and it doesn't help that this misuse of the phrase is actually a link to the definition of pubic hair. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.59.141.200 (talk) 08:16, 3 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] I have a pair of chavs living near me at the moment

It sucks :(. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.106.162.25 (talk) 12:13, 3 February 2007 (UTC).

Call a pest control company. Chavs are basically roaches, so they should be easy to exterminate ;) Chavmusiksux 19:39, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Origin of the word Chav dating back to 1980

I read with interest the comments about the word Chav being used in Cheltenham as long as 15 years ago and I believe that it's use originated as early as 1980 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Bromsgrove has 2 schools very close to each other at the south end of the town - Bromsgrove School (an independant fee-paying day and boarding school) and South Bromsgrove High School which is now described as a technology school but back then was just the plain old high school for all the regular kids in the south of the town including those kids who lived on the council estate called CHARFORD which is where the school is located.

The South Bromsgrove kids had various names for the Bromsgrove School pupils which need not be discussed here but the unanimous name used by Bromsgrove School pupils for their next door neighbours was Chaf which when pronounced by kids with middle class accents sounded more like Chav.

In comparison to the smartly dressed Bromsgrove School pupils, the local kids tended to be scruffier, rougher and a little less well spoken which is where the sterotypical image has evolved from.

One reason which could be attributed to the country wide recognition and use of the term Chaf (or Chav) would be that typically a high proportion of pupils at Bromsgrove School were boarders coming in from all around the country during term time. On returning to their home towns during holidays they would continue to use the phrase to describe other kids who maintained the stereo-type image that had been created in the South of Bromsgrove.

83.104.170.53 22:23, 6 February 2007 (UTC) Paul H

[edit] Bias

Ok fine, i will admit i personally have no sympathy for chavs when bad things happen to them, and i honestly hate them, but seriously, everyone deserves to have their label describes WITHOUT bias! Get rid of all this '(often cheap)' and 'tacky' because it puts bias into the page. This isn't a personal report, its a matter of fact report. But if anyone wants to edit it into saying (often depicted as cheap) then go ahead. By the way i have resons for not doing it myself

Ofthen cheap is a description and I believe it not to be biased. When was the last time you saw a chav wearing a real rolex watch for instance? A thing that does need altering is the racism in this article. eg 'Multi-coloured offspring' I think this is more than slightly unacceptable. (88.212.141.49 23:29, 23 February 2007 (UTC))

I really don't like chavs, but some of them are not that bad and as a result we should not discriminate them. They are pretty stupid though.--Jammidodger 13:59, 1 March 2007 (UTC) :)

Yeah, I think that paticular paragraph must have been a recent addition. I've given the whole thing a copyedit, removed some unsourced ludicrous claims etc. Cheers for bringing it up. --Robdurbar 10:40, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disambiguation

I noticed that several links on the rest of europe section direct to the wrong articles. As an example Guna, Mitra, Brian and Manele. Could the editors of these (or someone else) create the proper articles and the disambiguation? AxiomShell 13:19, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

We could just scrap the whole unsourced ugly section... --Robdurbar 15:36, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lily Allen

What about Lily Allen? She's one of the biggest celeb chavs.Nukleoptra 18:16, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

  • I have added an entry for her. As an American the first time I ever heard of the word was the repeated references in the comments section of her videos displayed on You Tube. I also added an entry for Tony Blair's Comic Relief imitation. I did hear part Blair's act on a radio newscast here and the word chav was used but have found no reference to the Prime Minster's act on that news organization or any other U.S. news organizations website.

[edit] pikey not a synonym for chav

In East Anglia the word "pikey" refers to gypsy or travelling people. I assume it is the same elsewhere. Can "pikey" please be dropped from the list of synonyms 'less someone can produce a reference.

There are a large number of synonyms and regional variations of "chav", including "scally", "townie", "ned", "kev", "yarco", "dobber", "Mallie"[6], "Meader"[7], and in some areas, "Pikey".

Although some crossover must exist between "pikey" and "gypsy" groups they are considered to be separate.

Tarj 01:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

See the etymology for the word Chav. As in most cases it originates from a Romany word there is therefore a high correlation between slang words for gypsies and the word chav. -- Roleplayer 02:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)


[edit] "Classism" Not Relevant Here

When a group clearly defines itself by dress and behavior, and others refer to them by creating a name for the group, it is inappropriate to call it "classism" or "racism". (The key phrase here is "defines itself". A deliberate act.) Classism is an economic distinction over which many have little power, and race is likewise something that people cannot control. Naming a group of people who deliberately dress and act alike is neither classism or racism! -- Jane Q. Public 04:46, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

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