For guidance on how to use this accent breakdown, see How to Work on an Accent.

People

In 1917 Daniel Jones described “Received Pronunciation” (RP) as the “everyday speech in the families of Southern English persons whose men-folk [had] been educated at the great public boarding-schools.” Thus, RP has traditionally been an accent of affluence, social prestige, and political power. Although it is the accent found in English pronouncing dictionaries and for many years was the accent of the BBC, it is estimated that only approximately 3% of English people actually spoke RP in 1970.

RP is a learned, class-based, “prestige” accent, so while its speakers tend to belong to dominant social groups, the accent is not necessarily limited to one geography or ethnicity.

Since language is constantly evolving, today’s RP is not the same as it was several decades ago. We will be focusing on a rather conservative, 20th-century version of the accent, one which dialect coach Erik Singer describes as, “the best accent to use today in the plays of Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Restoration comedy, or really anything English that takes place before the 1980s where a specific class or regional accent is not required.”

Our Sample Subjects

Some Additional Sample Subjects

Prosody

RP can be described as more economical in its use of syllable stress than many American accents. RP speakers tend to stress fewer words per sentence than their American counterparts. Unstressed syllables tend toward greater vowel neutralization, and emphasis is marked by pitch and duration more than volume. These features have been described by Gillian Lane-Plescia as giving RP a “rattle-rattle-bing” rhythm.

Pronunciation Features

A great resource for RP pronunciation is available at https://howjsay.com/. Simply look up the word you want to pronounce and the website will say it for you.

The practice phrases below are borrowed from Eric Armstrong’s Lexical Sets for Actors. For more information on lexical sets and extensive practice materials, Eric’s resource is highly recommended!

Key Vowel Sounds

GOAT → [əʊ̯]

Practice:

1. For Halloween, we made ghost-shaped meatloaf with mashed potatoes.
2. Tony went to Rome with Shosh.
3. Her coach motivated her to go for broke.
4. Phone ahead to get a quote on the hotel room.
5. The protestors voted to disrupt the keynote.

LOT~CLOTH → [ɒ̝~ɔ]

Practice:

1. The boss botched his toss to the tot.
2. Scott crossed his hands over his crotch
3. The hot coffee made Tom cough.
4. I’m often bothered by the fonts used in Jane Austen novels.
5. The quality of the odd Australian sausage is off.

THOUGHT → [ɔ̝ː~oː]

Practice:

1. My father-in-law is at the audiologist.
2. I found the nautilus shell in the Caucasus mountains.
3. Audubon would draw hawks expertly.
4. Somerset Maugham’s The Hour Before Dawn.
5. Paulina has autism and an auto-immune disease.

BATH → [ɑː]

Practice:

1. Sample the eggplant parmigiana.
2. Mariana is demanding an answer.
3. Commander Sanderson was slandered.
4. Riding on the towpath is faster than boating in the canal.
5. A bad example of a cast photograph.

RP makes a distinction between BATH and TRAP. Careful not to over-generalize the BATH sound to TRAP words.

TRAP → [æ~a]

Practice:

1. Paul Frommer invented Avatar’s conlang, Na’vi.
2. The potlatch was for family and clan members only.
3. Nash and Alix clashed.
4. Rashid gave blood plasma to Baz.
5. The cat gave Cathy toxoplasmosis.

Additionally, there are some “set jumper” words that are included in the TRAP set in RP: marry, Harry, carry, Carolyn, carriage, Marilyn, Paris, arrow, parapet

More Vowel Sounds: R-Dropping

RP is a non-rhotic accent, meaning that the R sound is only pronounced when it comes before a vowel sound. In most cases, an R that comes after a vowel will not be pronounced.

NURSE → [ɜː]

Practice:

1. Ursula chose an immersion birth.
2. I found the perfect Persian rug in Perth.
3. The sunburnt girl rode the Tilt-a-Whirl.
4. Squirt water at the thirsty gerbil.
5. Is there tube service to Earl’s Court station, or is this the terminus?

START → [ɑː]

Practice:

1. Cicero called Sardinia’s inhabitants “barbarians”.
2. I’m gardening in my yard wearing a cardigan.
3. The charming farmer did a lot of harm.
4. The Mozart concerto for flute and harp was hard.
5. Use sparkling water to get the rhubarb stain out of the carpet.

NORTH~FORCE → [ɔ̝ː~oː]

Practice: 

1. The museum curator had to escort the newly imported and highly important Andy Warhol portrait.
2. There was no remorse for people caught using outside resources during the final exam of the Morse Code Course.
3. Laura had to prepare for the notoriously difficult German aural exam.

NEAR, SQUARE, CURE → [ɪə̯~ɪː], [ɛː], [ʊə̯~oː]

Practice:

NEAR

1. A seersucker suit doesn’t adhere to the dresscode.
2. My big ears are to hear you with, my dear.
3. They interfered with the superior yearling.
4. She shed no tears for the broken souvenir.
5. It’s a yearlong course on Kierkegaard’s theological works.

SQUARE

1. Prepare to be scared by George Romero’s last film.
2. He’s the fairest of all in Grand Prairie, Alberta.
3. The bear bares his teeth before he tears into the salmon.
4. Therefore “wherefore” means “why,” not “where!”
5. Saying Pernod tastes good is a barefaced lie.

CURE

1. A flute made from a gourd requires a different embouchure.
2. The tambour top of the roll-top desk was secured prematurely.
3. The security of Broadmoor psychiatric hospital was inaccurately reported.
4. The epicure procured a pedicure.
5. The craquelure on the cheek of the obscure portrait follows the contour nicely.

lettER → [ə]

Practice:

1. The golfer made a safer choice with her new putter.
2. Tamera liked thrillers, not horror movies.
3. Sanders wasn’t the winner of the popular vote.
4. He used a laser from the gallery of the theatre.
5. Cover your fingers with Purell hand sanitizer.

Linking R

When R precedes a vowel sound occurring in the next word, it “links” across the word boundary, as in:

You’re ͜ r.ideally better ͜ r.off drinking ginger ͜ r.ale later ͜ r.on.

Key Consonant Sounds

Fully released, voiceless T

The /t/ sound tends to be fully released and unvoiced.

Practice: Betty bought a bit of butter.

Front R

The R sound [ɹ] is made with the tip of the tongue angling upward toward the alveolar ridge rather than by bunching the back of the tongue.

Practice: Round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran

Liquid U

The vowel sound /u/ may be preceded by the glide /j/ (“oo” becomes “yoo”) when preceded by /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, or /s/ EXCEPT when spelled with <o>.

Practice: Duke, tune, news, lute, suit…
…but not “do”, “too”, etc.!

Shibboleths

can/can’t

Mary/merry/marry

Posture

The jaw tends to ride higher for most RP speakers than in so-called “general” American. The lips and tongue tend to be more active and slightly more muscular and direct than in SCGA. Some lip corner retraction is possible. Alveolar consonants /t/, /d/, /n/, and /l/ are made with the tip rather than the blade of the tongue.