RP

Question 1

What dialect accompanies RP?

Answer 1

Standard English

Question 2

What is the stereotype of an RP speaker?

Answer 2

Posh and affluent, however these also go hand in hand with snobbish and rude

Question 3

How does society treat those with an RP accent?

Answer 3

They’re more likely to be taken seriously due to high social class being attached to the accent

Question 4

What positive attitudes are associated with RP?

Answer 4

Status
Education
Behaviour

Question 5

What is adoptive RP?

Answer 5

RP that is picked up over time

Question 6

What percentage of people are born RP speakers?

Answer 6

Under 3%

Question 7

Where did RP originate?

Answer 7

The south

Question 8

Alan Ross (1956)

Answer 8

Came up with the terms U (upper class) and Non-U (other kinds of) usage, in terms of pronunciation and lexis

Question 9

A.C. Gimson (1962)

Answer 9

Divided RP into three main types:

Conservative - older generation
General - most common RP
Advanced - younger generation

Question 10

John Wells (1982)

Answer 10

Took Gimson’s studies further and divided RP into another three types:

Upper Crust - conservative
Mainstream - general
Adoptive - those who aren’t naturally born RP speakers

Question 11

Giles et al study (1975)

Answer 11

A lecturer spoke to two different groups. He spoke once with an RP accent and again with a Brummie accent. When asked about the lecture, the students who heard the RP accent rated the lecturer higher

Question 12

What are the common features of an RP speaker?

Answer 12

> Fewer glottals

>Speakers have one more phoneme /ɔə/ which allows differentiation between “paw” and “pore”

Question 13

1589

Answer 13

George Puttenham noted “the English of Northern men is not so courtly or so current as out Southern English is”

Question 14

1840

Answer 14

Greater mobility meant that RP began to spread geographically. In addition, the growth in use of the new school system was made possible by new railways

Question 15

1869

Answer 15

A.J Ellis wrote “in the present day we may recognize s received pronunciation all over the country…it may be considered the educated pronunciation of the metropolis, the court, pulpit and the bar. There will be a varied thread of provincial utterance running through the whole”.

Question 16

1870

Answer 16

Access to the right sort of education became so critical to an individuals chances in life. Public schools invented a distinct tie for their ‘old boys’ to wear, they published registers of the boys’ names; however this only worked when checking the products of better known schools. The most easily manageable index of public school status was accent. By the 19th Century a non-standard English accent signaled an uneducated man.

Question 17

1880’s

Answer 17

Pressure towards RP began to extend down to elementary schools and teacher training colleges. The teaching of reading, reciting and dictation became very important.

Question 18

1898

Answer 18

The correct teaching of vowel sounds were put into place and teacher training colleges offered instruction in elocution.

Question 19

1914-1918

Answer 19

WWI - RP was a key requirement for officer status

Question 20

1917

Answer 20

Daniel Jones began labeling (what was later RP) ‘PSP’ aka Public School Pronunciation

Question 21

1918

Answer 21

Daniel Jones codified the properties of what he was now calling Received Pronunciation in an outline of English phonetics

Question 22

1922

Answer 22

THE BBC WAS FOUNDED
The responsibility of the education system for maintenance and spread of RP was beginning to pass into new media. This task was reflected in the careful selection of announcers and presenters with RP accents.
In addition, the establishment of of the BBC’s Advisory Committee of Spoken English lead to recommendations of specific words which are now very date; reminding us that even ‘correct’ speech forms change over time

Question 23

1924

Answer 23

Daniel Jones used the term RP in a new edition of his “English Pronouncing Dictionary”. The term became widespread.

Question 24

1926

Answer 24

Radio broadcasts began to be received in every home and, for the first time, it became possible for one person to be heard simultaneously by thousands. These voices which spoke from London had a huge responsibility thrust upon them, because most people assumed they were listening to the authentic sound of perfectly spoken English

Question 25

1950’s

Answer 25

Alan Ross distinguished U and Non-U usage

Question 26

1962

Answer 26

A.C. Gimson published his first ‘Introduction to Pronunciation of English’. In it he divided RP into three main types: conservative, general and advanced