Received Pronunciation Research Articles

RP, Pronunciation preference polls, dynamic synchrony and SSB Pronunciation

We first look at various aspects of RP (Received Pronunciation). One particular aspect of RP that is emphasized is its intelligibility (comprehensibility). Reproduced in this connection are results of a survey conducted by a polling organization on ‘intelligibility’ of British English pronunciation varieties. The concept of ‘dynamic synchrony’, as distinct from ‘static synchrony’, is brought in and explained at fair length. With this concept in mind, we look into the fact that many individual British English speakers show preference for different alternative pronunciations of words (e.g. absurd with [‑s‑] or [‑z‑]; 'contribute or con'tribute). We investigate if such different pronunciation choices correlate with ages, i.e. young speakers, old speakers; born before or after such-and-such year? We closely consult all three editions of Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (LPD) compiled by John Christopher Wells which contains detailed results of his 1988 and 1998 pronunciation preference surveys. LPD records pronunciation details found in ‘a modernized version of the type known as Received Pronunciation, or RP [Wells’s block letters]’ (LPD3: xix). Finally there will be a discussion concentrating on Geoffrey Lindsey’s recent book English after RP (2019) which shows the relationship between regressive RP and progressive SSB (Standard Southern British) pronunciation at the present time.

The High Rising Terminal in the Intonation System of the Modern English Language

Introduction. The article examines changes taking place in the intonation systems of modern varieties of the English language by analysing the use of the High Rising Terminal (HRT). Received pronunciation (RP), which is recognised as standard pronunciation in the United Kingdom, Australian English accents and Northern Irish English accents (accents of Belfast) have been chosen as the subject for this study. Intonation contours containing the HRT are compared in order to reveal any similar features regarding their realisation and functions. The results of this comparative analysis will show to what extent other varieties of English may be attributed to the changes in the intonation system of the modern RP. The present study is unique in that the material for the comparative analysis of the functions of the HRT includes recordings of spontaneous speech of the speakers of modern English accents. This study is relevant due to the growing interest in the modern changes in the intonation systems of different modern English dialects. The results of the comparative analysis show whether these changes can be considered universal across different English dialects.Methodology and sources. The material for the present study includes audio samples of spontaneous speech represented by dialogues between native speakers of Standard British English, Australian English and Belfast English. The samples containing the HRT have been acoustically analysed. The lexical and communicative context of the samples have been evaluated in order to determine the functions of the phonetic contour.Results and discussion. One of the main findings of this study is a new function of the HRT in RP that has not been found in the classical descriptions of the accent. The acoustic analysis of the realisations of the HRT has also revealed a number of similar features between the modern accents of English analysed in this study.Conclusion. Many changes taking place in modern varieties of English have been caused by globalisation. Even though RP accent is considered to be the standard accent of British English, it is also subject to change.

Identifying Acoustic Variability Patterns in Spoken English of Fricative Consonants Among Pakistani Native Punjabi Speakers

This study examines the phonological variance in English pronunciation among elementary students who regularly speak Punjabi. It focuses on the distinctions between the pronunciation of consonant fricatives and Received Pronunciation (RP). Using a quantitative approach, 50 elementary students proficient in Punjabi were selected from public sector schools using judgmental and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected through audio recordings of fricatives /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and /h/ in various word positions. Analysis using PRAAT software assessed intensity and pitch. Results revealed significant variations in fricative intensity and pitch compared to RP. /f/ had greater intensity, /v/ was subdued, and dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ showed reduced intensity. /s/ and /z/ varied extensively, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ were pronounced with lower intensity and pitch, and /h/ had diminished intensity. Recommendations for educators include focusing on intensity and pitch exercises, using PRAAT for feedback, and emphasizing accurate speech organ placement. This study underscores the need for tailored pronunciation guidance for Punjabi-speaking students. Future research should explore additional phonetic features and employ spectrographic analysis.

The jet set: Modern RP and the (re)creation of social distinction

AbstractWhile the loss of regional distinctiveness across the southeastern UK is well studied and largely undisputed, there is less consensus about class-based divisions. This paper investigates this question through an updated analysis of the variety emblematic of Britain’s upper class: Received Pronunciation (RP). While previous studies have suggested levelling in RP to a broader standard southeastern norm, our findings indicate that the most recent advances in the variety show it (re)differentiating itself from other varieties in the region. Investigating both individual vowel movements and broader system-wide properties, we argue that the changes observed in RP today result from speakers adopting a particular articulatory setting (lax voice), which has subsequent ramifications on vowel realizations. We suggest that speakers make strategic use of this articulatory setting as a way of embodying an elite persona in the British context, an interpretation that resonates with the social distributions of similar changes in other varieties.

‘Learn Jafaikan in two minutes’ – Multicultural London English, enregisterment and ideology in English newspapers

This paper delves into the concept of ‘enregisterment,’ which defines processes and practices linking linguistic repertoires with social meanings, by examining meta-linguistic commentary in newspapers. Focussing on ‘Multicultural London English (MLE),’ the study analyses 200 articles from major British newspapers (2006–2022) qualitatively and quantitatively. The research uncovers recurring linguistic shibboleths, indexically linked social meanings, and prevalent language ideologies concerning MLE and other London dialects. Results reveal a consistent emphasis on specific linguistic shibboleths repeated in articles. Indexical links for ‘MLE’ are constructed through evaluative comments, alarmist metaphors employing xenophobic immigration tropes, and loaded keywords. ‘Cockney’ and ‘Estuary English’ are portrayed more favourably and, together with ‘Received Pronunciation (RP)’, serve to stigmatise MLE. This study underscores the role of media discourse in shaping the enregisterment of dialects, contributing to social stratification and the ‘othering’ of certain linguistic varieties.

“I’ve never met a barrister that sounded like I do”: accents, barristers and Bourdieusian capital

ABSTRACT Use of Received Pronunciation (RP) is a proxy for particular kinds of elite social capital, but it is also a professional norm and part of the Bourdieusian habitus of the Bar. This article uses the first empirical study of accent discrimination in relation to barristers in England and Wales as a basis for a theoretical consideration of the interaction between barristers and others: clients, jurors, judges and other barristers. In particular it evaluates ways in which understandings about accent, as a facet of social or cultural capital, impact on individual career decisions. It concludes that while considerable progress has been made on diversity of the profession, targeted action by the regulator and the profession is required to address perceptions of discrimination (and manifestations of discrimination itself) in a profession to whose activities speech is foundational.

A Sociophonetic Study on the English Accent Varied among Three England National Footballers

English accents have been under discussion by many researchers. It seems that English native speakers still lack cohesion in terms of phonetic features. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the English accents that varied among England’s national footballers to find out what sounds are practiced and how they are categorized socially. Three of them, namely Harry Kane, Luck Shaw, and Harry Maguire, and their interview videos were used as instruments in this study. The data gained were analyzed qualitatively to elicit meaning, gain understanding, and develop empirical knowledge. To help analyze and generate the findings, Estuary English, Received Pronunciation, and Cockney accents were also highlighted here in this study. The findings revealed that these three players happened to share a prestige accent, namely Estuary English, which contains RP and Cockney accents. It is confirmed when the three of them share the most common phonetic features, such as t-glottalization and th-glotalization. For the l-vocalization, it was difficult to determine which accent they belonged to because it was not used often. For h-dropting, neither of the speakers used h-dropping. However, it is also found that each player still has a regional accent.

THE SHIFT FROM «RP» TO «MODERN RP» AMONG THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY

THE SHIFT FROM «RP» TO «MODERN RP» AMONG THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY

Exploring Indonesian Learners’ Attitudes and Beliefs toward English Accents: A Case Study in an Indonesian University

<em>This study reported the attitudes of 67 Indonesian English language learners toward British, American, and their own English accents and explored the underlying reasons motivating these attitudes. The participants’ English proficiency ranged from intermediate to advanced proficiency and confirmed either or both direct and indirect exposures to intercultural communication with speakers of English of other nationalities. The participants were required to listen to three audio samples, Received Pronunciation (RP), General American (GA), and Indonesian accented English (IAE), and to rate the accents on ‘standard’, ‘intelligent’, ‘polite’, and ‘pleasant’ traits. To seek the significant overall mean scores and the meaningful scores across the groups, ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test were used. The results of the interview, additionally, were analyzed using content analysis techniques to find meaningful categories to clarify such emerging perceptions. The results show an overall positive attitude toward all three accents with the Indonesian accent perceived significantly more positively compared to the other two on the ‘intelligent’, ‘polite’, and ‘pleasant’ traits. The more positive evaluation of their own accent was driven by the realization that mutual intelligibility is more important than prestige, and there is a need for cultural value projections, that is, to use their own accent to channel politeness. These results call for the reinforcement of mutual intelligibility as the core of assessment and acceptance of local accents in classrooms. This can be channeled through the active promotion of audio samples demonstrating different varieties of English in the class instead of focusing exclusively on RP and GA; and through teachers’ acceptance of students’ intelligible local accents.</em>

Tapped /r/ in RP: a corpus-based sociophonetic study across the twentieth century

Abstract This paper aims to explore the use of the tap allophone [ɾ] in Received Pronunciation (RP) in word-internal and linking /r/ contexts over three decades (1940s–1960s) and considering three age cohorts (<35 years old, 35–54 years old, and ≥55 years old). A spoken corpus of formal register materials was compiled to conduct further perceptual and acoustic analysis and classify the articulation of /r/ into tap versus no tap. Results show a decreasing tendency of tap production across decades, and the initial stage of its replacement by the approximant variant. From a sociolinguistic perspective, tapped /r/ may have potentially changed its status, from an indicator to a marker. The fact that the tap allophone has become a sociolinguistic marker can encourage future research on intra-speaker variation. Women and middle-aged speakers (35–54 years old) are the ones leading this sound change, opting for the innovative approximant. This may be due to professional pressures or aspects of social identity, yet further research is needed. Furthermore, the word-internal context seems to favour the production of taps, which could be due to the general low frequency of linking /r/ and the formal register of the materials.

The search for linguistically coherent accents

Abstract Linguistic research refers to many related accents in Southeast England: Standard Southern British English (SSBE), Received Pronunciation (RP), Estuary English (EE), Cockney and Multicultural London English (MLE). However, there is inconsistency and imprecision in the demarcation of these accents based on linguistic and social factors. This paper delineates accents in Southeast England based on patterns of linguistic co-variation which we then relate to social predictors. We applied functional Principal Component Analysis to F1 and F2 measurements for diphthongs extracted from wordlist and passage productions for 193 young, south-eastern speakers. Principal Components were entered into a clustering analysis that identified patterns of linguistic co-occurrence. Three clusters emerge, broadly aligning with SSBE, MLE and EE for both linguistic and social factors. We illustrate the linguistic centre of gravity of the three diphthong systems for use as reference points in future research, and we discuss the need to make explicit how accents are defined.

Technology-enhanced approximation to Standard English stress shift

International intelligibility among World Englishes is indisputably pertinent. Second language contexts, such as Nigeria, often adopt the Received Pronunciation (RP) to achieve intelligibility and serve as the pedagogical and descriptive basis of the language (Carr & Honeybone, 2007). However, studies on spoken Nigerian English (NE) have established that RP is unattainable by Nigerians, English language teachers inclusive (Akinjobi & Aina, 2014; Aina, 2014; Adesanya, 2020a; Agboyinu, 2018; Aiyeola, 2021). Search for an ancillary model of Standard English pronunciation in Nigeria, therefore, becomes a necessity.

Goose-fronting in Received Pronunciation across time: A trend study

AbstractThe current study analyzes the trajectory of thegoosevowel in Received Pronunciation (RP) over ten decades (1920s-2010s). Recordings of eighty-seven RP speakers were transcribed inELAN, and vowel tokens were extracted byFAVE, measuring F1 and F2 values at the midpoint. Showing the life-cycle of a sound change from start to (almost) completion, the results confirm thatgoose-fronting has been an active sound change for many decades in RP, with F2 starting to increase in the middle of the twentieth century and accelerated changes in the 1970s and the 2010s. We observe similar predictor strengths of linguistic factors as in previous studies. The results are interpreted in light of the social changes in the social composition of the RP group in the second part of the twentieth century, involving increased dialect contact.

Dating the open /æ/ sound change in Southern British English.

The new open /æ/ was not noticed in the non-regional received pronunciation (RP) accent of Southern British English until the 1980s. Dating to the 1950s or 1920s had been suggested, but the earliest known regional example was born in Kent in the 1860s. Formant data from archived recordings of 29 Southeastern speakers, born between the 1850s and 1960s, were studied using two methods: inspection of formant diagrams for closer /æ/, and modelling low vowels for open /æ/. The earliest RP speaker found with new open /æ/ was born in 1857, demonstrating that this type of sound change had started by the 1850s.

Goan Karachiites’ English Pronunciation

Pakistan’s linguistic diversity and communication challenges are documented evidence of the country’s policy makers and practitioners for a decade’s plan of cultural harmony, regional stability, and linguistic autonomy. Besides, regional language users, national identity persuaders, and national integration into the global objectives of access to information for growth and good is made possible through the medium of communication. Its practice was seen in educational decisions in the past and its struggle for a nationwide networking is being witnessed in the period of COVID-19. The study is the result of almost 15 years old motivation to highlight the issues relevant for a phonological description of Goan Karachiites (GKs) speech of English. However, the framework is updated to absorb recent trends of global integration and communication challenges for a result-oriented academic deliberation. Its QUAL QUAN methods application is derived from phonological underpinnings to witness the divergence of English pronunciation of the GKs from Received Pronunciation (RP). The GKs English was reportedly non-RP, but intelligible on systemic phonological grounds.

PHONOLOGICAL DEVIATION AMONG SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NASARAWA, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

In Nigeria today, most speakers of English are second users of the language because they acquire their different mother tongues before they come to learn English. This article studied the phonological deviation among speakers of English at the Federal Polytechnic. Nasarawa. Adopting the survey research design, the oral production test (OPT) was used whereby thirty (30) students were randomly selected to speak on some topical issues and issues; related to academics such as Examination Malpractice in Nigeria’s Higher Institutions, Campus Gangsterism, High Rate of Unemployment in Nigeria, The 2019 General Election and hate speeches among politicians during the 2019 electioneering campaign. The student’s speeches were recorded and transcribed in their raw forms and compared with the Received Pronunciation (RP) for the purpose of analysis. The results showed that there were deviations in the production of some sounds that are not present in the phonetic inventory of most Nigerian languages as well as wrong placement of stress on English words. The results also showed that the mother tongue plays a significant role in the wrong pronunciation of English words by most Nigerian English bilinguals.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0208/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

A Potential Solution to Chinese Students’ Unintelligible English Accent: A Study of the Effectiveness of a Stress Placement Intervention to Improve Chinese English Speakers’ Lexical Pronunciation

Due to a lack of authentic learning resources, Chinese students often do not receive native pronunciation models in their classes. This study provided Chinese students with an approach to improve their English pronunciation, specifically to sound more like British Received Pronunciation (RP) or General American English Pronunciation (GAEP). The study proposes word stress prediction rules to help non-native Chinese learners predict the primary word stress of English words, improving their vocabulary pronunciation. Repeated-measures tests confirmed the effectiveness of this model, and statistical results showed that these rules were both applicable and teachable. These rules successfully enabled Chinese English learners to stress the correct vowel in a new English word without consulting a dictionary. Chinese students can rely on these rules for predicting the word stress of dictionary words, enabling them to pronounce new words as accurately as possible to native speakers.

Attitudes of Slovene L2 Speakers of English to Six Native Varieties of English

The paper presents the results of an experiment whose purpose was to study the attitudes towards six L1 varieties of English by Slovene students of English. Using the verbal guise test, the participants were exposed to audio clips of Received Pronunciation (RP), General American (GA), Scottish English (ScE), Irish English (IrE), Australian English (AusE) and New Zealand English (NZE). They were required to complete a two-part questionnaire. In part one, they were asked to rate, on four-point Likert scale, statements about the cognitive, affective and aesthetic traits of the speakers, as well as the linguistic traits which they believed contributed most to their attitudes to a particular variety. In part two, they had to rank the six tested varieties indicating their general order of preference, their relative familiarity with the varieties and the appropriateness of the varieties for teaching to Slovene learners of English. The results of the study confirm the findings of numerous other similar studies in giving preference to the two best-known global standard varieties (RP and GA) over the other varieties.

Активные процессы в системе вокализма и консонантизма британской орфоэпической нормы RP

The aim of the study is conditioned by significant changes in British Received Pronunciation (RP) and the need to determine its modern norms. The paper presents an attempt to define new permissible norms in the vowel and consonant systems based on data from the authoritative British learner’s dictionaries “Cambridge Dictionaries Online”, “Collins Dictionary”, “Macmillan Dictionary”, “Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries”, “Longman Pronunciation Dictionary”, “The Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English”. A coherent analysis of these norms together with the norms of the so-called Conservative or Traditional RP is also carried out. Scientific novelty of the study lies in identifying new orthoepic norms, as well as the phenomena that were not previously characteristic of the vowel and consonant systems of British English (the use of the neutral vowel /ə/ in an unstressed syllable). The obtained results have demonstrated that in Modern RP, there is an active process of gradual replacement of the Conservative RP norms by the norms of the so-called Advanced RP, which was typical only for the representatives of the younger generation until the early 2000s. As the study shows, the former orthoepic norms are often completely replaced by the new ones when teaching English Received Pronunciation to foreigners.

Impacts of British Accents on Students’ Dialects in a Speaking Class

The British people introduced their language to the Americans when they reached and occupied the lands of the indigenous people by sea between the 16th and 17th centuries. The British ways of communication and mass media played a very significant role in affecting dialect differences and modifying pronunciation and vocabulary into English standards, known as the received pronunciation (RP). This study is aimed to identify: (1) the students’ perception towards British accents in speaking class and (2) the particular impacts of the accents on students’ dialects when used in a classroom. This research applied a mixed-method, the sequential explanatory with the advanced quantitative (explanatory) and then a qualitative. In other words, the results of this research are made ​​in the form of quantitative data and supported by qualitative data in the form of narrative depth. The participants were non-English students who had a less understanding of British accents. To collect data, observations on some of the participants’ documents (archives, photographs, and field notes) and questionnaire, followed by in-depth interviews with the students. Furthermore, to get the validity of its findings, the triangulation validity of the data is discussed with researchers and colleagues who understand the areas studied. British Accents are expected to become a motivation and the standard of its assessment-based speaking skill level.