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Definition
 Received
Pronunciation [or RP] refers to the accent used
by such people as the Royal Family, BBC newsreaders, and members
of the upper class.
It
refers entirely to accent and not to content.
RP
is a speech style which is based on social
class and not on geographical region. Examples
Some
characteristic features of pronunciation in RP are as follows:
- The long vowel in words such as 'bath', 'path', 'ask'
- Diphthongs in words such as 'so', 'go', 'no',
'flow'
Use
Less
than six per cent of the population of the UK speaks RP.
Although
this speech style still carries notions of prestige, regional
varieties of English are acquiring status equal to RP.
Received
pronunciation (RP) is an accent of English
which is based on social class rather than on region. Its origins
are rooted in notions of prestige and status and impulses of
exclusivity.
However,
RP was itself once a regional variety of English. It originated
in the East Midlands among the merchants who migrated towards
London and the source of trade and wealth.
RP
is therefore not the native London accent (as many people
imagine). It is one which acquired strong connotations
of prestige, because of its close connections with wealth and
power.
The
Cockney accent is the indigenous speech style of the London area.
The two styles have existed alongside each other for hundreds
of years.
Because
many RP speakers happen to work in the capital city, the accent is
falsely perceived as being regional and as belonging to London.
On the contrary, RP speakers are scattered throughout the country
and throughout the world. For instance, it is quite common for
upper class people in Scotland to speak RP - without any trace
of a Scottish accent.
The
expansion of the mass broadcast media (radio and television)
has meant that a huge variety of speech styles are heard by listeners
and viewers every day. It seems as though this is gradually eroding
the idea that RP is somehow superior to all other English accents.
RP
is an approximate description of speech style, rather than being
an exact specification. This applies to the classification of
other accents too. Because speech varies subtly between individuals
and between groups and areas, a broad description is all that
can be achieved.
RP
itself has changed slightly even over the past fifty years or
so. This can be observed by watching films made during the nineteen-thirties
and forties. The most obvious development has been the vowel
sound in words such as 'Harry' which has become much more open.
This feature is now used in parodies of that period.
Many
regional speakers feel embarrassed by their accents. It seems
that much social pressure is felt generally because of the long-standing
prestige given to RP. Certainly to linguists, RP is only one
of many accents, although its special identity as a class accent
is interesting.
Attitudes
to RP. The new National Curriculum requires school students
to be competent in using Standard English. Many teachers (and
parents) wrongly take this to refer to accent.
What it actually requires pupils to understand is the use of
standard grammatical constructions,
together with a comprehensive standard vocabulary.
There
are a number of possible options available regarding one's own
attitude to speech-style:
- be comfortable with a regional accent
- be uncomfortable with a regional accent
- change a regional accent in favour of RP
- adapt speech-style to the social context
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