Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language (specifically British English) which has long been perceived as uniquely prestigious amongst British accents. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States British English or UK English ( BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the In Linguistics, an accent is a manner of Pronunciation of a language About two percent of Britons speak with the RP accent in its pure form. ^[1]

The earlier mentions of the term can be found in H. C. Wyld's A Short History of English (1914) and in Daniel Jones's An Outline of English Phonetics, although the latter stated that he only used the term "for want of a better". Daniel Jones ( 12 September 1881 &ndash 4 December 1967) was a London -born British phonetician. ^[2] According to Fowler's Modern English Usage (1965), the term is "the Received Pronunciation". A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, often referred to as Fowler's Modern English Usage or simply as Fowler's or Fowler Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. The word received conveys its original meaning of accepted or approved — as in "received wisdom". ^[3]

Received Pronunciation may be referred to as the Queen's (or King's) English, on the grounds that it is spoken by the monarch. TalkCommonewalth realm.--> The monarchy It is also sometimes referred to as BBC English, because it was traditionally used by the BBC, yet nowadays these notions are slightly misleading. Queen Elizabeth II uses one specific form of English, whilst BBC presenters and staff are no longer bound by one type of accent. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II There have also long been certain words that have had more than one RP pronunciation, such as again, either, and moor. ^[4]

It is sometimes referred to as Oxford English. ^[5] This was not because it was traditionally the common speech of the city of Oxford, but specifically of Oxford University; the production of dictionaries gave Oxford University prestige in matters of language. The extended versions of the Oxford Dictionary give Received Pronunciation guidelines for each word.

RP is an accent (a form of pronunciation), not a dialect (a form of vocabulary and grammar). In Linguistics, an accent is a manner of Pronunciation of a language A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of It may show a great deal about the social and educational background of a person who uses English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A person using the RP will typically speak Standard English although the reverse is not necessarily true (e. Standard English (often shortened to SE within linguistic circles is a term generally applied to a form of the English language that is thought to be normative g. the standard language may be spoken by one in a regional accent, such as a Yorkshire accent; but it is very unlikely that one speaking in RP would use it to speak Scots or Geordie). Geordie (ˈdʒɔrdi is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of England, or the name of the Dialect of English

In recent decades, many people have asserted the value of other regional and class accents. Many members (particularly the younger) of the groups that traditionally used Received Pronunciation have, to varying degrees, begun to use it less. Many regional accents are now heard on the BBC.

RP is often believed to be based on Southern accents, but in fact it has most in common with the dialects of the south-east Midlands: Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a County in England that forms part of the East of England region. History The earliest English settlers in the district were the Gyrwas, an East Anglian tribe who early in the 6th century worked their way up the Ouse and the Cam ^[6][7] Migration to London in the 14th and 15th centuries was mostly from the counties directly north of London rather than those directly south. There are differences both within and among the three counties mentioned, but a conglomeration emerged in London, and also mixed with some elements of Essex and Middlesex speech. By the end of the 15th century, Standard English was established in the City of London. ^[8]

Usage

Researchers generally distinguish between three different forms of RP: Conservative, General, and Advanced. Conservative RP refers to a traditional accent associated with older speakers with certain social backgrounds; General RP is often considered neutral regarding age, occupation, or lifestyle of the speaker; and Advanced RP refers to speech of a younger generation of speakers. ^[9]

The modern style of RP is the usual accent taught to non-native speakers learning British English. Non-RP Britons abroad may modify their pronunciation to something closer to Received Pronunciation in order to be understood better by people who themselves learned RP in school. They may also modify their vocabulary and grammar to be closer to Standard English, for the same reason. The vocabulary of a person is defined either as the set of all Words that are understood by that person or the set of all words likely to be used by that person when constructing Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. Standard English (often shortened to SE within linguistic circles is a term generally applied to a form of the English language that is thought to be normative RP is used as the standard for English in most books on general phonology and phonetics and is represented in the pronunciation schemes of most dictionaries. Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning Phonetics (from the Greek φωνή ( phonê) "sound" or "voice" is the study of the physical sounds of human speech

Status

Traditionally, Received Pronunciation was a manufactured accent of English published as the "everyday speech in the families of Southern English persons whose men-folk have been educated at the great public boarding-schools"^[10] and which conveys no information about that speaker's region of origin prior to attending the school. In Linguistics, an accent is a manner of Pronunciation of a language However, this form of Received Pronunciation is a construct of its period of creation during the 19th Century, its pronunciation based upon Court English, and aimed at a rising educated middle class.

It is the business of educated people to speak so that no-one may be able to tell in what county their childhood was passed.

A. Burrell, Recitation. A Handbook for Teachers in Public Elementary School, 1891.

In the 19th century, there were still Prime Ministers who spoke with some dialectal features, such as William Gladstone. ^[11] It was not until the end of the century that the use of Received Pronunciation was considered to be a trait of education. As a result, at a time when only around five percent of the population attended universities, elitist notions sprang up around it and those who used it may have considered those who did not to be less educated than themselves. Elitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the Elite &mdash a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities intellect Historically the most prestigious British educational institutions (Oxford, Cambridge, many other privately funded public schools) were located in England, so those who were educated there would pick up the accents of their peers. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England An independent school in the United Kingdom is a school relying upon private sources for all of its funding predominantly in the form of school fees England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland (There have always been exceptions: for example, Leeds University in Leeds using an RP accent; Morningside, Edinburgh, Broughty Ferry, Dundee and Kelvinside in Glasgow had Scottish "pan loaf" variations of the RP accent aspiring to a similar prestige). The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research University in Leeds, West Yorkshire; one of the largest in the United Kingdom with Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England Morningside is a famously genteel area in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Broughty Ferry ( Gaelic: Bruach Tatha, Scots: Brochtie) is a suburb on the eastern edge of the City of Dundee, situated on the shore Dundee (Dùn Dèagh is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council Kelvinside is a District in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde and is bounded by Great Western Road to the Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom A pan loaf is a traditional style of Bread loaf made in Scotland.

From the 1970s onwards, attitudes towards Received Pronunciation have been slowly changing. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. One of the catalysts for this was the influence in the 1960s of Labour prime minister Harold Wilson. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians Unusually for a prime minister, he spoke with elements of a Yorkshire accent. The Yorkshire dialect refers to the varieties of English used in the Northern England historic county of Yorkshire. The BBC's use of announcers with strong regional accents during and after World War II (in order to distinguish BBC broadcasts from German propaganda) is an earlier example of the use of non-RP accents.

An April 2008 survey suggested that RP is no longer the most respected accent, and that Yorkshire accents are more commonly associated with positive character traits. The Yorkshire dialect refers to the varieties of English used in the Northern England historic county of Yorkshire. ^[12]

Phonology

Consonants

When consonants appear in pairs, fortis consonants (i. e. aspirated or voiceless) appear on the left and lenis consonants (i. Description Voiceless consonants are produced with the Vocal cords open and voiced consonants are produced when the vocal folds are fractionally closed e. lightly voiced or voiced) appear on the right

1. Nasals and liquids may be syllabic in unstressed syllables. In Phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a Consonant articulated with both Lips The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet In Phonetics, labiodentals are Consonants articulated with the lower Lip and the upper Teeth. In Linguistics, a dental consonant or dental is a Consonant that is articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth such as /t/ /d/ /n/ and Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Postalveolar consonants are Consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the Alveolar ridge, placing them a bit further back in the Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. Affricate Consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or) but release as a fricative (such as or or occasionally into Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants Laterals are "L"-like Consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both Liquid consonants, or liquids, are Approximant Consonants that are not classified as Semivowels (glides because they do not correspond phonetically A syllabic consonant is a Consonant which either forms a Syllable of its own or is the nucleus of a syllable
2. /ð/ is more often a weak dental plosive; the sequence /nð/ is often realized as [n̪n̪].
3. /h/ becomes [ɦ] between voiced sounds. Voice or voicing is a term used in Phonetics and Phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless
4. /ɹ/ is postalveolar unless devoicing results in a voiceless fricative articulation (see below).
5. /l/ is velarized in the syllable coda. Velarization is a Secondary articulation of Consonants by which the back of the Tongue is raised toward the velum during the articulation of the

Unless preceded by /s/, fortis plosives (/p/, /t/, and /k/) are aspirated before stressed vowels; when a sonorant /l/, /ɹ/, /w/, or /j/ follows, this aspiration is indicated by partial devoicing of the sonorant. Fortis ( Latin "strong" and lenis ("weak" are linguistic terms ^[14]

Syllable final /p/, /t/, /tʃ/, and /k/ are preceded by a glottal stop (see Glottal reinforcement); /t/ may be fully replaced by a glottal stop, especially before a syllabic nasal (button [bɐʔn̩]). This article is about the sound in spoken language For the letter see Glottal stop (letter. Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the Glottis during the articulation of another sound ^[15][16]

Vowels

monophthongs of RP. From Roach (2004:242)

diphthongs of RP. Received Pronunciation ( RP) is a form of Pronunciation of the English language (specifically British English) which has long been perceived as From Roach (2004:242)

Examples of short vowels: /ɪ/ in kit and mirror, /ʊ/ in put, /e/ in dress and merry, /ʌ/ in strut and curry, /æ/ in trap and marry, /ɒ/ in lot and orange, /ə/ in ago and sofa. Received Pronunciation ( RP) is a form of Pronunciation of the English language (specifically British English) which has long been perceived as A monophthong ( Greek μονόφθογγος "monophthongos" = single note) is a "pure" Vowel sound one whose articulation at A front vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward A central vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between A back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as A close vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as A mid vowel is a Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an An open vowel is a Vowel sound of a type used in most spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as

Examples of long vowels: /iː/ in fleece, /uː/ in goose, /ɜː/ in nurse, /ɔː/ in north and thought, /ɑː/ in father and start.

RP's long vowels are slightly diphthongised. Especially the high vowels /iː/ and /uː/ which are often narrowly transcribed in phonetic literature as diphthongs [ɪi] and [ʊu].

"Long" and "short" are relative to each other. Because of phonological process affecting vowel length, short vowels in one context can be longer than long vowels in another context. ^[17] For example, a long vowel following a fortis consonant sound (/p/, /k/, /s/, etc. Fortis ( Latin "strong" and lenis ("weak" are linguistic terms ) is shorter; reed is thus pronounced [ɹiːd̥] while heat is [hiʔt].

Conversely, the short vowel /æ/ becomes longer if it is followed by a lenis consonant. Fortis ( Latin "strong" and lenis ("weak" are linguistic terms Thus, bat is pronounced [b̥æʔt] and bad is [b̥æːd̥]. In natural speech, the plosives /t/ and /d/ may be unreleased utterance-finally, thus distinction between these words would rest mostly on vowel length. ^[16]

In addition to such length distinctions, unstressed vowels are both shorter and more centralized than stressed ones. In unstressed syllables occurring before vowels and in final position, contrasts between long and short high vowels are neutralized and short [i] and [u] occur. ^[18]

Before World War II, /ɔə/ appeared in words like door but this has largely disappeared, having merged with /ɔː/; there are a number of words where /ʊə/ has merged with /ɔː/,^[19] although the Oxford Dictionary still lists poor as being pronounced with the former diphthong. In Phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (from Greek grc δίφθογγος "diphthongos" literally "with two sounds" or "with In the closing diphthongs, the glide is often so small as to be undetectable so that day and dare can be narrowly transcribed as [d̥e̞ː] and [d̥ɛː] respectively. ^[20]

RP also possesses the triphthongs /aɪə/ as in ire and /aʊə/ as in hour. In Phonetics, a triphthong (from Greek τρίφθογγος, "triphthongos" literally "with three sounds" or "with three The realizations sketched in the following table are not phonemically distinctive, though the difference between /aʊə/, /aɪə/, and /ɑː/ may be neutralised to become [ɑː] or [äː]. The phoneME project is Sun Microsystems reference implementation of Java virtual machine and associated libraries of Java ME with source licensed under the GNU

Not all reference sources use the same system of transcription. In particular:

• /æ/ as in trap is often written /a/.
• /e/ as in dress is sometimes written /ɛ/. ^[21]
• /ɜː/ as in nurse is sometimes written /əː/.
• /aɪ/ as in price is sometimes written /ʌɪ/.
• /aʊ/ as in mouse is sometimes written /ɑʊ/
• /eə/ as in square is sometimes written /ɛə/, and is also sometimes treated as a long monophthong /ɛː/.

Most of these variants are used in the transcription devised by Clive Upton for the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (1993) and now used in many other Oxford University Press dictionaries. Clive Upton is professor of English language at the University of Leeds, England, specializing in Dialectology and Sociolinguistics The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, often abbreviated to SOED, is a scaled-down version of the " Oxford English Dictionary " Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire,

Historical variation

Like all accents, RP has changed over time. For example, sound recordings and films from the first half of the 20th century demonstrate that it was standard to pronounce the /æ/ sound, as in land, with a vowel close to [ɛ], so that land would sound similar to lend. RP is sometimes known as the Queen's English, but recordings show that even the Queen has changed her pronunciation over the past 50 years, no longer using an [ɛ]-like vowel in words like land. ^[22]

The 1993 Oxford Dictionary changed three main things in its description of modern RP, although these features can still be heard amongst old speakers of RP. Firstly, words such as cloth, gone, off, often were pronounced with /ɔː/ instead of /ɒ/ so that often sounded close to orphan (See lot-cloth split). Father-bother merger The father-bother merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels /ɑː/ and /ɒ/ that occurs in almost all varieties of North American English The Queen still uses the older pronunciations^[23], but it is rare to hear them on the BBC anymore. Secondly, there was a distinction between horse and hoarse with an extra diphthong /ɔə/ appearing in words like hoarse, force, and pour. The English language has undergone a number of phonological changes before the historic phoneme /r/. ^[24] Thirdly, final y on a word was pronounced as an /ɪ/ in Standard English, but this is now a more open /i/ sound, as has been common in the south of England for some time. ^[25]

Before World War II, the vowel of cup was a back vowel close to cardinal [ʌ] but has since shifted forward to a central position so that [ɐ] is more accurate; phonetic transcription of this vowel as <ʌ> is common partly for historical reasons. ^[26]

In very early forms of RP, the vowel /oʊ/ was used instead of the modern /əʊ/ in words such as goat, no, cold, etc. ;^[27] the /oʊ/ was used throughout Daniel Jones's work on RP. Daniel Jones ( 12 September 1881 &ndash 4 December 1967) was a London -born British phonetician. Joseph Wright's work suggests that, during the early 20th century, words such as cure, fewer, pure, etc. Joseph Wright FBA (1855–1930 rose from humble origins to become Professor of Comparative Philology at Oxford University. were pronounced with a tripthong /iuə/ rather than the more modern /juə/. ^[28] The older pronunciation is still common in speech across the North of England and Scotland.

The change in RP may even be observed in the home of "BBC English". The BBC accent from the 1950s was distinctly different from today's: a news report from the 1950s is recognisable as such, and a mock-1950s BBC voice is used for comic effect in programmes wishing to satirize 1950s social attitudes such as the Harry Enfield Show and its "Mr Cholmondley-Warner" sketches. Harry Enfield (born 30 May, 1961 in Sussex, England) is an English Comedian, Actor and Writer

Comparison to other varieties

• RP is a broad A accent, so words like bath and chance appear with /ɑː/ and not /æ/. Trap-bath split The trap-bath split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in southern varieties of English English (including Received Pronunciation
• RP is a non-rhotic accent, meaning /r/ does not occur unless followed immediately by a vowel. English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups the rhotic (ˈroʊtɪk and non-rhotic, depending on when the sound typically represented
• RP has undergone the wine-whine merger so the phoneme /ʍ/ is not present except among those who have acquired this distinction as the result of speech training. The pronunciation of the digraph ''wh'' in English has varied with time and can still vary today between different regions R. A. D. A. (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), based in London, still teaches these two sounds as distinct phonemes. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ( RADA) in Bloomsbury, London, is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious Drama schools in the world They are pronounced differently in most of Scotland and in the north-east of England.
• Unlike many other varieties of English English, there is no h-dropping in words like head or herb. English language in England refers to the English language as spoken in England, part of the United Kingdom. The phonological history of English fricatives and affricates is part of the Phonological history of the English language in terms of changes in the Phonology of
• RP does not have yod dropping after /n/, /t/ and /d/. The phonological history of English consonant clusters is part of the Phonological history of the English language in terms of changes in the Phonology of Consonant Hence, for example, new, tune and dune are pronounced /njuː/, /tjuːn/ and /djuːn/ rather than /nuː/, /tuːn/ and /duːn/. This contrasts with many East Anglian and East Midland varieties of English English and with many forms of American English, including General American. East Midlands English is a Dialect traditionally spoken in those parts of Mercia lying East of Watling Street (the A5 London - Shrewsbury Road English language in England refers to the English language as spoken in England, part of the United Kingdom. Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology. General American is an accent of American English within American English General American and accents approximating it are contrasted with Southern American
• The flapped variant of /t/ and /d/ (as in much of the West Country, most American varieties including General American and the Cape Coloured dialect of South Africa) is not used. "Flapping" redirects here For other uses of the term see Flap. The term Cape Coloureds refers to the modern-day descendants of slave labourers imported into South Africa by Dutch settlers as well as to other groups In traditional RP [ɾ] is an allophone of /r/ (used only intervocalically). ^[29]

See also

• Accent (linguistics)
• Prestige dialect
• The Queen's English Society
• English language in England
• Estuary English
• General American
• Cockney
• Prescription and description

Audio Files

• Blagdon Hall, Northumberland
• Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk
• Harrow
• Hexham, Northumberland
• London
• Newport, Pembrokeshire
• Teddington

References

Bibliography

• Crystal, David (2003), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (2 ed. ), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521530334
• Elmes, Simon (2005), Talking for Britain: A journey through the voices of our nation, Penguin Books Ltd, ISBN 0140515623
• Jones, Daniel (1917), written at London, English Pronouncing Dictionary
• Roach, Peter (2004), "British English: Received Pronunciation", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 (2): 239-245
• Roca, Iggy & Wyn Johnson (1999), A Course in Phonology, Blackwell Publishing
• Schmitt, Holger (2007), "The case for the epsilon symbol (ɛ) in RP DRESS", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 37 (3): 321-328

External links

• B.B.C. page on Upper R.P. as spoken by the English upper-classes
• Sounds Familiar? — Listen to examples of received pronunciation on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website
• Whatever happened to Received Pronunciation? - An article by the phonetician J. C. Wells about received pronunciation