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Oct 27, 2023 · Cockney, the working-class, London accent of Barbara Windsor or Michael Caine, and received pronunciation, which some call Queen’s English (or perhaps now King’s English), did not appear in...
- Amanda Cole
- The First Mention of Received Pronunciation
- RP Changes
- More Diversity
RP didn’t exist in 16th-century England. People in the South-East, around the capital, of course, considered their way of speaking to be superior. By the end of the 18th century, the accent used there by the upper classes had become the pronunciation to imitate if one wanted to appear cultured. As social mobility became more viable, the demands of ...
RP continues to have a presence, especially in public broadcasting, but its phonetic character has changed. Accents never stand still. Anyone listening to radio programmes made in the 1920s and 30s can’t fail to be struck by the ‘far back’ sound of the RP accent then – when, for example, lord sounded more like ‘lahd’ – but even the accents of the 1...
Broadcasting was a critical factor, as that was the main way in which people heard these new voices. Regional radio gained audiences by meeting the interests of local populations. And these new audiences liked their presenters to speak as they did. Soon, non-RP accents began to be used as part of the ‘official’ voice of national radio and televisio...
Dec 1, 2021 · The Queen’s English is probably the most famous English accent in the world, but it isn’t widely spoken. Most broadcasters and public figures who spoke the Queen’s English 50 years ago are dead or no longer involved in public life.
Sep 15, 2022 · Her Majesty's distinctive accent, delivered through public speeches, radio broadcasts, television, and then the Internet, provides a unique insight into how the world changed during her long...
Aug 14, 2022 · Harrington has found that The Queen's accent has subtly transitioned to a more middle class south-eastern accent as the years have passed by going from pronouncing something like dog as 'dawg' to the more common pronunciation you would normally use.
- Dan Wiggins
RP is sometimes known as the Queen's English, but recordings show that even Queen Elizabeth II shifted her pronunciation over the course of her reign, ceasing to use an [ɛ]-like vowel in words like land. [102]
Queen Elizabeth II during the period between the 1950s and 1980s. Our analysis reveals that the Queen’s pronunciation of some vowels has been influenced by the standard southern-British accent of the 1980s which is more typically associated with speakers who are younger and lower in the social hierarchy. Phoneticians have documented many
