"Cut Glass Accent" | Antimoon Forum

"Cut Glass Accent" is not an expression that you hear very often. I looked it up on Google and it took me to this Web Site.

http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/12dial/bbc.html

This is a site on the English Language.

http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/index.html

***Now, in a changed political climate, it must brace itself against challenges by both Cockney and Estuary English on one side and General American (or Network) English coming from the United States on the other side***

The first two "challenges" are undisputed - both Cockney and Estuary are very much part of the lingospeak here in the UK - well, in many parts of England anyway, especially the South. Cockney itself now sounds a bit of an old fashioned term as it had "True Cockney" literally died out in the late 1960s according to one UK website.

Strains of Estuary have been appearing in the Scottish accent(s) as well so its tentacles are spreading far and wide. Down in South East England - at Milton Keynes, for instance - Estuaryspeak is endemic but varies quite a lot in intensity from what I could make out when I've been in MK, which has the largest percentage of people uder the age of 30 than anywhere else in the UK. It depends who you hang out with down there - the "yoof" accent can vary from Total Estuary (no holds barred) through Estuary with shades of RP all the way to RP with shades of Estuary.

As for the "threat" from General American in the UK - well, that's open to debate big time. Certain Americanisms in speech are bound to occur here, but no way will it ever "take over" Britspeak, no matter how many Americans come over here and spout out their various "-isms" in our broadcasting media.

I have seen that term before, often in the phrase "cut glass RP". I get the impression that it refers to an "old-fashioned" or "traditional" RP accent. I guess the term probably originated because of the perception of such an accent as "cold" or "sharp".

A 'clipped accent'.

I decided to do a search on 'clipped accent' and this is what I found.

Atwood's own clipped accent and precise diction are a perfect complement to the work. Her deadpan delivery brings out its humour and irony,

Margaret Atwood is Canadian.

This is the WebSite:

http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=96

She sounds very Canadian. To be honest, I did not find it very interesting.

This is a much better Web Site: (much more British)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/routesofenglish/storysofar/posh.shtml

"In the 1920's, Lord Reith, director general of the BBC, believed that there was a right way to speak and insisted that his announcers should all speak properly and all sound the same. He saw it as his duty to ensure that the public knew the right way to speak."

There are lots of interesting Audio examples.

Bye