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 Content

What is Received Pronunciation? 3

Vowel Sound Changes 4
Vowel Length 6
Schwa 6
Consonant Sounds 8
Linking Schwas 9
Yod Dropping 9
Word Stress 9
Intonation 9
How to Pronounce the Voiced and
Unvoiced /th/ 10
How to pronounce Glottal stop 10
Glottal stop in English Accents 11
Other uses of Glottal stop 12

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What Is Received Pronunciation?

Only a fraction of people speaks with the re- Received Pronunciation quickly became the call-
ceived pronunciation accent, and yet it is consid- ing card of the social elite. The term “received
ered to be the authoritative British accent. What pronunciation” was coined in 1869 by linguist AJ
gives? Ellis around the time that it was adopted as the
If you are a non-Brit, chances are when you im- official standard of pronunciation for the Oxford
agine a British accent you’re thinking of a crisp, English Dictionary.
clean, regal and very intelligent sounding lilt: This was, of course, the height of Queen Vic-
think the Queen of England or BBC reporters. toria’s reign in the UK and the social elite were
What you might not know is that what you’re im- thriving (think Downton Abbey). RP was initially
aging is a very specific — and, in fact, somewhat taught in schools to the children of the socially
rare — accent called Received Pronunciation: well-off because the instructors at such institu-
It goes by other names, too: The Queen’s English, tions had most often graduated from Oxford or
BBC English, Oxford English — and the sound of Cambridge; thus,RP was their default setting.
this accent is instantly recognizable to Brits and The accent was then adopted by the British
non-Brits alike due to its exactness. Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as the stand-
It’s important to make the distinction between ard for broadcast journalists. While it is seen as
an accent and a dialect: in the UK, there are somewhat passe (and only spoken by around 2%
many dialects as well as accents, but Received of the population) it remains the sound of the
Pronunciation (or RP) is not a dialect. A dialect BBC as well as the Royal Family.
suggests the geographic region of the speaker
whereas an accent, particularly RP, is associated
with a person’s location within the social hierar-
chy.
In fact, Received Pronunciation is meant to be
a neutral English accent in the sense that by
speaking in that manner, one would not give any
hints as to where they are from on the map, but
establish straight away in conversation that they
are educated and well-to-do. RP, in fact, began in
public schools.

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Vowel Sound Changes
Many of the 19 vowel sounds are very similar in American and British, however, there are 8 sounds
that significantly change as follows further.
NB: all sounds between /-/ are from British to American.

/ɒ/ to /ɑ/
In British (GB) we use back rounded open sound
/ɒ/ for words like SHOP /ʃɒp/, LOST /lɒst/ and
WANT /wɒnt/. In American (GA) we don’t round
the lips, so it’s: /ʃɑp/,
/lɑst/ & /wɑnt/.
“John wants a stop watch.”

/æ/ to /e/
The pronunciation and usage of /æ/ is fairly sim-
ilar in American and British; words like CAT and
MAD are very similar. There is a group of words,
however, containing the spelling ARR, which
change from /æ/ to /e/ in American. CARRY /kæri/
is /keri/ EMBARRASS /ɪmˈbærɪs/ is /ɪmˈberəs/ and
HARRY /ˈhæri/ is /ˈheri/, giving the name the same
pronunciation as HAIRY in American . MARRY,
MERRY and MARY would all be the same too in
American English, but different in British: /ˈmæri/,
/ˈmeri/ & /ˈmeəri/
“I’ll carry your bags, Harry.”

/ɜː/ to /ɜr/
The British thinking sound /ɜː/, found in words
like HEARD /hɜːd/, FIRST /fɜːst/ and WORST /
wɜːst/, is pronounced differently – with the
tongue raised and a /r/ quality in American, /
hɜrd/, /fɜrst/ & /wɜrst/. This sound nearly always
has an ‘r’ in its spelling, but even when it doesn’t,
American speakers say one, like in the word
COLONEL /ˈkɜrnəl/, which is /ˈkɜːnəl/ in British
English.
“The early bird murders the worm.”

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/ɑː/ to /ɑr/ & /æ/
Long back unrounded /ɑː/ like in CAR /kɑː/, START
/stɑːt/, AFTER /ɑːftə/ & HALF /hɑːf/ is pronounced
/ɑr/ in American if there’s an ‘r’ in the spelling so
CAR /kɑr/ & START /stɑrt/. Most of those words
that don’t have an ‘r’ in GB are pronounced /æ/
in American so AFTER /ˈæftər/ & HALF /hæf/.
“Pass these parts to master Carter.”

/ɔː/ to /ɔr/ & /ɑ/

Long back rounded /ɔː/ as in SWORD /sɔːd/,
FORCE /fɔːs/, THOUGHT /θɔːt/ & LAW /lɔː/ is
pronounced in 2 ways in American. /ɔr/ for words
with ‘r’ so SWORD /sɔrd/ & FORCE /fɔrs/, and /ɑ/
for words without /r/ so THOUGHT /θɑt/ & LAW /
lɑ/. This means that for many American speak-
ers, COT /kɑt/and CAUGHT /kɑt/ are the same,
though COURT /kɔrt/ would be different. In Brit-
ish English CAUGHT /kɔːt/ and COURT would be
the same, COT /kɒt/ would be different.
“I caught four walkers talking Norse.”
/əʊ/ to /oʊ/
In standard GB English the diphthong /əʊ/ starts
in the centre of the mouth GO, NO & SHOW,
whereas in American it starts to the back /oʊ/: GO
/goʊ/, NO /noʊ/, SHOW /ʃoʊ/. There is great var-
iance on both sides of the Atlantic for this sound
with old fashioned posh British speakers like the
Queen for example, starting at the front [ɛʊ] GO,
NO, SHOW.
“Don’t throw stones over the road.”

/ɪə/ to /ɪr/
British English /ɪə/ in words like STEER /stɪə/,
CLEAR /klɪə/ & CHEER /tʃɪə/ is pronounced /ɪr/ in
American so /stɪr/, /klɪr/ & /tʃɪr/.
“I fear the deer’s near here.”

/eə/ to /er/
The diphthong /eə/ in HAIR /heə/, BEAR /beə/
& WHERE /weə/ is always spelt with an ‘r’ so it’s
pronounced /er/ in American English HAIR /her/,
BEAR /ber/, WHERE /wer/. This makes FAIRY /ˈferi/
and FERRY the same in American, but different in
British /ˈfeəri/ & /ˈferi/.
“The spare chair is there, by the stairs.”

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Vowel Length
There is a greater difference in British English between the length of vowel sounds, with some
being pronounced significantly longer than their American counterparts. Some of this is owing to
the additional pronunciation of ‘r’ in many American vowel sounds as seen above. Most phonemic
charts reflect this by showing five or six English vowel sounds with two triangular dots, whereas
most charts do not offer this for American.

heard /hɜːd/ /hɜrd/ bar /bɑː/ /bɑr/

caught /kɔːt/ /kɑt/ shoe /ʃuː/ /ʃu/

Schwa /ə/
The schwa sound /ə/ is the most common vowel
sound in English; about one in three vowels a na-
tive speaker pronounces. It has a neutral mouth
position, it only appears on unstressed syllables,
and it can be spelt with any vowel letter.

How to Pronounce a
Schwa Sound

The mouth position for /ə/ is neutral – the lips are relaxed, not rounded, the jaw is roughly half way open,
and the tongue is flat, not forward or back. It is very similar to the long thinking vowel sound /ɜː/ as in
BIRD, but it is always weak, so it’s short and soft. Have a go:

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Schwas in Content Words
The schwa is found in unstressed syllables of content words: MACHINE, SOLDIER, CORRUPT, PURSUE,
and you’ll notice that on these syllables, the spelling is any of a, e, o, u, making it hard to spot a schwa on
spelling alone. It helps to know where the stress in the word is – a schwa is never on the stressed syllable.

Schwas in Function Words

The schwa is also found in little function words like ‘to’, ‘for’, ‘can’ and ‘some’. Though you’ll notice that I
didn’t use a schwa when I pronounced them just now. This is because the schwa will only be used when
the words are in connected speech:

Schwas in Accents
The schwa doesn’t change a lot in different Eng-
lish accents, though you might find slightly fewer
up North in content words like ACCENT v– which
could be ACCENT in the South. Posh speakers
might make a more open schwa if it’s at the end:
PAINTER, SOFA. Cockney speakers do the same:
WATER, CHINA.

A Third of all Vowel Sounds

/ə/ appears roughly once in every three vowel
sounds a native GB English speaker makes. If you
think of any word with three or more syllables,
you’ll probably find a schwa in it somewhere….
amazing.

Schwas we don’t Pronounce

In some word endings containing the sounds /m, n, l/ like FATHOM, PASSION or LITTLE, the schwa sound
can be omitted, leaving a syllable without a vowel sound – known as a syllabic consonant. Omitting a
schwa also tends to happen before /r/ in words like CAMERA, DICTIONARY and HISTORY, which would be /
ˈkamərə/, /ˈdɪkʃənəri/, and /ˈhɪstəri/ in slower speech. In all of the above examples, the option of removing
the schwa is normally shown in dictionaries with brackets:

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Consonant Sounds
Consonant sounds are largely similar in American and British with just a few key differences:

When /t/ appears after a stressed vowel and before a weak vowel, American
speakers often make a voiced flap – a bit like a very fast /d/: WATER, FIGHTER,
GOT IT. In Standard British this would be pronounced as a normal /t/ WATER,
FIGHTER, GOT IT, though in regional British accents, most famously cockney, this
would be a glottal stop: WATER, FIGHTER, GOT IT.
“My daughter bought a motorbike.”

Apart from the higher number of /r/ sounds in American English, there is also a
small but significant difference in the way they are pronounced. In American, the
tongue curls back further, giving it a slightly muffled quality – RIGHT, ARROW.
Whereas in British the tongue is flatter and further forward RIGHT, ARROW.
“These red roses are for Rachel.”

/r/ in English Accents (Rhotic vs Non-rhotic)

Not all accents in England, however, are non-rhotic, in the West
Country a large number of speakers pronounce their ‘r’s, and this
is true of pockets in the North too, though the rhoticity seems to
be gradually disappearing in these areas.

Silent /r/
/r/ is only pronounced in standard GB English when the next sound is
a vowel sound. It is not pronounced if the next sound is a consonant
sound, or if no sound follows, have a go:
Note that although the < r > is silent in these words, it indicates a long
vowel sound on a stressed syllable (FORK, BIRD, CART, WHERE) and a
short, weak vowel sound on an unstressed syllable (FATHER, OTHER).

The IRON Exception

There is one commonly used exception to the silent /r/ rule: the word
IRON /aɪən/, which is pronounced with no /r/. You might expect one
owing to the /o/ after the /r/, but as every learner knows, English must
have at least one exception to every rule.

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Linking Schwas with /r/ Yod (/j/) Dropping
When a word ends in a schwa sound and the In British English where /j/ appears after /t, d, n,
following word begins with any vowel sound, l, s, z/ (the alveolar consonants) it is omitted in
most GB speakers will join the words with /r/: American: /t/ TUNE /tjuːn, tun/, /d/ DUTY /ˈdjuːti,
MOTHER_AND SON, FURTHER_AWAY, this is ˈduti/, /n/ NEW /njuː, nu/, /l/ LEWD /ljuːd, lud/, /s/
known as ‘linking r’. This will even occur where SUIT /sjuːt, sut/ /z/ EXUDE /ɪgˈzjuːd, ɪgˈzud/. This is
there is no ‘r’ in the spelling: often referred to as ‘yod dropping’.
BANANA r AND APPLE, ANNA r EDWARDS “On Tuesday, tune into the news.”

Word Stress
Some words are stressed differently in American
English, particularly those of French origin where
American keeps the last syllable stress and British
goes for first such as; GARAGE, GOURMET, BAL-
LET, BROCHURE, though this is reversed in the
words ADDRESS and MOUSTACHE.
“Here’s the address of the garage.”

Intonation
The melody of British and American is quite different, though the structure of speech is very similar. The
most obvious difference is the British tendency to use high falling intonation, hitting the main stress high
and dropping down. Whereas in American rising tones are more common, so you go up from the main
stress. This use of rising intonation on statements is sometimes referred to as ‘Upspeak’. “I don’t really
know what to do about it.”

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How to pronounce the voiced and
unvoiced ‘th sounds’ /ð,θ/

“VOICED AND UNVOICED TH SOUND’ ILLUSTRATION

The ‘voiced th’ /ð/ and ‘unvoiced th’ /θ/ sounds are the
only pair of English sounds that share a single, common
spelling. For that reason, the ‘th sounds’ are presented
together in this ESL/ELL pronunciation lesson.
With the exception of being voiced or unvoiced, the
/ð/ and /θ/ are nearly identical; the tip of the tongue is
placed behind the top front teeth. The friction occurs
between the tip of the tongue and the top front teeth.
Subtle friction may also occur between the top of the
front of the tongue and the tooth ridge. The lips are kept
relaxed during the production of both ‘th sounds.’
An alternative method of producing the ‘th sounds’ is to
place the tip of the tongue between the top and bottom
front teeth. While this method will produce the correct sound, it often creates difficulties transitioning to
and from other sounds. This is because the tongue needs to be so much further forward when between
the front teeth as compared to behind the top front teeth.
The ‘th sounds’ are continuous consonants, meaning that they should be capable of being held for a few
seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration. Because the sounds are fricatives,
the majority of the sound comes from the friction of the air traveling through a small opening in the vocal
tract.

How to Pronounce a Glottal Stop [ʔ]

A glottal stop is made by closing the flow of air in the throat (glottis). Effectively, it is a short pause with no
air being released at all, so it’s easiest to hear it within words:

You’ll hear from these examples that the glottal stop

tends to appear where there is a /t/, though it is also
possible as /p/ and /k/ – it largely depends on the
accent of the speaker.

When to Pronounce a Glottal Stop

A glottal stop is often pronounced in standard GB English
when /t/ ends a syllable and the next sound is a consonant:
rightly - witness - Scotland - Britpop - hitman
This happens in words and between them:
it was - that thing - cat flap - right side - shot stopper
GB English speakers may also use a glottal stop for /p/ and /k/ if the next sound is made in the same place
of the mouth:
stop me - background - top buy
It should be noted though, for all the examples above, that when a speaker is producing very clear,
slow speech, the glottal stop might not be used:
Scotland - cat flap - background

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Glottal Stops in English Accents
Possibly the most notable feature of the glottal stop is the inconsistent way native speakers use
it. It is difficult to give a rule for any particular accent because everybody from Cockneys in East
London to the Royal Family in Buckingham Palace will use it differently and a little bit randomly in
their speech.

Cockney
Cockney speakers love glottal stops, they use
them for /t/, /p/ and /k/:
Blackboard daughter waiting stop it tricky
Note that in cockney the glottal stop is used be-
fore unstressed vowel sounds – this is one of the
most recognisable features of a cockney accent,
but is considered by many not to be acceptable in
standard pronunciation.

Estuary & Other Regional

Accents
Estuary speakers are somewhere between GB
and cockney, and their glottal stop usage reflects
this. They would use a glottal stop for /t/ in all the
places GB speakers do, but they would also use
them at the end of a word even when followed by
a vowel sound:
that isn’t right - it’s hot - I didn’t - there’s not a lot
of money
This usage of a glottal stop before vowel sounds
isn’t confined to London, it‘s pretty common in
Posh Accents loads of regional English accents, like in Manches-
Old fashioned posh speakers might find the glot- ter. In Bristol you’ll hear it as well, we don’t say
tal stop sounds incorrect to their ears and so they the ‘t’s at the end normally.
might not think they use it at all for /t/. But they
do sometimes, especially when /t/ is followed
by a consonant sound. See, I just did it then, and
again then. In fact even the poshest of all speak-
ers, Her Majesty The Queen II likes the occasional
dabble, as it is illustrated infront:
Modern posh is a bit more relaxed, so you’ll cer-
tainly hear younger speakers using glottal stops
all the time before consonant sounds and occa-
sionally before vowel sounds too. Have a listen
to Prince William, who could be crowned ‘king of
the glottal stop’ one day:
“I certainly don’t lie awake waiting or hoping for
it because it sadly means that my family have
moved on and I don’t want that.”

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Tottenham Court Road
One of the hardest London underground stations for second language English speakers to pronounce is
‘Tottenham Court Road’ – it’s all those ‘t’s that make it difficult, so the appropriate use of a glottal stop
can make it a lot easier. The way to simplify it is to break it into syllables:
1.[tɒʔ] 2. [nəm] 3. [kɔːʔ] 4. [rəʊd]

Other Uses of Glottal Stops

Although the glottal stop is most noticeable when it replaces /t/, it is also widely used before a stressed
vowel sound to add emphasis:
although [ʔɔːˈðəʊ] go over [gəʊ ˈʔəʊvə] reentry [riːˈʔentri]
This extends to connected speech where some speakers might use a linking /r/ sound, others put a glottal
stop:
pour onto [pɔː ˈʔɒntu] instead of /pɔːr ˈɒntu/
fire engine [ˈfʌɪə ʔenʒɪn] instead of /ˈfaɪər enʒɪn/
extra energy [ekstrə ˈʔenədʒi] instead of /ekstrər ˈenədʒi/

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