Accents of English
RP (Received Pronunciation)
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RP (Received Pronunciation)
Received Pronunciation (RP) could be described as the Standard pronunciation of Standard British English. For example, it is the pronunciation used in British dictionaries and is the pronunciation taught to Foreigners in English books published by Oxford, Cambridge and other major British publishers. This does not mean that is any better or worse than other kind of English.
RP (Received Pronunciation)
RP originated in the triangle between London, Oxford and Cambridge but has spread to the rest of the United Kingdom where it is spoken by the middle and upper classes. It lives alongside local varieties of English.
Introduction
Only a small number of people in Britain have an RP accent but as it is the English spoken by the Royal Family and many members of the nobility and the upper classes and was used almost exclusively by the BBC for many years, it has gained a certain prestige. That pre-eminence of RP has only begun to begun to be challenged seriously since the sixties.
Introduction
Like any other accent, RP has different varieties: conservative, mainstream and advanced. Conservative RP and advanced RP are mainly spoken by elderly and young speakers of RP respectively. We must take into account that accents do not exist independently of the people who speak them so each person we might identify as an RP speaker will speak slightly differently from any other.
Examples
The speaker in the examples starting on the next page is a young man and his accent can be described as Standard or RP. However, his accent is not at all conservative. This shows us that, as we saw earlier, within a particular accent there are differences due to, in this case, age and also possibly to gender.
Examples
Hey, you going out tonight? //heɪ/ ju ˈgəʊɪŋ aʊt təˈnaɪt// Notice that he omits the verb are before you. However, he pronounces going with /ŋ/ which in many parts of the English-speaking world is generally pronounced /n/, especially in casual speech.
Examples
D'you know where the lecture is today? //dʒu nəʊ weə ðə ˈlektʃə ɪz təˈdeɪ// Notice the pronunciation of do you as /dʒu/. This pronunciation would not be found among conservative speakers of RP but it’s very common among the young.
Examples
Did you watch the match the other night? //dɪdʒu wɒtʃ ðə mætʃ ði ˈʌðə naɪt//
Notice the pronunciation of Did you as /dɪdʒu/. This is not found in the speech of conservative speakers of RP.
Examples
Have you ever been to London?//hæv ju ˈevə biːn tə ˈlʌndən// Notice the weak pronunciation of to. This is typical of MOST kinds of English. The preposition to is normally pronounced /tə/ before a consonant and /tu/ before a vowel. It is pronounced strong /tuː/ at the end of a clause.
Examples
Would you like to see "Paths of Glory"?//wʊd ju laɪk tə siː pɑːðz əv ˈglɔːri// Notice that the plural of paths ends with a voiced alveolar fricative even though the singular ends with a voiceless dental fricative as you will hear in the next example.
Examples
It’s at the end of the garden path.// ɪts ət ði end əv ðə gɑːdən pɑːθ// Now we can see, or rather hear, that path is pronounced with a voiceless dental fricative in contrast with paths above. Notice also that path/paths is pronounced with a long open /ɑː/. The BATH words are often felt to be markers of social class and in many parts of the UK, they are pronounced with a TRAP vowel /æ/.
Examples
Is there any chance of a drink?//ɪz ðeə ˈeni tʃɑːns əv ə drɪŋk// The word chance is also a BATH word. It is pronounced /æ/ in most other accents of English.
Examples
You'll be lucky if you find anything under that bush.//juːl bi ˈlʌki ɪf ju faɪnd ˈeniθɪŋ ˈʌndə ðæt bʊʃ// Notice that lucky is pronounced with a /ʌ/ while bush is pronounced with a /ʊ/. They are both pronounced with a FOOT vowel, /ʊ/, in many parts of the Midlands and North of England
Examples
I’m from South-West London.//aɪm frəm ˈsaʊθ west ˈlʌndən// Notice the /ʌ/ in London. A northerner would be very likely to pronounce it with a FOOT vowel, that is, /ʊ/.
Quiz
01
The word "dance" is pronounced with a _______ vowel in RP
BATH /ɑː/
TRAP /æ/
neither
Quiz
02
The word "lucky" is pronounced with a _______ vowel in RP
BATH /ɑː/
FOOT /ʊ/
STRUT /ʌ/
Quiz
03
The word "paths" is pronounced with ... in RP
/ð/
/ʒ/
/θ/
Quiz
04
The word "bush" is pronounced with a _______ vowel in RP
TRAP /æ/
FOOT /ʊ/
STRUT /ʌ/
Well done!
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Introduction to RP English with examples.
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Transcript
Accents of English
RP (Received Pronunciation)
Menu
RP (Received Pronunciation)
Received Pronunciation (RP) could be described as the Standard pronunciation of Standard British English. For example, it is the pronunciation used in British dictionaries and is the pronunciation taught to Foreigners in English books published by Oxford, Cambridge and other major British publishers. This does not mean that is any better or worse than other kind of English.
RP (Received Pronunciation)
RP originated in the triangle between London, Oxford and Cambridge but has spread to the rest of the United Kingdom where it is spoken by the middle and upper classes. It lives alongside local varieties of English.
Introduction
Only a small number of people in Britain have an RP accent but as it is the English spoken by the Royal Family and many members of the nobility and the upper classes and was used almost exclusively by the BBC for many years, it has gained a certain prestige. That pre-eminence of RP has only begun to begun to be challenged seriously since the sixties.
Introduction
Like any other accent, RP has different varieties: conservative, mainstream and advanced. Conservative RP and advanced RP are mainly spoken by elderly and young speakers of RP respectively. We must take into account that accents do not exist independently of the people who speak them so each person we might identify as an RP speaker will speak slightly differently from any other.
Examples
The speaker in the examples starting on the next page is a young man and his accent can be described as Standard or RP. However, his accent is not at all conservative. This shows us that, as we saw earlier, within a particular accent there are differences due to, in this case, age and also possibly to gender.
Examples
Hey, you going out tonight? //heɪ/ ju ˈgəʊɪŋ aʊt təˈnaɪt// Notice that he omits the verb are before you. However, he pronounces going with /ŋ/ which in many parts of the English-speaking world is generally pronounced /n/, especially in casual speech.
Examples
D'you know where the lecture is today? //dʒu nəʊ weə ðə ˈlektʃə ɪz təˈdeɪ// Notice the pronunciation of do you as /dʒu/. This pronunciation would not be found among conservative speakers of RP but it’s very common among the young.
Examples
Did you watch the match the other night? //dɪdʒu wɒtʃ ðə mætʃ ði ˈʌðə naɪt// Notice the pronunciation of Did you as /dɪdʒu/. This is not found in the speech of conservative speakers of RP.
Examples
Have you ever been to London?//hæv ju ˈevə biːn tə ˈlʌndən// Notice the weak pronunciation of to. This is typical of MOST kinds of English. The preposition to is normally pronounced /tə/ before a consonant and /tu/ before a vowel. It is pronounced strong /tuː/ at the end of a clause.
Examples
Would you like to see "Paths of Glory"?//wʊd ju laɪk tə siː pɑːðz əv ˈglɔːri// Notice that the plural of paths ends with a voiced alveolar fricative even though the singular ends with a voiceless dental fricative as you will hear in the next example.
Examples
It’s at the end of the garden path.// ɪts ət ði end əv ðə gɑːdən pɑːθ// Now we can see, or rather hear, that path is pronounced with a voiceless dental fricative in contrast with paths above. Notice also that path/paths is pronounced with a long open /ɑː/. The BATH words are often felt to be markers of social class and in many parts of the UK, they are pronounced with a TRAP vowel /æ/.
Examples
Is there any chance of a drink?//ɪz ðeə ˈeni tʃɑːns əv ə drɪŋk// The word chance is also a BATH word. It is pronounced /æ/ in most other accents of English.
Examples
You'll be lucky if you find anything under that bush.//juːl bi ˈlʌki ɪf ju faɪnd ˈeniθɪŋ ˈʌndə ðæt bʊʃ// Notice that lucky is pronounced with a /ʌ/ while bush is pronounced with a /ʊ/. They are both pronounced with a FOOT vowel, /ʊ/, in many parts of the Midlands and North of England
Examples
I’m from South-West London.//aɪm frəm ˈsaʊθ west ˈlʌndən// Notice the /ʌ/ in London. A northerner would be very likely to pronounce it with a FOOT vowel, that is, /ʊ/.
Quiz
01
The word "dance" is pronounced with a _______ vowel in RP
BATH /ɑː/
TRAP /æ/
neither
Quiz
02
The word "lucky" is pronounced with a _______ vowel in RP
BATH /ɑː/
FOOT /ʊ/
STRUT /ʌ/
Quiz
03
The word "paths" is pronounced with ... in RP
/ð/
/ʒ/
/θ/
Quiz
04
The word "bush" is pronounced with a _______ vowel in RP
TRAP /æ/
FOOT /ʊ/
STRUT /ʌ/
Well done!
Click below to try again