At some point while studying English you may have heard about Received Pronunciation or RP for short.
If this is the case, you may be wondering if it is something you should study to improve in this language.
Stick around and read on to find out everything you need to know about RP. At Funtalk we tell you all about it!
What is Received Pronunciation or RP?
Received Pronunciation or RP is a type of pronunciation used in certain areas in the United Kingdom, especially in the southern part of England.
It is popularly known as BBC English, Oxford English or BBC pronunciation. According to Cambridge Online Dictionary, RP is the type of pronunciation common to the average speaker in the south of England.
This is not such a strange concept actually, let’s think about the case of Spain. The Spanish accent of the Valladolid region is considered to be one of the “purest” sounds in the Spanish language.
In the case of English, the RP is the standard accent to which all speakers who wish to be considered educated should aspire and for many years it was the accent used by BBC presenters, hence the name.
What does RP have to do with Oxford?
This way of speaking in a region has been associated with the university of that city, as this particular way of speaking is considered prestigious, typical of people who have received a formal and quality education.
In the past, it was a popular aspiration to have this type of English pronunciation and one had to try to imitate this accent if one wanted to progress in certain areas of the British territory.
Why is it important in today’s world?
The truth is that in the streets of the United Kingdom it is not relevant to have this type of accent.
However, it is true that this type of pronunciation is the one that is used as the basis of standard English, both the one taught in the country itself and abroad, andbooks usually contain phonetic transcriptions based on this type of pronunciation.
This is no coincidence, if you think about it, teaching standard English will allow you to reach a larger number of listeners, since it will be easier for them to understand it.
As an English learner, should I know PR?
No, it is not necessary.
As we have said nowadays this is not so relevant.
It is much more important that you take an accent that is to your liking or liking as a reference and take care to eliminate the accents of your own native language in order to improve communication in English.
This will be much more useful.
Of course, if you want to have PR as a reference, go ahead!
That’s all!
We hope you liked this article and that you have a better understanding of what received pronunciation is.
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