Received Pronunciation - The British Library

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action="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/search" method="get" onsubmit="showLoading()"> <label id="local-search" for="search-section-input"></label> <div class="local-search-wrapper"> <input id="search-section-input" type="text" placeholder="What are you looking for?" value="" name="q"/> <button type="submit" id="listingGo" class="icon icon-sml main-bg hl-hover search-icon" value="Search"><span class="u-h">Search</span></button> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="text-block grid_38 p-r-2col"> <h2 class="page-title js-m-t-bodyfix-text p-t-2col"> Received Pronunciation  </h2> <div class="js-m-t-bodyfix-text"></div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="main-content-block"> <div class="main-content-block"> <div class="main-content-block-inner grid_61 w-bg"> <div class="grid_38 p-l-1col"> <div class="text-block b-t-1col"> <p>Received Pronunciation (RP) is the proper term to describe the regionally neutral accent used by many middle-class speakers in the UK, particularly in England. It is widely used as a reference point in dictionaries and as a model for teaching English as a foreign language. But what are its origins, how is it changing and what role does it play in modern Britain?</p> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="main-content-block clearfix vlg-bg"> <div class="main-content-block-inner cntr-blk grid_61 clearfix p-t-2col p-b-2col"> <div class="pnl-block p-l-1col p-r-1col"> <div class="pnl-row hlf-img-pnl pnl-1col alternate-img clearfix"> <div class="pnl pnl-act-btn">  <div class="pnl-inner w-bg"> <div class="pnl-img"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/received-pronunciation"><img class="lazy" src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/resources/global/images/dummy-16-9.png" data-original="/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/sounds-familiar-rp2-crop.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=ECAF0C35F8C2FD005C61CA25D75E228B" alt="Photograph of two men"/><noscript><img src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/sounds-familiar-rp2-crop.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=ECAF0C35F8C2FD005C61CA25D75E228B" alt="Photograph of two men"></noscript></a> </div> <div class="pnl-txt suffix_1"> <h3 class="pnl-title"><a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/received-pronunciation">Received Pronunciation</a></h3> <dl> <dt>Article by:</dt> <dd> Jonnie Robinson </dd> </dl> <p class="pnl-desc">Variously referred to as the ‘Queen’s English’, ‘BBC English’ or ‘Oxford English’, Received Pronunciation, or RP for short, is the accent usually described as typically British. Find out more about its origins and its current status in the UK. </p>  <a class="action-button highlight-bg btm-lft" href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/received-pronunciation"> <span class="action-text">Read more</span> </a> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="pnl pnl-act-btn">  <div class="pnl-inner w-bg"> <div class="pnl-img"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/consonant-sounds-of-received-pronunciation"><img class="lazy" src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/resources/global/images/dummy-16-9.png" data-original="/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/sounds-familiar-rp-crop.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=21292D8AA1789205870926760D5896D8" alt="Illustrations of Victorian gentlemen"/><noscript><img src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/sounds-familiar-rp-crop.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=21292D8AA1789205870926760D5896D8" alt="Illustrations of Victorian gentlemen"></noscript></a> </div> <div class="pnl-txt suffix_1"> <h3 class="pnl-title"><a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/consonant-sounds-of-received-pronunciation">Received Pronunciation consonant sounds</a></h3> <dl> <dt>Article by:</dt> <dd> Jonnie Robinson </dd> </dl> <p class="pnl-desc">Listen to the 24 consonants used by RP speakers.</p>  <a class="action-button highlight-bg btm-lft" href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/consonant-sounds-of-received-pronunciation"> <span class="action-text">Read more</span> </a> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="pnl pnl-act-btn">  <div class="pnl-inner w-bg"> <div class="pnl-img"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/vowel-sounds-of-received-pronunciation"><img class="lazy" src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/resources/global/images/dummy-16-9.png" data-original="/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/sounds-familiar-rp6-crop.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=53F1FBB6A511F3E5AB67A15112B6B392" alt="Illustrations of Victorian women"/><noscript><img src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/sounds-familiar-rp6-crop.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=53F1FBB6A511F3E5AB67A15112B6B392" alt="Illustrations of Victorian women"></noscript></a> </div> <div class="pnl-txt suffix_1"> <h3 class="pnl-title"><a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/vowel-sounds-of-received-pronunciation">Vowel sounds of Received Pronunciation</a></h3> <dl> <dt>Article by:</dt> <dd> Jonnie Robinson </dd> </dl> <p class="pnl-desc">Vowel sounds are one of the most useful ways to analyse and compare English accents. A typical RP accent contains between 20 and 22 vowel sounds but not all RP speakers are alike. Listen to the range of vowel sounds that exist in present-day Received Pronunciation.</p>  <a class="action-button highlight-bg btm-lft" href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/vowel-sounds-of-received-pronunciation"> <span class="action-text">Read more</span> </a> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="pnl pnl-act-btn">  <div class="pnl-inner w-bg"> <div class="pnl-img"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/connected-speech-processes-in-received-pronunciation"><img class="lazy" src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/resources/global/images/dummy-16-9.png" data-original="/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/soundsfamiliar-crop-received-pronunciation.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=D6D7E0C54A62FBD296BB2BDFDCA2A06A" alt="19th-century illustration of two men"/><noscript><img src="/web/20210728213418im_/https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/british%20accents%20and%20dialects/banners/soundsfamiliar-crop-received-pronunciation.jpg?w=464&h=261&hash=D6D7E0C54A62FBD296BB2BDFDCA2A06A" alt="19th-century illustration of two men"></noscript></a> </div> <div class="pnl-txt suffix_1"> <h3 class="pnl-title"><a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/connected-speech-processes-in-received-pronunciation">Received Pronunciation connected speech processes</a></h3> <dl> <dt>Article by:</dt> <dd> Jonnie Robinson </dd> </dl> <p class="pnl-desc">Some words are pronounced differently in isolation than in continuous speech – a phenomenon known as a connected speech process. Listen to examples of typical connected speech processes associated with RP speakers.</p>  <a class="action-button highlight-bg btm-lft" href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/connected-speech-processes-in-received-pronunciation"> <span class="action-text">Read more</span> </a> </div> </div> </div>   </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="main-content-block clearfix secondary-bg"> <div class="main-content-block-inner cntr-blk grid_61 clearfix p-t-2col p-b-2col "> <div class="pnl-block p-l-1col"> <h2 class="block-title p-b-2col">Further themes</h2> <p p-b-2col></p> <div class="pnl-row txt-pnl pnl-2col clearfix"> <div class="pnl "> <div class="pnl-inner no-bg"> <div class="pnl-txt p-r-1col p-b-1col"> <h4 class="pnl-title"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/changing-voices-english-over-time">Changing voices: English over time</a> </h4> <p>Explore how spoken English has changed over time.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pnl suffix_1 p-b-1col"> <div class="pnl-inner no-bg"> <div class="pnl-txt p-r-1col p-b-1col"> <h4 class="pnl-title"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/regional-voices-english-across-the-uk">Regional voices: English across the UK</a> </h4> <p>Explore how accents and dialects vary across the UK.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pnl "> <div class="pnl-inner no-bg"> <div class="pnl-txt p-r-1col p-b-1col"> <h4 class="pnl-title"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/diverse-voices-varieties-of-english-in-the-uk">Diverse voices: varieties of English in the UK</a> </h4> <p>Explore how English is spoken in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pnl suffix_1 p-b-1col"> <div class="pnl-inner no-bg"> <div class="pnl-txt p-r-1col p-b-1col"> <h4 class="pnl-title"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/geordie-voices-dialect-in-the-north-east">Geordie voices: dialect in the North East</a> </h4> <p>Explore one of the most distinctive British dialects.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pnl "> <div class="pnl-inner no-bg"> <div class="pnl-txt p-r-1col p-b-1col"> <h4 class="pnl-title"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/english-voices-from-around-the-world">English voices from around the world</a> </h4> <p>Explore the accents and dialects of Britain's Caribbean and Asian communities.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pnl suffix_1 p-b-1col"> <div class="pnl-inner no-bg"> <div class="pnl-txt p-r-1col p-b-1col"> <h4 class="pnl-title"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/received-pronunciation">Received Pronunciation</a> </h4> <p>Explore the accent traditionally described as ‘typically British’.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pnl "> <div class="pnl-inner no-bg"> <div class="pnl-txt p-r-1col p-b-1col"> <h4 class="pnl-title"> <a href="/web/20210728213418/https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/themes/your-voices-contemporary-accents-of-the-uk">Your Voices: contemporary accents of the UK</a> </h4> <p>Explore present-day English voices across the UK.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="main-content-block clearfix"> <div class="main-content-block-inner w-bg cntr-blk g-t-border grid_61 clearfix p-t-2col p-b-2col"> <div class="social-block p-l-1col p-r-1col "> <div id="sociallinkstop" class="social-links-block f-right grid_32 p-l-1col"> <h2 class="block-title">Share this page</h2> <div class="social-links-wrapper m-t-2col"> <span class="st_sharethis_hcount" displaytext="ShareThis"></span> <span class="st_facebook_hcount" displaytext="Facebook"></span> <span class="st_twitter_hcount" displaytext="Tweet"></span> <span class="st_email_hcount" 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Received Pronunciation - The British Library