PRONUNCIATION: RP (Received Pronunciation)

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PRONUNCIATION: RP (Received Pronunciation)

10 Oct

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is about pronunciation. We’ve decided to write about an interesting aspect of the English language spoken in the UK. You may be already familiar with it, but for those who are not, it’s worth reading it!

Not long ago most learners fancied this or that sort of English. In other words, they looked for the American or British accent once they started learning the language. Nevertheless, if we think about Brazilian Portuguese we also face a plethora of accents which are part of the richness of our language as well. The same happens to English spoken in the UK, in the United States, in South Africa, in New Zealand… You name the country.

We would like to talk a little bit about a sort of prestigious accent that was catapulted into the hall of fame mainly during the Second World War. To some it is called the BBC English, but to others, it is known as RP, or if you prefer, Received Pronunciation.

The intention was to resort to the accent that would be better understood by as many people as possible. Considering the difficult times and the need to get the message across, such choice was considerably acceptable.

Nowadays the RP, once used for a specific objective, is the standard English accent used by BBC journalists spread all over the world. Well, truth be told: it’s still appreciated all over the world!

If we look at the linguistic scenario in Brazil, considering its size and cultural, social and whatever-you-may-think-of varieties, no wonder we stumble over a myriad of accents and distinct expressions that cause our ears to strain a bit harder in order to help us grasp them. One example is the film O AUTO DA COMPADECIDA. Try “watching” it with your eyes shut. I bet you will have trouble making out the expressions and the speed at which Chicó and João Grilo, leading actors, talk to each other. Dramatic, but at the same time, full of our rich linguistic variations that cannot be ignored!

Imagine then yourself plunged into the UK with a huge amount of accents that vary from the very Scottish top to the very bottom of England, or maybe the variations you may encounter in Ireland or Wales… Well, we are just focusing here on the UK alone. Let alone the rest of the other countries whose first language is English and it’s spoken currently… In this case, we might imagine that our fluency and knowledge might do, but sometimes they don’t. This is due to the endless variations that are part of the speech from that given place together with its people, its history, its culture…

People joke that such accent gives the impression that who uses it has marbles in their mouth. The British who have it are called the stiff-upper lip, or blue-blooded ones (monarchy + nobles) as they are the ones who most widely use it. So… We are not advocating here the use of the RP as the norm, but as English learners, acknowledging that there are variations is a good way to be more acquainted with this language features at the same time we allow ourselves to experience the flexibility of listening to different accents and accept them as part of a whole context.

On this short video, Catherine Tate, British comedian, goes a bit far to depict the posh English and resorts to the RP to do so. Despite the fact that it is acclaimed as clear and correct accent, she criticises its speakers (posh Brits in this specific case) who cannot understand speakers whose English accents differ from their RP.

Have fun and send your comments on this post and video.

English Exams