Phonologie et linguistique anglaise | Standard English [ Received Pronunciation ]
Cours sur l’anglais « standard » aussi appelé Received Prononciation (RP)
A | What is Received Pronunciation?
Received Pronunciation is viewed as the most prestigious accent of England. This accent has come to stand out above all others because it is usually associated with prestige, broadcasting and education. Received Pronunciation is also the variety of English that is normally taught to foreigners who want to learn the “British Model” as a second language. There are 20 vowel sounds in RP, and although there are 21 consonant letters in the written alphabet, there are 24 consonant sounds in Received Pronunciation.
Ouvrir en plein écran
|
|
The United Kingdom has the most local accents of any English-speaking country in the world. As a consequence, there is not a single “British Accent”. Received Pronunciation (RP) has become today a sort of idealized variety of English. It is spoken in its “pure form” by only 4% of British speakers.
B | Some background information about Received Pronunciation
This map shows where Received Pronunciation is likely to be found today, albeit with varying degree of accuracy.
|
Although Received Pronunciation is usually associated with the south east of England, this accent can be heard everywhere. Usually accents and regional variations tell us about where a person is from. However, RP tells us more about a person’s social background and education. Received Pronunciation developed in the late Middle Ages - especially in London and the south-east of England. It was seen as the accent of the court and the upper classes.
In the past, regional accents were stigmatized (this attitude is still to be found today, albeit to a lesser extent). As a consequence, a lot of British people who were anxious regarding their social advancement moved to London and made the effort to adopt the accent that they found there. During the 19th century, Received Pronunciation became the accent of the English private schools – Public schools in British English – such as Eton College founded by Henry VI in 1440.
Because Received Pronunciation was easily and widely understood by the population, it was adopted by the BBC when the radio broadcasting began in the 1920s. This is the reason why today the terms RP in BBC English are synonymous. Today Received Pronunciation is still used as an accent in education, politics, the Court, Parliament, the Church of England, the legal profession, and any other national institutions. Indeed, Received Pronunciation is more a social accent rather than a regional variety of English.
|
C | Alterations about Received Pronunciation
Today many people have expressed hostility towards Received Pronunciation because of its traditional association with conservative values. It is also worth mentioning that Received Pronunciation has been changing over the years, like other accents of course. Some people have developed an accident which is a mixture of RP and various regional characteristics. It is often referred to as “Modified RP’s”.
Furthermore, since the 1980s we have seen the emergence of a modified accent that it’s called “Estuary English”. This accent is likely to be heard in counties surrounding the river Thames. It is characterized by the fact that some features of traditional East London English (Cockney) have merged with RP and local regional varieties of English. For example: the use of glottal stops in place of certain consonants in certain parts of words (/ˈbetə/ -> / ˈbeʔə/). For the first time since the 18th century, this “prestige accent” has started to pick up some of the negative features which would have been associated with regional variations.
Furthermore, since the 1980s we have seen the emergence of a modified accent that it’s called “Estuary English”. This accent is likely to be heard in counties surrounding the river Thames. It is characterized by the fact that some features of traditional East London English (Cockney) have merged with RP and local regional varieties of English. For example: the use of glottal stops in place of certain consonants in certain parts of words (/ˈbetə/ -> / ˈbeʔə/). For the first time since the 18th century, this “prestige accent” has started to pick up some of the negative features which would have been associated with regional variations.