1. Introduction
If you’re talking about British English accents, you might hear the term ‘Received Pronunciation’ (or ‘RP’).
Other terms such as ‘Standard British English’, ‘The Queen’s English’, ‘BBC English’, ‘RADA Accent’, or even ‘Posh Accent’ may come up too. But what exactly do these terms mean? And are they describing the same thing?
In this short guide, we’ll look at what received pronunciation (or ‘RP’) is and explore the history of the modern standard British English accent. We’ll also look at why it can be a key to success in life.
2. What is Received Pronunciation (RP)?
Well, the first myth to bust is that it is a single accent.
Jonnie Robinson is an expert on spoken English at the ‘British Library’.
He divides Received Pronunciation (RP) into three categories.
- Conservative RP
This is the old-fashioned ‘posh’ accent. It is now only used by Queen Elisabeth II and elderly aristocrats.
BBC broadcasters in the mid-20th Century also spoke this way.
Very few other people speak like this these days.
We call it ‘conservative’ because it’s used by traditionalist speakers. It’s about politics. When people talk about ‘The Queen’s English’, they mean this accent.
- Modern (Mainstream) RP
This is a more modern version.
It gives us less of a clue about the person’s social class, profession, or age.
Later in this article, we’ll talk about the changes which this particular version of RP had to undergo to stay in line with the prevailing British zeitgeist.
- Contemporary RP
This is spoken more by younger people. It has probably been influenced by other English accents, especially from London and the Southeast.
What these accents have in common is that they are very rare outside England.
They tell us little about which part of England the speaker is from. That’s because they are not regional dialects.
It’s also why the term ‘standard British English’ is sometimes used to describe mainstream RP.
3. The Main Principles of Received Pronunciation
In this section, we’ll look at the 5 BEST pronunciation strategies to help you speak with a modern British accent and thereby soften your native accent.
These are the main principles of Received Pronunciation and if you only master these 5, you’ll improve your accent by 30% or more.
- Nº1 – Elongate the A’s
Let’s start with a quick and sure-fire way to sound more British.
The ‘A’ sound in Received Pronunciation is often ‘elongated’ – you almost need to think of it as an ‘Ahh’ sound.
Like in the words: car, bar, far, bath, fast and others.
We refer to this ‘Ahh’ sound as an ‘open-back’ sound.
Why? Because when you’re pronouncing it, your mouth is open and your tongue is slightly pushed back.
So when you’re saying the word ‘fast’, for example, say it slowly, open your mouth mid-pronunciation, push your tongue back slightly and elongate the ‘a’ to an ‘ahh’.
‘F-Ah-St’
‘F-Ahh-St’
That’s typical for modern RP.
Always look for opportunities to lengthen the ‘a’ sound.
- Nº2 – Emphasize the T’s
Mastery of the ‘T’ sound is one of the keys to unlocking an impeccable British accent.
And you can do that quickly by focusing on it for a day or two until you get it right.
In modern RP, the ‘T’ sound is always fully pronounced. We refer to that as a “True T”.
Nevertheless, in a few parts of England, particularly in east-end London, the ‘T’ sound is not pronounced at all. Confusing isn’t it?
Don’t worry it will all make sense now.
For example, in the Cockney accent, the ‘T’ isn’t pronounced as a “True T” but it’s pronounced as a “Glottal T”.
So, instead of saying:
‘A bottle of water’ people from East-End London (where they have the Cockney dialect) would say ‘A Bo-uh of Wo-uh’.
Now. That’s a pretty advanced technique and, as we said, is mainly used by people from East-End London.
But in recent years it has made its way into modern RP as well.
However, It’s definitely not necessary to use it in order to sound more British.
In fact, the “Glottal T” is mainly used in a casual setting, not in a professional one.
Therefore, using the “True T” form and emphasising your T’s is more than enough to turn heads with your newly-acquired awesome British accent.
So, focus on mastering the “True T’s” frst and only then can you move to the “Glottal T” if you decide to do so.
Let’s master the “True T” by looking at the difference between the American pronunciation of the “T” sound and the British counterpart.
For example in modern RP, we would pronounce these words as follows:
‘brighTer’,
‘meTal’
‘BriTish’
Whereas in America, they’ll pronounce them as:
‘brighdder’,
‘meddal’
‘Briddish’
You can hear how the “True T” in the British accent (or modern RP) changes to more of a ‘D’ sound in American English.
You should avoid pronouncing the ‘T’ as a ‘D’ at all cost because it will make you sound more American.
Keep practising your “True T’s” and you’ll get them in a couple of days.
- Nº3 – Master the Schwas
This sound is in 30-40% of all British words!
So, you should definitely master it if you want to sound more British.
This is probably the easiest accent hack of all and arguably the one with the biggest impact.
Just imagine the difference made by getting 30-40% of all British words right, every time!
You’ll immediately hear a noticeable improvement in your pronunciation!
Now, the schwa sound is marked phonetically by the symbol /ə/; or an upside-down ‘e’.
It is a reduced vowel sound that is weak and unstressed. The sound of the symbol /ə/ is somewhat similar to a short ‘uh’.
Consider the word ‘about.’
The sound of ‘a’ in ‘about’ is a great example of how to pronounce the schwa sound.
You say it best when your neck is relaxed, your tongue is in a neutral position and your jaw slightly dropped.
To use the schwa sound, you would say:
“Yesterday, I drank uh glass of juice.
Or
“Can I have a cup uf tea, please?”
Replace the word ‘of’ with uh.
That leads you to “Cup uh tea”.
Additionally, the Schwa is used in words ending with the ‘er’ sound.
For example, the words ‘teacher’ and ‘daughter.’
Instead of pronouncing the ‘er’ at the end of these words, you could utilize the ‘uh’ sound.
It is vital that you keep practising the ‘Schwa’ sound until it becomes effortless.
- Nº4 – Nail the R sound
Properly pronouncing the ‘R’ sound is crucial if you want to sound more British.
In modern RP, there are two separate versions of the ‘R’ sound.
The abundant and The hidden ‘R’s’.
‘Abundant’ simply means you fully pronounce the ‘R’ sound, like in the words:
‘Rat’, ‘Red’, ‘Row’, ‘Roll’, ‘Rich’
It is often followed by a vowel which is why you need to emphasize it slightly.
Almost like you are pronouncing two ‘RR’s’ one after another.
Like: ‘RRat’, ‘RRed’, ‘RRow’, ‘RRich’.
On the other hand, the hidden ‘R’ is often replaced by the Schwa sound (the one we just covered) or is nearly impossible to hear, like in the words:
‘Car’, ‘Work’, ‘Oar’, ‘Pour’, ‘Door’.
Generally, you should avoid pronouncing ‘R’ at the end of words.
Apart from being found at the end of a word, the hidden ‘R’ is also very often followed by a consonant, like in the words:
‘Pork’, ‘Fork’, ‘Dart’
In this case, you can think of the ‘or’ sound as ‘aw’ and the ‘ar’ sound as ‘ah’.
You almost don’t say the actual ‘R’ sound at all.
Keep practising the ‘R’ sound and after a week or so, you’ll sound much more British.
- Nº5 – Use Distinctively British Words
This is often overlooked because many people forget about how many word variations there are between (UK) English and (US) English.
That’s why it’s extremely important to use the correct British words in order to blend in.
It will immediately make you sound more British.
Let’s look at these 5 examples.
Lift – Elevator
Car park – Parking lot
Flat – Apartment
Trainers – Sneakers
Postcode – Zipcode
Try to memorize the British variants of these words.
By doing this you’ll not only expand your vocabulary but you will also sound more British.
If you decide to join us for further training, you’ll learn many more of these words and how to apply them correctly.
4. Why Does Your Accent Matter?
Research around the world has confirmed that many people feel held back by their English accents when pursuing their social or professional goals.
They believe that they will not get top jobs because employers will think they sound unintelligent.
RP is consistently rated as the most intelligent-sounding accent when blind surveys are carried out.
It’s not necessarily about sounding British or speaking like the King. It’s more about clarity and ease of communication.
Unfortunately in English speaking countries particularly like the UK and USA, people consider you more trustworthy when you speak with a clear, smooth accent.
Sadly your accent is considered a big deal wherever you are in the world.
Some experts advise native speakers against trying to change their accent.
But RP seems to be the clear favourite for non-native English speakers looking for career success.
Speaking with an RP accent may open doors to various new career opportunities.
You will sound much more authoritative, confident and persuasive.
The Received Pronunciation accent always scores the highest when companies are surveyed to ask which accent they rate as most desirable in their employees.
And studies also conclude that an English accent with British undertones is the most preferred way of talking, not only for British companies but even for American and Canadian ones!
That’s why an RP accent is so highly sought after.
And it allows you to chat fluently with English speakers all over the world with complete clarity and confidence.
And hopefully open the door to new opportunities and to allow you to dream big. That has to be a benefit worth having…keep studying!