- Related Topics:
- pronunciation
- standard language
- British English
- On the Web:
- Cambridge Core - British English: Received Pronunciation (Oct. 15, 2026)
Received Pronunciation
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What is Received Pronunciation?
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the standard form of British English, traditionally associated with the upper class and those educated in public schools. It's also been called the "Queen's English," "King's English," "BBC English," or "Oxford English".
RP originated in London and southeastern England but has been adopted by individuals across the United Kingdom. The term Received Pronunciation was first used in 1869 by phonetician A.J. Ellis to describe an accent accepted and common throughout the country among educated speakers. Today, estimates suggest that only 2–3% of the population speaks RP.
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Where is Received Pronunciation most commonly spoken?
Received Pronunciation (RP) is a British accent traditionally associated with the middle and upper classes of London and the southeast of England. Because RP doesn't have specific geographical correlation, it's impossible to know where someone is from based on their accent. RP has been adopted by upwardly mobile people throughout the United Kingdom and is considered regionally unmarked, though speakers may incorporate regional features into their RP.
RP varies by age, occupation, and lifestyle. Conservative RP is associated with older generations and the aristocracy. General RP is a neutral accent that marks advanced education. Advanced RP includes features of younger, upper-class speakers. It is estimated that only 2–3 percent of the population spoke RP in the early 21st century.
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Why is Received Pronunciation sometimes called 'BBC English'?
Received Pronunciation (RP) is sometimes called "BBC English" because the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) selected the RP accent as its broadcasting standard when it was established in 1922. The term RP was coined in 1869 by phonetician A.J. Ellis to refer to an accent that was used all over the country and was considered the educated pronunciation of the metropolis. While RP originated in southeastern England, upwardly mobile individuals throughout the United Kingdom have adopted it. Today, the RP accent that is used sounds different from that used by speakers on BBC broadcasts in the early and mid-1900s, which now comes off as particularly old-fashioned and outdated.
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How does Received Pronunciation differ from regional British accents?
Received Pronunciation (RP) is considered the standard accent in London and southeastern England. Unlike regional British accents, RP lacks a specific geographical origin, making it impossible to identify a speaker's region based on their accent. Historically, RP has been associated with the upper class and public school education, gaining prestige through institutions like the BBC and civil service.
Regional accents in Britain, however, vary significantly. For example, Northern accents may pronounce certain vowels differently, such as the "a" in "father" sounding like the "a" in "fat." Other regional variations include unique pronunciations of vowels and diphthongs, as well as differences in intonation and syntax.
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How has the use of Received Pronunciation changed over time?
Received Pronunciation (RP) is considered the standard accent of the United Kingdom, specifically of London and the southeast of England. The term was coined in 1869 by A.J. Ellis to refer to a common accent used throughout the country.
RP's development is associated with British public schools and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. When the British Broadcasting Company, Ltd., (later renamed the British Broadcasting Corporation; BBC) was established in 1922, it selected the RP accent as its broadcasting standard.
RP varies somewhat by age, occupation, and lifestyle. The RP used today sounds different from that used by speakers on BBC broadcasts in the early and mid-1900s, which now comes off as particularly old-fashioned and outdated. Conservative RP is associated with older generations and aristocracy. Contemporary RP includes features typical of younger speakers from the upper classes.
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Why is Received Pronunciation important in education and the media in the UK?
Received Pronunciation (RP) is considered a standard accent in London and southeastern England. It has traditionally been associated with the middle and upper classes and public school education. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) adopted RP as its broadcasting standard in 1922. RP is a non-regional accent with enormous prestige, but it is not intrinsically superior to other varieties of English. Some estimate that a very small percentage of the population of England uses "pure" RP. It is considered the prestige accent in institutions such as the civil service and the BBC and, as such, has associations with wealth and privilege in Britain.
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Received Pronunciation (RP), standard speech used in London and southeastern England. It has traditionally been associated with the middle and upper classes and as a mark of public school education. Received Pronunciation (RP) is sometimes referred to as the “Queen’s English,” the “King’s English,” “BBC English,” or “Oxford English.”
History and reification
The term received pronunciation was coined by phonetician A.J. Ellis in 1869 to refer to an accent used “all over the country, not widely differing in any particular locality…as the educated pronunciation of the metropolis, of the court, the pulpit and the bar.” The definition of received in his use of received pronunciation conveyed the word’s adjectival meaning of “accepted” or “common,” as in the expression received wisdom.
The development of RP is associated with British public schools, including Eton College, Winchester College, Harrow School, and Rugby School, as well as the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. In fact, “Public School Pronunciation” was the term that phonetician Daniel Jones used to refer to the upper-class accent in his English Pronouncing Dictionary (1917) before he adopted the term “Received Pronunciation” in the second edition (1924) of the work. When the British Broadcasting Company, Ltd., (later renamed the British Broadcasting Corporation; BBC) was established in 1922, it selected the RP accent as its broadcasting standard.
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Phonetic features of Received Pronunciation
There are many notable phonetic features of RP that differentiate it from other English accents in the United Kingdom, including but not limited to the following:
- RP speakers only pronounce the r sound in words when it is followed by a vowel sound. For example, the RP pronunciation for butter is /ˈbʌtə/, but for buttery /ˈbʌtəri/ the r sound is retained. Other examples of words that drop the r sound include far /fɑː/, mother /ˈmʌðə/, and weather /ˈwɛðə/.
- RP speakers pronounce the h sound at the onset of words, whereas speakers of some other British accents do not. For example, the RP pronunciation for happy is /ˈhæpi/ and not /ˈæpi/, as it is with other accents. Other examples of words with the vocalized h sound include house /haʊs/, help /hɛlp/, and hello /həˈləʊ/.
- RP speakers lengthen the short a vowel before some fricative or nasal consonants in a subset of words. This lengthening is referred to as the trap-bath split because trap is pronounced as /træp/ (with short a), but bath is pronounced as /bɑːθ/ (with long a). Words such as back /bæk/, cat /kæt/, and dad /dæd/ retain the short a vowel in trap, but other words that lengthen it in RP include dance /dɑːns/, laugh /lɑːf/, and grass /grɑːs/.
- RP speakers pronounce the long u vowel as a diphthong, /juː/. For example, news /nuːz/ is pronounced as /njuːz/. Other examples of words with the long u vowel as a diphthong in RP include due /djuː/ and Tuesday /ˈtjuːzdeɪ/.
Variety and usage of Received Pronunciation
Generally speaking, dialects and accents tend to differ over time and due to geographic and social factors. The RP used today, for example, sounds different from that used by speakers on BBC broadcasts in the early and mid-1900s, which now comes off as particularly old-fashioned and outdated. Although the RP accent originated in southeastern England, it has been regularly adopted by upwardly mobile individuals throughout the United Kingdom. It is therefore considered regionally unmarked, although some speakers do incorporate regional features into their use of RP.
RP varies somewhat, however, by age, occupation, and lifestyle. The conservative RP variety is associated with older generations and aristocracy. General, or mainstream, RP is a neutral accent in regard to age and social status, but it does mark advanced education. Advanced, or contemporary, RP is an accent that includes features typical of younger speakers from the upper classes.
While RP is widely used for the classroom and teaching English as a foreign language in the United Kingdom, it has never been widely used by regular English speakers, even in the United Kingdom. Estimates in the early 21st century suggested that no more than 2–3 percent of the population spoke it at that time.
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