Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is often considered a standard form of British English pronunciation. It is also known as "the Queen's English", "Oxford English", or "BBC English", as it is associated with educated speakers, prestigious accents, and high social status in the UK. This accent isn't tied to a specific region in the UK, and it's generally taught to non-native speakers learning British English.
The characteristics of Received Pronunciation (RP) are as follows:
- Non-rhotic accent: This means that the 'r' sound is not pronounced at the end of a word or before a consonant. For example, in words like 'car', 'farther', or 'start', the 'r' sound isn't pronounced. However, if a word beginning with a vowel follows the word ending in 'r', it would be pronounced, as in 'far away'.
- "Trap-bath" split: In RP, words like 'bath', 'dance', 'last' are pronounced with a longer 'a' sound (as in father) rather than the shorter one (as in trap), which is common in many other English accents.
- Linking 'r' and intrusive 'r': In RP, when a word that ends with a vowel sound is followed by another word that begins with a vowel sound, an 'r' sound is often inserted between them, even if there's no 'r' in the written language. This is called a linking 'r' when the word historically ended in an 'r', as in "law and order" being pronounced as 'lawr and order', and an intrusive 'r' when the word didn't end in an 'r', such as "idea of it" being pronounced 'idear of it'.
- Pronunciation of certain vowels: There are specific vowel sounds associated with RP. For example, the word 'cup' would be pronounced with a vowel sound that's somewhat similar to 'uh' (as in 'strut') rather than 'ʌ' as in 'up'.
- No of H-dropping: In many regional British accents, the 'h' at the beginning of words is often dropped ('hat' sounds like 'at'). This isn't the case with RP, where 'h's at the start of words are pronounced.
- Absence of glottal stops: In RP, glottal stops (a pause created by closing off the airflow in the vocal tract, often represented by a sort of 'catch' in the throat) are generally not used, in contrast to many regional accents.
- Pronunciation of "L": In RP, the 'L' at the end of words is always pronounced as a 'clear L', which means the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge behind the teeth (like the 'l' in 'like'). This differs from many regional accents that use a 'dark L' (where the back of the tongue is raised).
- Long Vowels: Certain vowels are pronounced longer in RP than in other accents. For example, the 'ee' in 'fleece' is pronounced longer, and the 'oo' in 'goose' is also pronounced longer.
- Certain Vowel Sounds: There are specific vowel sounds associated with RP. For instance, the vowel sound in 'cup' is pronounced as 'uh' (as in 'strut') rather than 'ʌ' as in 'up'.
Remember, these are general features, and individual speakers of RP might have variations. Furthermore, while RP was traditionally considered the 'standard' British accent, the UK is rich with many diverse accents, and none is more 'correct' than any other.