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BASIC RULES OF THE “BRITISH RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION” ACCENT OF ENGLISH

Updated: Apr 15




This tutorial will cover the basics of a British RP accent of English. It’s one of the most valuable accents actors can have in their repertoire, and this beginner’s guide is meant to serve as a simple jumping off point in your exploration of the accent. But before we jump in, let's first explore the history of the accent.



HISTORY

British RP, or “received pronunciation”, is a “learned” accent – meaning it is typically taught, rather than acquired naturally. RP is an upper/middle class accent that was popularized over the course of the 19th century. It was taught in boarding schools and places of higher education, spoken by royalty (earning it the nickname “The Queen’s English”), and was required for many years by the BBC, the UK’s national source of news.


Though the accent has largely fallen out of fashion in modern times (some estimates say only 2% of people in the UK still speak it), it is still used as a worldwide standard for teaching English (along with a General American Accent). Plus, it frequently appears in films and television as a way of indicating a character’s higher status–think the Empire in Star Wars or the elves in Lord of the Rings.


In this guide, you will find some simple “rules” for speaking English with a British RP Accent. I put “rules” in quotes because there will always be exceptions. Also, please note that in order to better demonstrate the accent’s unique sounds, we will be comparing the British RP vowels and consonant shifts to their American counterparts.


Let’s begin by exploring some of the unique vowels of the British RP accent.



VOWELS SHIFTS 

1) [æ] as in BATH might move to [ɑ] as in LOT

"Half the class needs a bath."

But not: "The fat cat sat on my lap."

Tip: This change is often spelling based; if more than one consonant followed the letter “a” within a syllable, the vowel is more likely to make the shift.


2) [ɑ] as in LOT is lip-rounded, closer to [ɒ]

"I thought of calling Shaun this fall."

Tip: Round your lips on this sound, almost like you’re making a kissy-face


3) [oʊ̆] as in GOAT has a more relaxed start, closer to [əʊ̆]

"Don’t go roaming all over the globe."

Tip: If you have trouble finding this sound, sing it in slow motion and progressively speak it faster.


4) If the sound [u] as in DUKE, follows a <T, D, S, Z, or N> in spelling, it may change to a "liquid-U" sound, [ɪ̆u]

"I took the tube to the dukes new studio."

But not: He put the blue shoe on Cooper the goose.


5) Optional: <Y> ending sounds, such as in HAPPY, may reduce to [ɪ]

"The silly elderly kitty was nearly twenty."

Tip: This sound change is good for older or more pompous characters, particularly in period pieces.


6) Optional: If the [æ] vowel did not change to [ɑ] as in rule 1, it may change to [ɛ]

"The fat cat sat on my lap."

Tip: As with rule 5, this change is good for older or more pompous characters, or in period pieces.



CONSONANT SHIFTS

1) All <R> sounds that come after a vowel within a syllable are dropped.

"The perturbed surfer rode over the river."

Tip: Cross out all eliminated <R>s in your script.


2) If an eliminated <R> sound is followed by a vowel sound within the phrase, we can put the <R> back in; this is called a “Linking-R”

"Father is mad at brother and I for setting off the car alarm."


3) Sometimes, an <R> may insert itself between two words if one word ends in a vowel and the next one also begins in a vowel; this is called an “Intrusive-R”

"The idea of meeting the Shah of Persia is exciting."


4) Every single <T> sound should be present and crisp.

"A tutor who tooted a flute tutored two tutors to toot."

Tip: Be extra careful to hit final <T> sounds, which Americans tend to drop.



MUSICALITY

Now that we’ve covered the important one-to-one sound changes of the accent, let’s explore the musicality. Compared to General American, British RP may feel generally higher pitched. There’s an old saying, “Every American man thinks he’s a baritone, every British man knows he’s a tenor.” I find this to be true regardless of gender. Don’t be afraid to explore your higher register.


British RP can also feel much more fluid and connected compared to American speech. The words can seemingly run into each other. Words that begin with a vowel may feel connected to the previous word in a sentence. Take the example sentence:


“All Americans eat every ounce of avocado.”


Most American speakers may separate the words there to a degree. However, the RP speaker may sound more like this:


“AllAmericanseatevery ounceofavocado.”


These are of course generalizations, and you will absolutely hear RP speakers that don’t fit these standards. There’s no reason at all that you couldn’t have an RP character that speaks with a “choppy, low pitched voice”. In other words, don’t let the standard musicality limit your acting choices.



UNIQUE WORD PRONUNCIATIONS

As with every accent, British RP has many unique word pronunciations, which don’t necessarily fit into any sort of logical set of “rules”. While it would be impossible to capture all of the unique pronunciations here, here are some of my personal favorites:


-zebra: /ZEH.bruh/ instead of /ZEE.bruh/

-aluminum: /aa.loo.MIH.nee.um/ instead of /uh.LOO.mih.num/ (notice the extra syllable)

-lieutenant: /lef.TEN.uhnt/ instead of /loo.TEN.uhnt/

-been: might sound like “bean”, especially when stressed

-schedule: /SHEH.juhl/ instead of /SKE.djuhl/

-Z: the letter “zee” is pronounced as /zed/


Again, these are just a few unique pronunciations. I always encourage my actors to keep a running list of new ones that you may hear when listening to resources. And of course this doesn’t even account for unique vocabulary that accompanies different dialects of English, such as “lorry” for truck or “lift” for elevator–there are plenty of lists readily available online that outline such unique vocabulary words.



CONCLUSION

British RP is an invaluable accent for actors, and has a distinct set of rules that one must adhere to. Practice the sound shifts on the example sentences provided in this tutorial, then try it out on your own text. I’ve also provided some links to example speakers below; be sure to give some a listen to hear the accent demonstrated properly.



EXAMPLE SPEAKERS:

Note, Scott Alan Moffitt, The Actor's Dialect Coach claims no ownership of the material in the following links--they are provided for educational purposes only. Certain links may contain language or content not suitable for children.


Attenborough, David (secondary) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tvA3Ezqjl8

Christmas, Eric (secondary) - https://youtu.be/iZnQPLJi2t4

Sanders, George (secondary) - https://youtu.be/0J2NOKiFlUE


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DEALING WITH ACCENT ANXIETY

Updated: Dec 18, 2023

In my time as a dialect and accent coach, I’ve discovered that one of my main jobs is to help my actors deal with the dreaded “accent anxiety”. This fear of sounding inaccurate can have the effect of preventing actors from even attempting to ever do any kind of dialect or accent other than their own. This anxiety is incredibly common amongst actors, but much like dealing with regular performance anxiety, there are ways to overcome it.


In this article, I’ve collected a few strategies to combat any negative feelings that may arise when attempting to acquire a new dialect or accent.



BE FORGIVING OF YOURSELF


Let's address the tough part first—you're going to make mistakes. No matter which dialect or accent you attempt, if it's not native to you, it will be imperfect. Despite this truth, you may still feel uncomfortable when first attempting a new dialect. But guess what?


I give you permission to be uncomfortable.


You may not be as good as you want to be at the start, but that's normal when trying new things. Acquiring any new skill takes practice, so why do we often dismiss ourselves when trying on a new accent for the first time? It may be due in part to the fact that we immediately judge ourselves— the new voice coming from our mouth may sound strange to our own ears. However, at this stage, you're likely not a good judge of the new dialect or accent anyway. Until you really get to know the dialect, there’s no reason to be afraid of it.


You may also be experiencing an all too common fear of being judged by imaginary critics. Armchair experts love to critique dialects and accents, but they usually have no idea what they’re talking about. Most people have a very narrow idea of what a dialect is supposed to sound like, because they’ve only been exposed to certain versions of it. In reality, every dialect and accent has an incredible amount of variety. Think about it—did the people you grew up with all sound exactly the same? Of course not. You have much more freedom in your accent acquisition than you may think.



START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW


When you’re just starting out and deciding what dialects and accents to learn, it might be most comfortable to keep it in the family – literally. Do any of your relatives (or even close friends) speak with a different dialect than you do? It’s likely you can point to one or two examples. If you’ve been exposed to these dialects and accents for some time, you will have a stronger frame of reference to start from.



It's also helpful to begin with dialects that you genuinely enjoy listening to. Perhaps your favorite character on TV speaks with a British accent, or you’ve always an affinity for an exaggerated Southern drawl. Whatever the reason may be, that attraction will give you a stronger connection to the target dialect, and you’ll be less likely to tire of practicing it.


You should also endeavor to immerse yourself in the dialect by surrounding yourself with it as much as possible while learning. It’s easier than ever to find quality resources online of any accent you can imagine. Listen to those audio references as you go about your day, trying to repeat the sounds you hear whenever you can.



REMEMBER YOUR JOURNEY IS UNIQUE


Although you're comparing the sounds of your accent to another to some degree in order to make changes, be cautious about comparing your version of a dialect to another’s. Your voice is unique, therefore you’re building a character that is unique to you. Unless you’ve been cast to play an existing person and are trying to imitate them exactly, your voice will quite literally speak for itself. Start by figuring out what you would sound like with the dialect or accent. You can make adjustments and get creative from there as you develop the character. This approach will give you agency over your dialect choices—there is no one-size-fits-all in this line of work.


Acting is an artform, and there is no such thing as perfection in art. That’s why it’s important to be careful when comparing yourself to actors who have built careers on fantastic dialect work. Everyone started somewhere, and those actors likely received excellent training. But no matter how good or acclaimed an actor’s dialect work may be, I guarantee you they’ve made missteps. Does that make their work any less great? Of course not. It’s not about having the most incredible dialect of all time; it’s about giving an honest and nuanced performance, which just happens to be accented.



THERE’S A SYSTEM THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU


If you’re lucky, you might have some natural talent with mimicry that will suffice in imitating dialects and accents, especially for those with which you’re already somewhat familiar. But raw natural talent with speaking in different dialects is actually quite rare, and mere mimicry usually will not suffice when exploring a dialect you have little exposure to. That’s why it’s important to find a system for dialect acquisition that works for you.


The internet offers countless instructional video and audio resources for many dialects and accents. Thoroughly informative books (often with recorded components) exist in multitudes. The International Phonetic Alphabet can unlock the building blocks of speech for a very scientific approach. You might even opt to work with a dialect coach, such as myself. Regardless of how you learn, I truly believe there's a right path for everyone—it's simply a matter of exploring the available options.



LEARN TO ACCEPT YOUR NATURAL VOICE


If you’re not recording your practice and listening back to it, you’re likely doing yourself a disservice. We’re exceptionally bad at hearing ourselves, and often don’t sound the way we think. Listening back to our attempts at a new dialect is the only way to accurately hear what it is we’re doing, and whether we’re hitting the mark or not.


Most people dislike the sound of their natural voice when they first hear it played back, and many never learn to like their own voice. Actors must quickly get over this in their training because they need to watch and listen to their performances to adjust and grow (sidenote: if you’re new to acting and haven’t taken any basic classes, start there before diving into dialect and accent work). Logically, if we cringe at the sound of our natural voice at first, we might cringe when hearing ourselves with a completely different voice. Learning to accept your own speaking voice will help eliminate any roadblocks when listening back to yourself in accent practice.


If you’re not there yet, that’s OK. Start with small recordings every day. Record a thirty second audio message on your phone as if you were leaving yourself a voicemail and listen back to it. Do that every day until it no longer bothers you.



KNOW THE INDUSTRY WANTS YOU TO SUCCEED


Actors often tell me they're afraid of auditioning in a dialect or accent because they worry about making a fool of themselves in front of their representation or casting directors. If you have good representation, you probably don't need to worry—they won't submit a tape that would embarrass you or them. But here's the thing—most actors on an agent or manager's roster are also afraid of doing dialect work. When an accented audition comes in, they must often scour their talent list for suitable actors who list the dialect on their resumes.


But casting isn’t looking for the best dialect; they’re looking for the best actor. If your dialect isn’t up to par but you’re the right actor for the role, a production will likely hire a dialect coach to work with you. Coaches are quite common on set these days, and we know how to help you succeed.


I’m not saying you should list a dozen dialects on your resume if you’re not actually proficient in them. However, even if it scares you, consider saying "yes" the next time your representatives reach out and ask if you can do a German accent for an audition. If it's not right, they don't have to submit it—but it's excellent practice, and your representatives will appreciate your willingness to tackle accented auditions.


If you don’t have an agent or manager, you might think this advice isn’t relevant to you, but that’s not true. YOU are your own agent, your own manager. When you’re self-submitting on various casting websites, don’t skip over the role that might be perfect for you just because it has an accent. Take the shot, you might surprise yourself.



Want guidance on your specific Accent Anxiety issues? Schedule a free virtual consultation with Scott Alan Moffitt, The Actor's Dialect Coach.

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Deciding Which Dialects to Learn

Updated: Dec 18, 2023

In a previous post, I outlined various Tips for Learning a Dialect or Accent, and my first suggestion is that actors be proactive in their accent education, or—more simply—to “learn the dialect before you need it.”


While actors seeking the services of a dialect coach have typically selected a handful of dialects they wish to learn, there is often doubt surrounding what choices would best serve their career. When first working with a new client, I always have a conversation about their dialect and accent goals.


In this article I aim to demystify the process of selecting the best dialects and accents for an actor’s resume.



PARENT DIALECTS OF ENGLISH


Any English-speaking actor should first focus on mastering what I consider the two “parent” dialects of English: General American (GenAm) and British Received Pronunciation (RP). These two dialects are some of the most frequently requested by casting directors.


One reason for their popularity is they are intended to be region-less – someone with a GenAm dialect could be from Colorado, or Florida, or Washington. RP speakers might reside in London, or Yorkshire, or Edinburgh. They are also associated with a heightened sense of status, indicating education, power, or wealth – traits that may be crucial for the character.


More importantly, if you can master the sounds of these two dialects, you are well on your way to unlocking a multitude of other dialects and accents of English. While GenAm is naturally related to all dialects in the United States, RP contains features present in dozens of global English dialects, due to England’s colonialist history.



UTILIZE YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY


Have you ever watched an actor portray a character that was supposed to hail from your hometown, but they failed to capture the nuance of the dialect? Maybe you couldn’t exactly express why, but you knew something was off. Your ear is naturally attuned to the sounds you grew up with, regardless of whether you know how to express those features.


Even if you do not naturally speak with a thick version of the dialect associated with your region (or perhaps your region does not have a strong accent to begin with), you may be able to convincingly imitate relatives or friends who do have a thick dialect. At the very least, you likely have some great primary resources in your immediate circle whom you can study. If you have a cousin from Chicago with a heavy accent, why wouldn’t you utilize that person as a resource and figure out their dialect?



FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACCENTS


If someone met you at an international airport, what language would they assume you spoke before you ever opened your mouth? Where would they think you were from, or were headed? The answer to these questions might help you decide on an accent to list on your resume.


If you do speak a language other than English, you should learn a regional accent or two associated with that language. If you need to speak French for an audition, there is a good chance your character may also have to speak English with a French accent at some point in the script.


Despite being proficient at a language other than English, multi-lingual actors are not always skilled at the accents associated with the language. They have more exposure to the sounds of a language, which makes the bar to proficiency seem higher. However, it’s that exact familiarity that should encourage you to learn the accent, not shy away from it. Your ear is already more attuned to the unique sounds of the language, and those different sounds will often be present in the accented English. In short, you have a leg up – why not use it?



TACTFULLY TYPECASTING


As an actor, you’ve likely asked yourself the all-important question: “What’s my type?” Can I play the “girl next door,” the “gruff cop,” the “goofy best friend?” Every person embodies countless combinations of character traits that translate well to screen.


When you think about the character types you can play, ask yourself if there are any dialects or accents associated with them. The soccer-mom may invoke a Midwestern accent. The tough-guy mafia type might benefit from a New York or Italian accent. The young ingenue might require a British dialect reminiscent of a fairytale.


Dealing with stereotypes like this can be problematic, but ‑good or bad‑ certain tropes are still relied on heavily in film and television. That’s why it is especially important that actors make ethical choices when choosing dialects and accents to study. Be respectful of other cultures when considering what you want to portray on screen, and the best way to do that is by putting in the work. Do not rely on an exaggerated caricature based on stereotypes to net you the role.



HERITAGE


Consider your ethnicity and familial history in your choices. Is your father from Britain and your mother from Ghana? You might want to learn one of many British dialects and a Ghanaian dialect. Are you ethnically Chinese? A Chinese accent of English might give you more casting opportunity.


That said, it is common to feel frustrated when asked to perform a dialect or accent based on your appearance for a role that may feel disrespectful of your culture, an occurrence that happens far too often in this line of work. However, excelling at such dialects or accents gives you the chance to do your heritage justice with an honest and authentic performance.


This should go without saying, but white actors likely do not need to preemptively learn a Jamaican accent. That is not to say that there are not white people in Jamaica, and I’m certain our industry will continue writing roles that rely on intentionally skewering certain dialects and accents for comedic effect . . . but I guarantee your time would be better spent learning a more appropriate dialect for your resume.



FOLLOW THE TRENDS


A good actor should always be researching what projects are currently casting, and doing so will help you spot trends in dialects and accents that are frequently needed.


There are many “old staples” that will always be popular. Fantasy projects frequently rely on British RP for the antagonists. Westerns will utilize a Southern accent. There’s a good chance any procedural cop drama is going to be set in New York and need a New York accent. Doing your homework in the form of watching lots of TV and films, and frequently reading casting breakdowns, will give you a good awareness of what dialects are consistently needed.


Still, it’s important to remember that trends can be fleeting – so be careful where you invest your time. I’m sure in the late 2000s with the popularity of Blood Diamond and District 9, many actors felt it imperative to learn a South African dialect, but you don’t see too many projects asking for those dialects today. At the time of writing this article, Mare of Easttown garnered lots of buzz (both good and bad) surrounding the Philadelphia accent spoken by its characters, but that does not mean there will be a spike in demand for it.


CHECK WITH YOUR REPS


If you have representation in the form of an agent or manager, ask them what their “wish list” of dialects is for you. They analyze casting breakdowns all day long, and they will undoubtedly have an opinion about what will improve your marketability. They should also be familiar with who on their roster is skilled in certain dialects, and they may have some surprising gaps that they would love to have you fill in.


Plus, by asking for your rep’s input, you will show them you are interested in dialect and accent work, and they may start to consider you for those breakdowns where they would not have previously.



Ultimately, I recommend every actor endeavors to master at least the following four dialects or accents on their resume to improve their casting opportunities:


· a standard dialect of English (GenAm or RP, if not both)

· a regional dialect (based on where you were raised)

· a foreign language accent (French, German, etc.)

· a type-based dialect (based on character type, your appearance, or heritage)



Still unsure what dialects and accents you should learn? Have lingering questions?

Schedule a free 15-minute consultation and we can chat about it!

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