RP

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Malayalam
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
What do you think of RP? Would you recommend it to foreign learners who want to focus on a single accent but are baffled by the bedlam of mutually conflicting accents?
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
There are different interpretations of what RP is, but if you mean a fairly neutral accent that doesn't use any strongly marked regional features, then I would say it's a good idea as it will be more widely understood. Native speakers can struggle with strong regional accents, so they will be harder for non-native speakers. I speak BrE, but apart from the odd sound a specialist might notice, few would be able to place me in a region- it's different from AmE, but I have nevcer had an American complaining that they couldn't understand my accent. This then applies to the wider area of non-native speakers. I'd say that I speak RP- not the BBC English of fifty years ago, so I think a fairly neutral accent is a good start- there are no neutral accents because of the national variants- I can usually tell whether someone if American, South African, Australian, etc, but all have versions that are readily and mutually comprehensible.
 

patran

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
There are different interpretations of what RP is, but if you mean a fairly neutral accent that doesn't use any strongly marked regional features, then I would say it's a good idea as it will be more widely understood. Native speakers can struggle with strong regional accents, so they will be harder for non-native speakers. I speak BrE, but apart from the odd sound a specialist might notice, few would be able to place me in a region- it's different from AmE, but I have nevcer had an American complaining that they couldn't understand my accent. This then applies to the wider area of non-native speakers. I'd say that I speak RP- not the BBC English of fifty years ago, so I think a fairly neutral accent is a good start- there are no neutral accents because of the national variants- I can usually tell whether someone if American, South African, Australian, etc, but all have versions that are readily and mutually comprehensible.
Dear Tdol

I think the Chinese guy (starting 2:27 in the clip below) speaks good English, and has a neutral accent. Does he sound good to British natives? Because some Hong Kong people say his' spoken English is bad because he has a lot of Hong Kong traces. Just want know how a native English language teacher would think about his spoken English. I am trying to intimate the way this Chines guy speaks. Just afraid he is not a good example for me to follow

9/12/2011 The Pulse : Mainland Meddling in HK Politics - YouTube

Regards

Anthony the leaner
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
His English is good, but he is clearly not a native speaker. Why would you want to imitate a Chinese speaker of English, when there are so many native speakers around?
 

patran

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
His English is good, but he is clearly not a native speaker. Why would you want to imitate a Chinese speaker of English, when there are so many native speakers around?
Hi 5jj, there are so many native accents around the world. If I want to learn from a native accent, can you adivce me which native accent I should choose (would it be good if I record my reading so you can help me?) As such, I prefer a neural accent at this stage. Your advice is welcome.

For your information, for Cantonee in Hong Kong, native Hong Kong cantonese speakers have a lot of mispronunications, which make them clearly native. Those who can speak perfect Cantonese, are clearly not Hong Kong natives in fact.

Regards

Anthony
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Tdol gave sound advice in post #2.
 
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Malayalam
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
Would anyone like to give me a list of some famous RP speakers of English so that I can download videos of them speaking?
 

~Mav~

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Europe
Current Location
Europe
How come that Brian Sewell is not on the list? :shock: Allegedly, a journalist said of him, "He is the only man who makes the Queen sound common." :p
Or, they mentioned Rupert Everett, but I think Hugh Grant is at least as famous as Everett, and he also speaks RP.
As for the great actors of the 20th century, I'm sure that Laurence Olivier's accent is the epitome of traditional RP, and so is that of John Gielgud's. (Correct me if I'm wrong, please. :) )


@Jed, Tdol

Out of Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Brian Sewell, whose accent do you like the best? (Since you both are RP speakers, I'm curious to know your opinion on their accents. :) )



@balakrishnanijk

Here's another article on Received Pronunciation. I hope you find it useful. ;-)
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Out of Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Brian Sewell, whose accent do you like the best? (Since you both are RP speakers, I'm curious to know your opinion on their accents. :) )
Brian Sewell's accent may be genuine, but for me it is too dated.

It is diificult to tell with actors whether the accent they use is their own. If I had to choose between listening to Gielgud or Olivier, I think I'd choose Gielgud. If I had free choice, I'd go for Richard Burton. My choice is probably based on a subjective view of the sound of the voice rather than of the accent.
 

~Mav~

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Europe
Current Location
Europe
It is difficult to tell with actors whether the accent they use is their own. [...]
My choice is probably based on a subjective view of the sound of the voice rather than of the accent.
Good points - as always. ;-) Thank you for your reply. :up:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top