How to Speak in a British Accent
Start with the Rs., Pronounce U in stupid and in duty with the ew or "you" sound., Enunciate on heavy consonant words., Sometimes drop the Ts., Observe that some words are pronounced as written., Observe that H is not always pronounced., Say "bean,"...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Start with the Rs.
Understand that in most British accents speakers don't roll their Rs (except for those from Scotland, Northumbria, Northern Ireland, and parts of Lancashire), but not all British accents are the same.
For example, a Scottish accent varies greatly from an English accent.
After a vowel, don't pronounce the R, but draw out the vowel and maybe add an "uh" (Here is "heeuh").
In words like "hurry"
don't blend the R with the vowel.
Say "huh-ree".
In American English, words ending with "rl" or "rel" can be pronounced using either one or two syllables, completely interchangeably.
This is not the case in British English. "-rl" words like "girl"
"hurl"
etc, are pronounced as one syllable with silent R, while "squirrel" is "squih-rul"
and "referral" is "re-fer-rul".
Some words are easier to say in a British accent.
For example, mirror, which sounds like "mih-ra".
Do not say "mirror" like "mere"; British people almost never do that.
Some awkward pauses in sentences are also removed by the addition of 'r' before a vowel.
For example, "I saw it" becomes "I saw-rit"
to avoid the pause between the words 'saw' and 'it'.
Another example is "Bacteria are small"
pronounced "Bacteria-rar-small". -
Step 2: Pronounce U in stupid and in duty with the ew or "you" sound.
Avoid the oo as in pronounced ; thus it is pronounced stewpid or commonly schewpid, not stoopid, etc. duty would be pronounced dewty or more often jooty.
In the standard English accent, the A (for example, in father) is pronounced at the back of the mouth with an open throatâit sounds like "arh".
This is the case in pretty much all British accents, but it's exaggerated in RP.
In southern England and in RP, words such as "bath"
"path"
"glass"
"grass" also use this vowel (barth, parth, glarss, grarss, etc.).
However, in other parts of Britain "bath"
"path"
etc. sound like "ah". , Pronounce that T in "duty" as T: not as the D as doody so that duty is pronounced dewty or a softer jooty.
Pronounce the suffix
-ing with a strong G.
This way it sounds like
-ing rather than
-een.
But sometimes it is shortened to in as in lookin.
The words human being are pronounced hewman being or yooman been in certain areas, though it could be pronounced hewman bee-in. , With some accents, including cockney accents, Ts aren't pronounced in words where Americans use D to replace it.
However, there is usually a short pause or "hiccup" in its place.
So "battle" might be pronounced ba-ill but it would be a rare occasion to find someone saying "Ba-ill" catching the air behind the back of the tongue at the end of the first syllable before expelling it on pronunciation of the second syllable.
This is known as the glottal stop. use glottal stops, too, for words like "mittens" and "mountain".
It's just that British use them more often.
People with Estuary English, RP, Scottish, Irish and Welsh accents do consider it lazy and rude to drop the Ts, and this feature doesn't exist, but in almost all accents it's accepted to do it in the middle of words in casual contexts and almost universal to put a glottal stop at the end of a word. , The word "herb" should be pronounced with an H sound.
The word "been" is pronounced "bean"
rather than "bin" or "ben".
For RP, "Again" and "renaissance" are pronounced like "a gain" and "run nay seance"
with the "ai" as in "pain"
not "said." The words ending in "body" are pronounced as written, like "any body"
not "any buddy." But use a British short O sound. , The "H" is pronounced in the word "herb," in contrast erb.
However, in many British accents, the H at the beginning of a word is often omitted, such as in many Northern accents and the Cockney accent. , In an American accent, this is often pronounced been.
In an English accent, been is a common pronunciation, but "bin" is more often heard in casual speech where the word isn't particularly stressed. , For example, the word "road" would usually be pronounced rohd, but in Wales and with some people in Northern Ireland it might be pronounced ro.ord.
Some speakers may even say "reh-uud."
All accents and dialects have their own musicality.
Pay attention to the tones and emphasis of British speakers.
Sir Johnathan Ive is a good example, listen to his accent at Apple revealings.
Do sentences generally end on a higher note, the same, or lower? How much variation is there in tone throughout a typical sentence? There is a huge variation between regions with tonality.
British speech, especially RP, usually varies much less within a sentence than American English, and the general tendency is to go down slightly towards the end of a phrase.
However, Liverpool and north-east England are notable exceptions! For example, instead of saying, "is he going to the STORE?" Say, "is he GOING to the store?" Have the question descending in tone as opposed to ascending in tone (going up in tone is more common in American or Australian English). , Rounded mouth vowels in words such as "about" in London, are usually flattened in Northern Ireland. , It's the surest way to learn a British accent quickly.
Soon, you'll find yourself naturally able to speak with the variations above.
Anything with a British speaker will workâtry listening to the BBC (which provides free radio and television newscasts on the web) songs with British singers, or movies with British characters. -
Step 3: Enunciate on heavy consonant words.
-
Step 4: Sometimes drop the Ts.
-
Step 5: Observe that some words are pronounced as written.
-
Step 6: Observe that H is not always pronounced.
-
Step 7: Say "bean
-
Step 8: " not "bin" for the word been.
-
Step 9: Notice that two or more vowels together may prompt an extra syllable.
-
Step 10: Listen to the "music" of the language.
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Step 11: Get a British person to say well known sentences: "How now brown cow" and "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain" and pay close attention.
-
Step 12: Immerse yourself in the British culture; this means surround yourself with individuals that speak
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Step 13: walk and talk British English.
Detailed Guide
Understand that in most British accents speakers don't roll their Rs (except for those from Scotland, Northumbria, Northern Ireland, and parts of Lancashire), but not all British accents are the same.
For example, a Scottish accent varies greatly from an English accent.
After a vowel, don't pronounce the R, but draw out the vowel and maybe add an "uh" (Here is "heeuh").
In words like "hurry"
don't blend the R with the vowel.
Say "huh-ree".
In American English, words ending with "rl" or "rel" can be pronounced using either one or two syllables, completely interchangeably.
This is not the case in British English. "-rl" words like "girl"
"hurl"
etc, are pronounced as one syllable with silent R, while "squirrel" is "squih-rul"
and "referral" is "re-fer-rul".
Some words are easier to say in a British accent.
For example, mirror, which sounds like "mih-ra".
Do not say "mirror" like "mere"; British people almost never do that.
Some awkward pauses in sentences are also removed by the addition of 'r' before a vowel.
For example, "I saw it" becomes "I saw-rit"
to avoid the pause between the words 'saw' and 'it'.
Another example is "Bacteria are small"
pronounced "Bacteria-rar-small".
Avoid the oo as in pronounced ; thus it is pronounced stewpid or commonly schewpid, not stoopid, etc. duty would be pronounced dewty or more often jooty.
In the standard English accent, the A (for example, in father) is pronounced at the back of the mouth with an open throatâit sounds like "arh".
This is the case in pretty much all British accents, but it's exaggerated in RP.
In southern England and in RP, words such as "bath"
"path"
"glass"
"grass" also use this vowel (barth, parth, glarss, grarss, etc.).
However, in other parts of Britain "bath"
"path"
etc. sound like "ah". , Pronounce that T in "duty" as T: not as the D as doody so that duty is pronounced dewty or a softer jooty.
Pronounce the suffix
-ing with a strong G.
This way it sounds like
-ing rather than
-een.
But sometimes it is shortened to in as in lookin.
The words human being are pronounced hewman being or yooman been in certain areas, though it could be pronounced hewman bee-in. , With some accents, including cockney accents, Ts aren't pronounced in words where Americans use D to replace it.
However, there is usually a short pause or "hiccup" in its place.
So "battle" might be pronounced ba-ill but it would be a rare occasion to find someone saying "Ba-ill" catching the air behind the back of the tongue at the end of the first syllable before expelling it on pronunciation of the second syllable.
This is known as the glottal stop. use glottal stops, too, for words like "mittens" and "mountain".
It's just that British use them more often.
People with Estuary English, RP, Scottish, Irish and Welsh accents do consider it lazy and rude to drop the Ts, and this feature doesn't exist, but in almost all accents it's accepted to do it in the middle of words in casual contexts and almost universal to put a glottal stop at the end of a word. , The word "herb" should be pronounced with an H sound.
The word "been" is pronounced "bean"
rather than "bin" or "ben".
For RP, "Again" and "renaissance" are pronounced like "a gain" and "run nay seance"
with the "ai" as in "pain"
not "said." The words ending in "body" are pronounced as written, like "any body"
not "any buddy." But use a British short O sound. , The "H" is pronounced in the word "herb," in contrast erb.
However, in many British accents, the H at the beginning of a word is often omitted, such as in many Northern accents and the Cockney accent. , In an American accent, this is often pronounced been.
In an English accent, been is a common pronunciation, but "bin" is more often heard in casual speech where the word isn't particularly stressed. , For example, the word "road" would usually be pronounced rohd, but in Wales and with some people in Northern Ireland it might be pronounced ro.ord.
Some speakers may even say "reh-uud."
All accents and dialects have their own musicality.
Pay attention to the tones and emphasis of British speakers.
Sir Johnathan Ive is a good example, listen to his accent at Apple revealings.
Do sentences generally end on a higher note, the same, or lower? How much variation is there in tone throughout a typical sentence? There is a huge variation between regions with tonality.
British speech, especially RP, usually varies much less within a sentence than American English, and the general tendency is to go down slightly towards the end of a phrase.
However, Liverpool and north-east England are notable exceptions! For example, instead of saying, "is he going to the STORE?" Say, "is he GOING to the store?" Have the question descending in tone as opposed to ascending in tone (going up in tone is more common in American or Australian English). , Rounded mouth vowels in words such as "about" in London, are usually flattened in Northern Ireland. , It's the surest way to learn a British accent quickly.
Soon, you'll find yourself naturally able to speak with the variations above.
Anything with a British speaker will workâtry listening to the BBC (which provides free radio and television newscasts on the web) songs with British singers, or movies with British characters.
About the Author
Ann Gibson
Enthusiastic about teaching cooking techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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