How to Speak the RP English Accent
Familiarize yourself with IPA., Remember that RP English has the following characteristics: RP English has undergone the fruit-strut split., Focus on your lips.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Familiarize yourself with IPA.
In learning how to speak the RP accent, most of the time you will encounter the International Phonetic Alphabet so you must learn how to pronounce words using the IPA. -
Step 2: Remember that RP English has the following characteristics: RP English has undergone the fruit-strut split.
If cut and put rhyme for you, you must learn to pronounce differently fruit and strut.
Fruit is pronounced as /fru:t/ while strut is pronounced as /strʌt/ with /ʌ/ being an unstressed a sound, like the u in mud.
American English has undergone the same split.
RP English is a broad A accent which means the a sound in bath and chance is like the a in father or palm and not pronounced like trap (with a slight touch of the sound of e or /æ/).
In other words, you pronounce the a sound by moving your jaw downwards instead of widening your mouth as with the case with /æ/.
RP English is a non-rhotic accent which means the r sound is not pronounced unless it is followed by a vowel or if it is at the very beginning of the word.
For example, the word father and farther will sound alike because the r sound in farther is dropped.
RP English does not have h-dropping so the h sound in head and horse are pronounced.
RP English has not undergone the weak vowel merger so the words Lenin and Lennon are pronounced differently.
In RP English, Mary and marry are pronounced differently.
The a sound in Mary is pronounced as eh while the a in marry is spoken with a deep stress on a or with a broad A.
In other words, Mary is pronounced as /meri/ while marry is pronounced as /mæri/.
In RP English, cot and caught are pronounced differently.
Cot is pronounced as /kɒt/ while caught is pronounced as /kɔ:t/.
The vowel in caught is longer and you need to pucker your lips a little to pronounce it.
RP English does not have yod dropping so the u sound in words such as tune /tju:n/, new /nju:/ and enthusiasm /ɪnˈθjuːziæzəm/ are pronounced with an extra y sound (IPA /j/) unlike standard American accents, which drop it: /tuːn, nuː, ɪnˈθuːziæzəm/.
To a Received Pronunciation ear, Americans pronounce "noo" instead of "new". , In speaking RP English, put focus on the front of your mouth, particularly on the lips, when pronouncing the words.
This is where the focus of the pronouncing the RP English is.
When you try to imitate accurately someone who speaks the RP accent, you'll notice that you're placing stress on your lips when speaking. -
Step 3: Focus on your lips.
Detailed Guide
In learning how to speak the RP accent, most of the time you will encounter the International Phonetic Alphabet so you must learn how to pronounce words using the IPA.
If cut and put rhyme for you, you must learn to pronounce differently fruit and strut.
Fruit is pronounced as /fru:t/ while strut is pronounced as /strʌt/ with /ʌ/ being an unstressed a sound, like the u in mud.
American English has undergone the same split.
RP English is a broad A accent which means the a sound in bath and chance is like the a in father or palm and not pronounced like trap (with a slight touch of the sound of e or /æ/).
In other words, you pronounce the a sound by moving your jaw downwards instead of widening your mouth as with the case with /æ/.
RP English is a non-rhotic accent which means the r sound is not pronounced unless it is followed by a vowel or if it is at the very beginning of the word.
For example, the word father and farther will sound alike because the r sound in farther is dropped.
RP English does not have h-dropping so the h sound in head and horse are pronounced.
RP English has not undergone the weak vowel merger so the words Lenin and Lennon are pronounced differently.
In RP English, Mary and marry are pronounced differently.
The a sound in Mary is pronounced as eh while the a in marry is spoken with a deep stress on a or with a broad A.
In other words, Mary is pronounced as /meri/ while marry is pronounced as /mæri/.
In RP English, cot and caught are pronounced differently.
Cot is pronounced as /kɒt/ while caught is pronounced as /kɔ:t/.
The vowel in caught is longer and you need to pucker your lips a little to pronounce it.
RP English does not have yod dropping so the u sound in words such as tune /tju:n/, new /nju:/ and enthusiasm /ɪnˈθjuːziæzəm/ are pronounced with an extra y sound (IPA /j/) unlike standard American accents, which drop it: /tuːn, nuː, ɪnˈθuːziæzəm/.
To a Received Pronunciation ear, Americans pronounce "noo" instead of "new". , In speaking RP English, put focus on the front of your mouth, particularly on the lips, when pronouncing the words.
This is where the focus of the pronouncing the RP English is.
When you try to imitate accurately someone who speaks the RP accent, you'll notice that you're placing stress on your lips when speaking.
About the Author
Barbara Bell
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow cooking tutorials.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: