Distinctive ways of pronouncing the sounds of a language associated with membership of a particular social group defined by reference to either region or social class.
Most languages are subject to some kind of regional variation in pronunciation and the more widely dispersed the language the greater is the likelihood of accent variation. Thus, the French of Quebec sounds to a native speaker quite different from the French of Paris; and Portuguese as spoken in Brazil sounds quite different to a native speaker from Portuguese as spoken in Portugal. English is something of an extreme example in this respect since it has a range of different accents which are associated with a distinctive national affiliation: hence, for example, Irish, Indian, American, Nigerian and Australian accents of English. But accent variation does not, of course, stop at this level of differentiation. In the case of British English, for example, there is a whole spectrum of internal variation ranging from regionally marked rural and urban accents (such as Somerset, Scouse or Geordie), through to that pattern referred to as Received Pronunciation (RP), commonly heard on the BBC’s World Service, amongst the judiciary, in public schools and so on. In this sense, all speakers have ‘an accent’, including habitual users of Received Pronunciation. And although this latter accent is now primarily a class-based accent, it is important to note that historically it once had strong regional affiliations with the area south-east from the English Midlands. Its specific promotion through, for example, the English public schools in the nineteenth century, and the BBC in the early phases of sound broadcasting helps to explain its social ascendancy today in the UK, where it now seems to be the neutral or unmarked accent of English to such an extent that it becomes identified with the ‘natural’ and ‘right’ way of speaking the language. It is probably now the most widely understood and spoken accent within the UK and until recently the accent
most commonly adopted for teaching English as a foreign language.
This does not, however, make RP more correct as an accent of English than other patterns of pronunciation. It may command more prestige but it is worth remembering that all accents attract social stigma and approval in varying measure from varying quarters. And, whilst experimental studies of reactions to accents within the UK have shown that RP speakers are rated more highly than regionally accented speakers in terms of general competence, these same studies have also shown that RP speakers emerge less favourably than regionally accented speakers on scales of personal integrity and social attractiveness. Such judgements ultimately have a
social rather than a linguistic basis. Judgements of the correctness and aesthetic appeal of particular patterns of pronunciation are similarly difficult to justify by reference to intrinsic properties of the sounds themselves. They are strongly motivated – if unconsciously – by social factors.
Most languages are subject to some kind of regional variation in pronunciation and the more widely dispersed the language the greater is the likelihood of accent variation. Thus, the French of Quebec sounds to a native speaker quite different from the French of Paris; and Portuguese as spoken in Brazil sounds quite different to a native speaker from Portuguese as spoken in Portugal. English is something of an extreme example in this respect since it has a range of different accents which are associated with a distinctive national affiliation: hence, for example, Irish, Indian, American, Nigerian and Australian accents of English. But accent variation does not, of course, stop at this level of differentiation. In the case of British English, for example, there is a whole spectrum of internal variation ranging from regionally marked rural and urban accents (such as Somerset, Scouse or Geordie), through to that pattern referred to as Received Pronunciation (RP), commonly heard on the BBC’s World Service, amongst the judiciary, in public schools and so on. In this sense, all speakers have ‘an accent’, including habitual users of Received Pronunciation. And although this latter accent is now primarily a class-based accent, it is important to note that historically it once had strong regional affiliations with the area south-east from the English Midlands. Its specific promotion through, for example, the English public schools in the nineteenth century, and the BBC in the early phases of sound broadcasting helps to explain its social ascendancy today in the UK, where it now seems to be the neutral or unmarked accent of English to such an extent that it becomes identified with the ‘natural’ and ‘right’ way of speaking the language. It is probably now the most widely understood and spoken accent within the UK and until recently the accent
most commonly adopted for teaching English as a foreign language.
This does not, however, make RP more correct as an accent of English than other patterns of pronunciation. It may command more prestige but it is worth remembering that all accents attract social stigma and approval in varying measure from varying quarters. And, whilst experimental studies of reactions to accents within the UK have shown that RP speakers are rated more highly than regionally accented speakers in terms of general competence, these same studies have also shown that RP speakers emerge less favourably than regionally accented speakers on scales of personal integrity and social attractiveness. Such judgements ultimately have a
social rather than a linguistic basis. Judgements of the correctness and aesthetic appeal of particular patterns of pronunciation are similarly difficult to justify by reference to intrinsic properties of the sounds themselves. They are strongly motivated – if unconsciously – by social factors.
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