fredag 22 oktober 2010

Queen's English or RP (Received Pronunciation) - anything for you?

The Queen's English refers to grammatically correct and coherent written expression in the English language. Plain, to the point, free of jargon and slang, etc. It does not refer to a specific accent, intonation or regional variation of the spoken language (urbandictionary.com). This notion of Queen's English (or King's, as it were),can be traced back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries where the idea that the monarch’s usage of the language should be a model in speech and writing. The accents of the Queen and Princess Margaret (the Queen’s sister) reflect the conservative RP whereas the younger members of the royal family such as Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and the in-laws of the family, the Duchess of York (Fergie) as well as the late Princess of Wales (Diana), all speak an RP closer to "advanced" RP than to the conservative, more traditional accent. Some features follow below:

The Queen and Older Royals might pronounce the following words as noted.
Examples:
house = hice [ ]
off = orf [ ]
tower = tar [ ]
refined = refained [ ]

Younger royals might exhibit the following types of pronunciations:
really = rairly [ ]
milk = miuk [ ]
yes = yah [ ]
St. Paul’s = St. Pauw’s [ ]
source: http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/QueensEnglish.html

Take a look at the following and see how the Queen herself has changed her pronunciation! Then I want you to post a comment on your own blog, telling which pronunciation YOU aspire to achieve. Do you think you have a choice, or is it decided for you?
QEII 1957 & QEII 2009
Enjoy!

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