Received Pronunciation, often called RP , is the accent that is widely accepted as the standard accent for both native and foreign speakers of British English. Although only about 5% of British people speak with an RP accent, it is considered the correct form of speech. Pronunciations given in most dictionaries are RP, or an adapted form of it.
RP is a social accent not linked to any particular region of Britain, though it developed originally from the form of Middle English spoken around London. At that time London was the economic centre of England and the place where people were trained for professions such as the law. From the 15th century it became a centre for publishing. RP was the accent of upper-class people, and of the most highly educated people. The connection between RP and education was important in establishing the accent.
People became increasingly conscious of accent and by the late 19th century it was considered necessary to adopt RP and lose any trace of a regional accent in order to have a successful career, especially in the army or government. RP was spread among children of the upper and upper middle classes through the public school system. Others took elocution lessons in order to learn to speak ‘properly’. Later, RP was taught in state schools. The public school accent and the Oxford accent , the accent adopted by some members of Oxford University , which many former public school pupils attended, are now considered by many to be rather artificial.
The RP spoken by members of the upper class, including the royal family , is called advanced RP or marked RP . Many people think that, like the Oxford accent, it sounds affected. It may be described as ‘clipped’ if it is spoken with a tight mouth, or ‘plummy’ if it sounds as though the speaker had a plum in his or her mouth. The vowel sounds of marked RP are distinctive, for example the ‘a’ in sat sounds more like the ‘e’ in set , the short ‘o’ in cost sounds like the long ‘o’ in for , and really and rarely sound the same.
The status of RP was strengthened in the 1920s after the BBC began radio broadcasts. For a long time announcers spoke with RP accents, and the accent became known as the BBC accent . Standard English, the form of English grammar considered correct, is, when spoken with an RP accent, sometimes called BBC English , Oxford English , or the Queen’s/King’s English .
Only relatively recently did the BBC begin accepting announcers with regional or other social accents. Even now a strong regional accent may be considered inferior to ordinary or unmarked RP, though some regional accents are much liked. Many younger people dislike RP because of its associations with class and privilege, and most educated people now speak a modified, less extreme form or use a modified regional accent.