I'm going on a trip to England soon, and I would like to learn how to speak with an RP accent. The last time I went to England, my accent was so bad that they thought I came from Boston with a bit of a nasal Australian accent mixed in. How do I articulate my words so I can speak with a proper English accent, or at least a Mid-Atlantic sounding accent (like the kind Frasier has)?
I need to learn RP
I think all Frasier really does that's different from a normal American accent is over-pronounce his T's. Nothing else about his accent really stands out to me.
If people could narrow you're accent down to one particular city, your English must be extremely good. As long as you're pronunciation of words is right you will be understood everywhere, don't worry about accents. The only reason you should learn RP is if you wish to wear a monacl and a tweed suit, smoke a pipe and shoot grouse old boy!
"As long as you're pronunciation of words".........should read "your pronuciation". Hopefully your English is better than mine!
I noticed that Frasier was watched in the UK as well. How do you react to his accent? How do you think it compares to an average American accent? Do you prefer it, do you have no opinion, or do you not even notice a difference?
I have noticed that Kelsey Grammer sounds quite different from Frasier in as much as he doesn't try so hard to pronounce every word perfectly like his character does. I think for foreigners learning English Frasier is a good role model for correct pronunciation. My personal dislike of RP comes from the fact that it promotes South Eastern English vowel sounds that deviate from the traditional pronunciation used in much of the rest of England. Speakers are taught a "u" sound which is closer to an "a" sound so cup sounds more like cap. They are also taught words like bath and grass should be pronounced bahth and grahss-a southern peculiarity that emerged sometime after English was standardized in written form.
<<They are also taught words like bath and grass should be pronounced bahth and grahss-a southern peculiarity that emerged sometime after English was standardized in written form.>>
Yup. That change didn't come about in Southern British English till the late 1700s and 1800s, so it's a relatively recent innovation.
Yup. That change didn't come about in Southern British English till the late 1700s and 1800s, so it's a relatively recent innovation.
"If people could narrow you're accent down to one particular city, your English must be extremely good"
What does a narrowed down accent to do with good or bad English?
Do you mean that if one doesn't sound like somebody from US or UK his/her English is bed because he has an accent?
What does a narrowed down accent to do with good or bad English?
Do you mean that if one doesn't sound like somebody from US or UK his/her English is bed because he has an accent?
No, "to narrow [something] down" means to use the process of elimination to figure something out: in this case, to figure out what specific city an accent is from.
No, your English is not considered "bad" if you don't sound British or American.
No, your English is not considered "bad" if you don't sound British or American.
Re bath and class; In Australia and New Zealand, "bahth" and "clahss) are used by all, no doubt because SB/RP was adopted by educational authorities a century or more ago, which begs the question: was no attempt ever made in the UK to standardise pronunciation through the school system? Have different curricula always existed, or did regional teachers simply refuse to conform?
??? I can't speak for the UK, but no attempt has ever been made to standardize pronunciation in American schools. It's not a matter of curriculum, but of local accent. As long as you can read and write competently, schools don't quibble over small differences in vowel sounds!
Come up to Edinburgh whilke you're over here...we'd soon knock any trace of RP out of you......nicely! :-)
As far as my schooling went, no attempt was made to correct pronunciation. However, we were picked up on slang and grammatically incorrect language like "you was" etc.
My fave US soap is Friends...it's so funny in an obvious sort of way. I liked Cheers as well....especially the spats Sam had with Diane.
Just one thing.....why do Americans appear to screech and yell at full pitch when they're only a few inches away from each other? I notice it a lot with American tourists here......they're standing side by side but talking at top decibel volume.....you hear them before you see them. Is chronic deafness a widespread problem in America?
Just one thing.....why do Americans appear to screech and yell at full pitch when they're only a few inches away from each other? I notice it a lot with American tourists here......they're standing side by side but talking at top decibel volume.....you hear them before you see them. Is chronic deafness a widespread problem in America?
Kelsey Grammer went to Juilliard (America's top Drama School), where you would be taught the Edith Skinner "American Standard" dialect of English. This is basically a modified version of RP that was adapted for Americans in the mid-Twentieth Century. Frasier speaks something a bit similar, although it's nowhere near as silly as AS, which is one of the most ridiculous conventions thrusted upon American Theatre--it makes everybody sound like Katherine Hepburn.