SpeakBritishEnglish

What is Modern RP?

Modern Received Pronunciation is the typical accent of middle-class English people in Britain today. If you’ve heard someone under the age of 50 speaking in a clear, normal-sounding English accent, that’s Modern RP. If you are an ESL student learning British English, Modern RP is the accent that you should learn. 

Like classic RP, Modern RP is non-rhotic, meaning /r/ can only occur at the start of a syllable, before the vowel, never after the vowel. I discuss the advantages of non-rhotic pronunciation for ESL learners in my post Why you should learn British Pronunciation. 

Also known as 'contemporary RP', MRP varies somewhat from person to person. For example, all three protagonists of the Harry Potter films have Modern RP accents. At the ‘posh’ end is Hermione Granger, played by Emma Watson; at the ‘common’ end is Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint; in the middle is Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe. 

Modern RP is a neutral accent but it does vary slightly by region. For example, a northern MRP speaker might pronounce ‘past’ and ‘passed’ with a short /æ/ vowel, like ‘pat’, while a southerner would normally use /ɑː/, like ‘part’ (see ‘trap-bath split’).

Listen:

past – southern style (how I do it)

past – northern style (short /æ/ vowel)

Modern RP vs Traditional RP

As an ESL student, it is important for you to understand how Modern RP differs from traditional, classic RP. You probably learnt English in your own country, from teachers who are not native speakers or pronunciation specialists. Whatever they taught you about British pronunciation was probably based on traditional RP and is therefore out of date. Here are four features of Modern RP that you are probably not aware of.

1. /eə/ vs /ɛː/

Part of the problem for ESL learners is that many British pronunciation resources, including dictionaries and textbooks, use the standard phonetic script, which reflects classic RP. For example, if you look up ‘air’ in the Cambridge Learners Dictionary you will see this transcription: /eə/. This implies a diphthong. However, if you listen to the audio you will notice that the speaker pronounces ‘air’ with a long monophthong. His pronunciation is not at all diphthongal.

Listen:

air MRP /ɛː/ (Cambridge Dictionary)

air – traditional RP (diphthong /eə/)

I prefer to use the Upton script, in which ‘air’ is transcribed /ɛː/. This better reflects the pronunciation you can hear in the above audio. The Oxford Dictionary also uses the Upton script.

Note that /ɛː/ is different from /ɜː/, which is the symbol used in the Standard Script for the sound in words like 'were', 'fur', and 'term'. In the Upton script, that vowel sound is represented with this symbol: /əː/.

Listen:

where - /wɛː/ or /weə/ vs. were - /wəː/ or /wɜː/

In Britain today it sounds dated to pronounce words like ‘air’, ‘care’ and ‘bear’ using the diphthong /eə/. Unfortunately, as an ESL student, if you use /eə/ then local people will interpret this as part of your foreign accent. By contrast, if you use /ɛː/ then you will sound distinctly local.

This is true in general: pronunciation habits that sound old-fashioned coming from natives sound foreign coming from learners. 

2. The Long /æ/

In the standard phonetic script the symbol /æ/ is used for the vowel sound in ‘cat’, ‘bag’, ‘man’ etc. In the Upton script the symbol /a/ is used. As I said, I prefer the Upton script. However, for this vowel I prefer the symbol /æ/ as it cannot be confused with the letter A. This is important because ESL learners are prone to the mistake of thinking about English pronunciation in terms of spelling.

When I'm teaching I also use this symbol: /æː/. This symbol is not part of either phonetic script but should be. /æː/ is a long vowel that occurs in a small number of common words (see ‘bad-lad split’). Listen to any Modern RP speaker, such as Emma Watson, and you will notice this long vowel in, for example, ‘man’, ‘bag’ and ’stand’.

Listen:

bad – /bæːd/ vs. lad – /læd/

This vowel sound can only occur before a voiced consonant. However, the short /æ/ can also occur before a voiced consonant, so that rule is not very helpful. /æː/ is especially common before /nd/, as in 'hand' and 'stand' but, again, the short /æ/ can also occur before /nd/, as in 'grand'.

Listen:

stand – /stæːnd/ vs. grand – /ɡrænd/

Some words can even be pronounced both ways depending the context. For example, 'jam', meaning the fruit spread, is pronounced long but 'jam' meaning a spontaneous musical collaboration is pronounced short. In the phrase 'traffic jam' you will hear it both ways.

Listen:

jam (fruit) – /dʒæːm/ vs. jam (music) – /dʒæm/

Another interesting example is 'band'. This word always has a long vowel, regardless of meaning, but the word 'banned', past-tense of the verb 'ban', meaning prohibit, is pronounced with a short vowel. Ultimately you just have to listen carefully to native speakers.

Listen:

band – /bæːnd/ vs. banned – /bænd/

3. The Intrusive R

Another feature of Modern RP is the so-called ‘intrusive R’. This is the habit of using an /r/ sound to link syllables ending in vowels to syllables beginning with vowels.

Take the word ‘drawing’. This word is constructed from the verb ‘draw’ and the suffix ‘ing’. Considered separately, the first syllable ends with the vowel /ɔː/ and the second syllable begins with the vowel /ɪ/. However, if you listen to native Brits say this word you will notice an /r/ sound in the middle: /drɔːrɪŋ/.

Here’s an example of the English magician Derren Brown saying ‘drawing’ and ‘draw a picture’ in natural speech:

You might have read somewhere that the intrusive R is not part of correct RP. As a result, you may have ignored it in your pronunciation practice. There are three problems with this.

1. The claim that traditional RP speakers never use intrusive Rs is a myth: even older RP speakers often use it.
2. Among younger British English speakers intrusive Rs are the norm.
3. Without using a linking /r/, most learners will inadvertently insert a /w/ sound. This makes the vowel sound like /əʊ/ instead of /ɔː/.

Point 3 is crucial. To understand what I mean, consider the difference between the words ‘sewing’ and ‘sawing’. The verb ‘sew’ – to stitch fabric with a needle and thread – is pronounced /səʊ/, just like ‘so’. The verb ‘saw’ – to cut e.g. wood with a saw – is pronounced /sɔː/, just like ‘sore’.

Listen:

🧵 sewing – /ˈsəʊ(w)ɪŋ/        🪚 sawing – /ˈsɔːrɪŋ/

In ’sewing’ a /w/ consonant automatically occurs, which allows you to glide from the first syllable to the second without having to insert any other consonant. This /w/ sound is the result of how the lips squeeze together at the end of the /əʊ/ vowel. By contrast, in ’sawing’ the vowel is /ɔː/, which does not end with the lips squeezing together, so there should not be a /w/ sound.

For ESL students like you, the best way to avoid adding a /w/ sound in ‘sawing’ is to add an /r/ sound instead: /sɔː.rɪŋ/. This is how most native Brits will say this word and it will be absolutely clear if you pronounce it this way.

Unfortunately, as with the ‘air’ issue, when it comes to the intrusive R, dictionaries are misleading. In the Cambridge Learners’ Dictionary entry for ‘drawing’ neither the transcription, nor the audio example, indicate an /r/ sound. The audio sample sounds like a very old recording, perhaps from the 1990s. Moreover, when voice actors record examples they are under pressure, not speaking naturally. The actor may affect a certain pronunciation that he or she would not use in normal speech.

4. Glottal Stops

Another crucial feature of Modern RP is the glottal stop. You may have heard that the glottal stop is something bad, a feature of ‘Estuary’ English, not RP. However, if you listen to Modern RP speakers, you will notice that they often use glottal stops. I strongly recommend that you incorporate them into your speech if you want to sound more like a local British English speaker.

The primary use of the glottal stop is to connect a syllable-ending /t/ to another consonant. For example, in the phrase ‘hot water’ I would use a glottal stop between the words.

Listen:

hot water – /hɒʔwɔːtə/

Glottal stops also reinforce syllable-ending /p/, /k/ and /tʃ/ consonants. For example, I would pronounce the phrase ‘sip tea’ like this: /sɪʔp.tiː/. Note that in a phrase like this the /p/ is not released – you just bring your lips together and hold – so glottal reinforcement helps you to differentiate /p/ from /b/.

Listen:

sip tea – /sɪʔp.tiː/

The glottal T is also often used at the end of a phrase. For example I might pronounce ‘take a seat’ as /teɪ.kə.siːʔ/. This too is a very useful habit for ESL learners. In addition to making you sound more local, it will allow you to confront any self-consciousness that is preventing you from adopting glottal techniques more generally. When you end a phrase with a glottal T you have to commit fully to the technique, as it is not hidden by the next word.

Listen:

take a seat – /teɪ.kə.siːʔ/

As I said earlier, Modern RP varies a little from person to person, family to family, in accordance with subtle cultural and geographical differences. Modern RP also varies from situation to situation. For example, Emma Watson's accent sounds slightly different when she's giving a speech to the UN compared to when she's talking one-to-one with a peer in a friendly setting.

The most obvious marker of 'relaxed' speech among MRP speakers is increased use of glottal Ts. Specifically, in relaxed speech we use them 'wrongly', to connect syllables ending in /t/ to syllables beginning with vowels. 

For example, here's Florence Pugh making a cocktail. 

"So, the best bit is my nose is going straight into this mint, so I'm getting a free tickle, which is always great."

The 'wrong' glottal Ts between 'bit is', and 'straight into' are subtle. You might not have noticed them if I hadn't pointed them out. Glottal Ts like this are completely normal in relaxed, everyday Modern RP. However, the glottal T in the middle of 'getting' is much more noticeable. Here Florence is stepping slightly outside the normal parameters of MRP in order to add extra spice to her speech. For native listeners, it's little things like this that make her seem so likeable and charismatic. She has a very British sense of humour and doesn't take herself too seriously. 

By the way, if you keep listening, at 2:14 is a great example of the intrusive R when Florence says '...and the vodka is kind of hidden'.

How to learn Modern RP

The key to learning good pronunciation is listening. If you live in the UK or have British friends and colleagues, pay close attention to how they speak. If their pronunciation of a word seems to disagree with the spelling, trust your ears not your eyes. 

Listen carefully to interviews with MRP speakers such as Florence Pugh and Emma Watson (or less famous people like Derren Brown.) Pay particular attention to the factors I've written about here, and also take note of words that seem to be pronounced differently to how they are spelt, or how you assumed they should sound. Again, trust your ears. 

My online English pronunciation course is full of lectures, examples, exercises and quizzes covering all aspects of Modern RP and you can start for FREE. You also get to submit video assignments and receive personal video responses from me. Give it a try! I also give private Received Pronunciation lessons.

Thanks for reading.