RP

E60025

RP is the prestige British English accent traditionally associated with educated speakers and national broadcasters in the United Kingdom.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf British English accent
accent
associatedWith BBC English
educated speakers
national broadcasters in the United Kingdom
codifiedBy Daniel Jones
codifiedIn Daniel Jones's English Pronouncing Dictionary
comparedWith American English
surface form: General American
contrastsWith Estuary English
regional British accents such as Cockney
country United Kingdom
declineInUse late 20th century and early 21st century
developedIn England
fullName Received Pronunciation
hasAlternativeName BBC English
British English
surface form: King's English

Oxford English
Received Pronunciation
surface form: Queen's English

Received Pronunciation
surface form: Standard Southern British English
hasSubvariety Conservative RP
Received Pronunciation
surface form: Contemporary RP

Received Pronunciation
surface form: Mainstream RP
historicallyLinkedTo British upper-middle class
public schools in England
historicalStatus prestige accent of British English
influenceOn international teaching of British English pronunciation
language English
notStronglyAssociatedWith any specific city in the UK
perceivedAs regionally neutral within England
socially prestigious
phonologicalFeature contrast between short and long vowels
long mid vowels in words like 'face' and 'goat'
non-rhoticity
yod-coalescence in words like 'tune' and 'dune' in some subvarieties
recognizedBy linguists as a standard reference accent
standardizationRole reference accent for British English dictionaries
reference accent for many pronunciation guides
taughtIn many British drama schools
some pronunciation training courses for actors and broadcasters
timePeriodOfPrestige 20th century
typicalOf traditional BBC broadcasting before late 20th century
usedAs pronunciation model in many EFL textbooks
usedBy newsreaders
radio broadcasters
some members of the British upper class
television broadcasters
usedIn formal speech contexts
language teaching of British English
varietyOf British English

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.