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Conference thebay::joyoflex

Title:The Joy of Lex
Notice:A Notes File even your grammar could love
Moderator:THEBAY::SYSTEM
Created:Fri Feb 28 1986
Last Modified:Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1192
Total number of notes:42769

961.0. "RP = "Received Pronunciation"" by VANINE::LOVELL (� l'eau; c'est l'heure) Fri May 01 1992 06:23

I tuned in to BBC2 last night just as the last Newsnight feature was being
shown.  From the little I managed to see, it appears that there had been
some research done into the connection between RP and success as a politician
or captain of industry.  I missed all the main details but the conclusion
was that recently, RP speakers whilst having been extra successful than the
rest of us plebs in the past, now needed to tone down their pronunciation as
it was seen as having a distancing or negative effect.

What do you linguists know about RP?  Where did it get this strange name from?

Is there a well known person that speaks with RP that we could use as a 
reference point?    

/Chris.

RP is apparently a recognised liguistic term for "Received Pronunciation" 
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961.1to get you startedSHALOT::ANDERSONProud to be an American?Fri May 01 1992 07:518
> What do you linguists know about RP?  Where did it get this strange name from?

Received at court.

> Is there a well known person that speaks with RP that we could use as a 
> reference point?    

Typical BBC announcer?
961.2RP and RBPPAOIS::HILLAnother migrant worker!Mon May 04 1992 06:2819
    From the stage:
    
    	Derek Jacobi	John Gielgud	Judi Dench
    
    BBC:
    
    	Any Radio 4 News reader, but not necessarily the reporters!
    
    	Robin Day	any of the Dimbleby brothers
    
    	Barry Took
    
    Other:
    
    	The Queen and other members of the Royal family
    
    RP is sometimes referred as RBP, Received British Pronunciation.
    
    Nick
961.3 a member (along Julian Huxley, G.B. Shaw and Kenneth Clarke) of the BBC's Advisory Committee on Spoken English. WHO301::BOWERSDave Bowers @WHOMon May 04 1992 08:455
I would expect Alistair Cooke's speech to be fairly close to RP as he was
a member (along with Julian Huxley, G.B. Shaw and Kenneth Clarke) of the 
BBC's  Advisory Committee on Spoken English.

-dave
961.4What exactly does "Received" mean?COQAU::LOVELL� l'eau; c'est l'heureMon May 04 1992 14:0718
    re .1 "received at court"
    
    What exactly does this mean?  I presume you mean "court" (a la Hampton
    Court or some such), not Bow Street Magistrates variety.  I am still
    struggling with the concept of "Received".  Does it refer to the
    pronouncer who has "received" the gift or does it refer to the
    listener(s) who has/have "received" the benefit of the speakers well
    enunciated speech.
    
    /Chris.
    
    P.S.	There is a great difference between Sir Robin Day and
    		Alistair Cooke - however, I think that I have got the 
    		picture - I would be fascinated though as to how this trait
    		is formally measured and taught(learned).  The Newsnight
    		documentary mentioned something along the lines of it no 
    		longer being very necessary to "learn" RP to achieve the
    		ranks of Captain of Industry, etc.
961.5'Received' as in...PAOIS::HILLAnything goes, except incest & folk-danceTue May 05 1992 04:085
       When you attend Court, at St James, Buckingham Palace or 
       Westminster, RP will be the language the Monarch expects to 
       'Receive' your address in.
    
    Nick
961.6SHALOT::ANDERSONBrown for MessiahTue May 05 1992 07:0320
>    struggling with the concept of "Received".  Does it refer to the
>    pronouncer who has "received" the gift or does it refer to the
>    listener(s) who has/have "received" the benefit of the speakers well
>    enunciated speech.
 
	"Received" is also a synonym for "accepted."
   
>    		picture - I would be fascinated though as to how this trait
>    		is formally measured and taught(learned).  The Newsnight

	It was originally taught in the English Public schools.  At one
	time, the children of the aristocracy all had local accents.  With
	the growth of Eton, Rugby, etc., however, a new, homogenous, 
	*class* accent emerged (actually not a new accent -- it's 
	basically the accent of the Southeast).

		-- Cliff

	P.S.  I read something interesting that said that the Royal
	Family really do not speak RP.
961.7Another somersaultMARVIN::KNOWLESCaveat vendorWed May 06 1992 05:347
�	It was originally taught in the English Public schools.  At one
    
    Note: as with `new' meaning `old' (sea the -GRY note), `public' here
    means `private'. The Public Schools were originally public in the
    sense that anyone could go [as long as they could pay].
    
    b
961.8"public" is in the wallet of the consumer.PASTIS::MONAHANhumanity is a trojan horseWed May 06 1992 08:4610
    	They are public in exactly the same sense that many museums and art 
    galleries are public. This is as opposed to a private art collection
    where you have to be a friend of the owner. There were private
    schools in that sense in those days, to which the children of the owner
    and some of his friends were invited. They are unusual now.
    
    	As for "public" in the sense of "completely funded by taxes (i.e.
    "public" money), well the London museums *used* to be like that, but
    free art and culture is normally only found in London in the
    Underground stations.
961.9I don't speak RP at all!JURA::PELAZ::MACFADYEN1992: what time is lunch?Wed May 06 1992 10:3012
I would agree that the royal family don't exactly speak RP english; I mean
how can they if they pronounce "house" to rhyme with "mice"? They speak the
extreme variant of upper-class english. I wouldn't say Alistair Cooke speaks
RP now either, he has quite a noticeable American accent; mid-Atlantic at
least.

The modern epitome of RP pronunciation is a Beeb newsreader (although even 
there a regional accent is becoming acceptable. And why not.)


Rod

961.10SSDEVO::EGGERSAnybody can fly with an engine.Wed May 06 1992 13:473
    >> pronounce "house" to rhyme with "mice"
    
    Uhmm.  Maybe I don't know how to pronounce "mice".