HEIGHTENED RP

ACCENT
Modified from ‘How To Do Accents’

“‘Received Pronunciation’ was a term coined in1869 by linguist A.J. Ellis.

Before 1870 many eminent Victorians retained they regional accents, but
then the Education Act of 1870 followed. The act was pioneered through
Parliament by W.E. Forster, and would establish an English Public school
that, among other criteria, would educate children with ‘one standard
accent’. This became associated with the ‘Establishment’, or something to
aspire and emulate, particularly in the middle classes.

RP is often believed to be based on southern accents, but although is

often more of a social class than geography.
The heightened/traditional forms of RP specify the societal upper class of
the turn of the 20th century, and was influenced by the accents of the
Royal Family and aristocracy. It may be worth mentioning that from 1714
until the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, the British Royal Family were all
from the House of Hanover and many of them spoke only Hanoverian
German, or were bilingual. This will have an effect on the quality of the
English sound that was established at the time, and vowels and consonants
often had a short, clipped quality. The accent established through this
breakdown began to formalise in the 1920s until the 1970s, which was
used primarily in the education system and BBC. This was originally simply
called ‘RP’ — ‘received’ being an old-fashioned term for ‘accepted’.”

(How To Do Accents: RP, Jan Hayden Rowles and Edda Sharpe.)

ZONE

1-2

The sound aims to centre the activity

behind the top teeth. This is
reminiscent of the “lips, teeth, tip of
the tongue” exercise.
FOUNDATIONS

Jaws and Cheeks: Loosely maintain space behind back teeth and back of
mouth at all times. No spread in the cheeks.

Lips: Slight impulse to pout. No spreading.

Tongue: Tongue lies forward in the mouth, the tip resting against the
bottom teeth. It is flexible and ready to work, and the back tongue must be
flexible.

PROSODIC FEATURES

Laban Actions: Rapid Dabs and Glides on Landing Points.

Direction of sound: Forward like a wave.

Tone: Bright with an underlying warmth, like a harp.

CONSONANTS

R
Heightened RP is non-rhotic. The bend and free /r/ will be used
throughout the accent, except in the intervocalic position, which will utilise
an alveolar tap [ɾ]. The /r/ is ‘dropped’ when in a final position, or when a
consonant follows.

MARGARET AND GERRY WERE VERY

ROWDY AFTER DRINKING THE
TERRIBLE WATER.
Where Initial ‘R Middle ‘R’ (intervocalic) Ending ‘R’

How Bend & Free Tapped or Bend & Free Dropped

(less Heightened option)
Example Red, rules, Very, Merry, Here I go, Fear, Chair, sure,
Ralph, running, Terribly, American flower, further,
rainbow mother, father
“Very merry, here I go!”

“I am terribly sorry.’

L
RP varieties employ a ‘light’ or alveolar /l/ and ‘dark’ or velar /l/. The
‘light’ L is used in the initial position, , made with the tip of the tongue
tapping on the alveolar ridge — the place just behind the gum ridge.
Dark /l/ initiates with the back of the tongue, retracting towards the molars.

WORDS Larry, Lazy, Lamb, Slept, Peacefully, Field, Hailstones, Fell

SENTENCE Larry the lazy lamb slept peacefully —- in the field until
hailstones fell.
T/D
Tip of the tongue onto the gum-ridge, without jaw tension. A light, delicate
tap. All medial position t/d will be pronounced in this manner.

WORDS Do, Take, Dotty, Ted, Better, Bit, Butter, Tea, Toast

SENTENCE Do take Dotty and Ted a better bit of butter for their tea and
toast.

WH
Distinguish words with /wh/ by adding aspiration, or additional air, similar
to adding an /h/ prior.

WORDS Why, When, What, Where, Which, Whether

COMPARISON what— wat, where - wear, why - Y, which - witch,

whether - weather

SENTENCE Whether the weather is hot or not, which witch is it?

YOO
A “yod” or [j] glide after all gum-ridge and dental consonants.

WORDS Lewed, Presumed, Duty, Suitable, Tune, Enthusiasm

SENTENCE Rather than be lewd, he presumed it was his duty to play a

suitable tune with enthusiasm.
VOWELS/DIPHTHONGS
There are three types of adjustments made in this accent — FLATTEN &
RAISE, ROUND, LENGTHEN, and GLIDE.

1. FLATTEN & RAISE

KIT
Closer to the “FLEECE” vowel in RP. Keep sound bright.

WORDS Ship, listed, busy, women, built, pretty, bridge, dim, mid,
winter.

SENTENCE The ship listed as busy women built a pretty bridge in the
dim mid-winter.

DRESS
Closer to the “KIT” vowel in RP. Keep sound bright.

WORDS Sweat, Jeff, Edged, Head, Thames, Effort, Best, Friend,

Treacherous, Bell, Death.

SENTENCE In a sweat (swit), Jeff (Jiff) edged (idged) his head (hid)
into the Thames (Tims) in an effort (iffort) to save his best
(bist) friend (frind) from the treacherous (tricherous) bell
(bill) of death (dith).

TRAP
1920-1960s Upper Class: Flattened. Imagine you are saying “TREP”.
Gravitates towards a contemporary RP “DRESS” set.

Possible modification for musicals such as Mary Poppins and Secret

Garden: Narrowed through the lips, middle mouth space prominent. Similar
to Contemporary Varieties.

WORDS Cat, Dashed, Catch, Ham, That, Dangled, Bag.

SENTENCE The cat (ket) dashed (deshed) to catch (ketch) the ham
(hem) that (thet) dangled (dengled) from the bag (beg).

GOAT-GOAL
Flattened and merged. Start from a slightly further forward tongue position,
rounding gently and smoothly back to FOOT set. In contemporary RP, the
GOAL set is often adjusted slightly to include the /l/. This is not present in
upper class varieties. The same sound throughout.

WORDS Joan, coaxed, beau, Owen, grow, though, loathed, over,

bolder, controlling, soldiers.

SENTENCE Joan coaxed her beau, Owen, to grow bolder, though she
loathed over-controlling soldiers.

2. ROUND

FOOT
Back of tongue is raised up high and backed. Will have a ‘darker’ quality
the further into upper class varieties, and rounded through the lip. Slight
element of “GOOSE” vowel.

WORDS Good, Cookery, Books, Push, Looks, Would, Full, Sugar

SENTENCE If good cookery books could push their looks they would
never be full of sugar.
LOT
Rounded and backed.

WORDS Tom, Honestly, Acknowledged, Top, Notch, Swan, Dodge,

Yacht

SENTENCE Tom honestly acknowledged how top-notch the swan was

to dodge the yacht.

THOUGHT-NORTH-FORCE
Rounded and backed.

WORDS Paul, applauded, naughty, daughters, George, cavorted, of,

course, porter, door.

SENTENCE Paul applauded George as they cavorted with the porter

through the door.

MOUTH
Rounded and backed.

WORDS Loud, Crowd, South, County, Oust, Clown, Out, Town,

Mouth.

SENTENCE The loud crowd, from south of the county, wanted to oust
the clown.
3. LENGTHEN

BATH/PALM/START
Merged, relaxed lips/cheeks, vertical and an ‘AH’ quality.

WORDS Francis, calf, dance, brahms, sonata, calm, Charles, Star,

Party.

SENTENCE Francis loved Brahms sonata, as well as looking at the

starts at parties.

STRUT

Backed, open and vertical. Sprinkle a tiny bit of ‘AH’ into the sound.

WORDS Dull, young, monks, rushed, flood, hunt, buds, lovely,

buttercup.

SENTENCE The dull young monks rushed in a flood to hunt the buds
of the lovely buttercup.

NURSE
Sound feels forward towards top lip, slight spread through lip as if towards
the beginning of “DRESS” vowel in RP.

WORDS Pearl, Urged, Myrtle, Attorney, Rehearse, Certain, Circus,

Turn, Courteous, Worm, Turned.

SENTENCE Pearl urged Myrtle’s attorney to rehearse a certain circus

turn before the courteous worm turned.
4. GLIDE

NEAR & SQUARE & TOUR

Particularly for Upper Class 1920-1960s, A slide into the schwa at the end.

WORDS Maria, sincere, feared, fierce, pears, bears, fairly, poor,

insurance, tourists, sure, Europe.

SENTENCE Maria was sincere about her career in pears, which were
scarce, particularly as tourists took them from cashiers.

‘SMOOTHING’

When there is a triphthong with a /j/ or /w/ in the middle of the word,
such as ‘FIRE’ or ‘POWER’, this becomes smoothed away, or eliminated as
part of the sound.

FIRE “fa-i-uh” - “fa-uh”

POWER “pa-oo-uh” - “pa-uh”

WORDS Going, Seeing, Power, Trying, Annoying, Playing, Drawing,

Allowing.

‘ING’ and ‘ER’ endings also smooth.

WORDS Player, lawyer, mower, higher, tower, fleeing, drawing,

doing, playing, bowing, lying, annoying.
PARAGRAPH We were going to a party in Lower Loxley,

bowling along with considerable power, trying

to get to it on time. ‘Who are we seeing

there?” I asked. “Oh, some very annoying

people” he answered. “There’ll be Howard, the

incessant card player and my Aunt the lawyer,

doing her usual party piece. They’ll be in the

drawing room, gathered around the fire,

chewing the fat, playing “who is the smartest”,

allowing no one else to get a word in. How

tiresome!
EXCERPT: AN IDEAL HUSBAND by Oscar Wilde

mrs. cheveley. Quite seriously. I want to talk to you about a great political and
financial scheme, about this Argentine Canal Company, in fact.

sir robert chiltern. What a tedious, practical subject for you to talk about,
Mrs. Cheveley!

mrs. cheveley. Oh, I like tedious, practical subjects. What I don’t like are
tedious, practical people. There is a wide difference. Besides, you are
interested, I know, in International Canal schemes. You were Lord Radley’s
secretary, weren’t you, when the Government bought the Suez Canal shares?

sir robert chiltern. Yes. But the Suez Canal was a very great and splendid
undertaking. It gave us our direct route to India. It had imperial value. It was
necessary that we should have control. This Argentine scheme is a
commonplace Stock Exchange swindle.

mrs. cheveley. A speculation, Sir Robert! A brilliant, daring speculation.

sir robert chiltern. Believe me, Mrs. Cheveley, it is a swindle. Let us call
things by their proper names. It makes matters simpler. We have all the
information about it at the Foreign Office. In fact, I sent out a special
Commission to inquire into the matter privately, and they report that the works
are hardly begun, and as for the money already subscribed, no one seems to
know what has become of it. The whole thing is a second Panama, and with not
a quarter of the chance of success that miserable affair ever had. I hope you
have not invested in it. I am sure you are far too clever to have done that.

mrs. cheveley. I have invested very largely in it.

sir robert chiltern. Who could have advised you to do such a foolish thing?
mrs. cheveley. Your old friend—and mine.

sir robert chiltern. Who?

mrs. cheveley. Baron Arnheim.

sir robert chiltern. [Frowning.] Ah! yes. I remember hearing, at the time of
his death, that he had been mixed up in the whole affair.

mrs. cheveley. It was his last romance. His last but one, to do him justice.

sir robert chiltern. [Rising.] But you have not seen my Corots yet. They are
in the music-room. Corots seem to go with music, don’t they? May I show
them to you?

mrs. cheveley. [Shaking her head.] I am not in a mood to-night for silver
twilights, or rose-pink dawns. I want to talk business. [Motions to him with her
fan to sit down again beside her.]

sir robert chiltern. I fear I have no advice to give you, Mrs. Cheveley, except
to interest yourself in something less dangerous. The success of the Canal
depends, of course, on the attitude of England, and I am going to lay the report
of the Commissioners before the House to-morrow night.

mrs. cheveley. That you must not do. In your own interests, Sir Robert, to say
nothing of mine, you must not do that.

sir robert chiltern. [Looking at her in wonder.] In my own interests? My

dear Mrs. Cheveley, what do you mean? [Sits down beside her.]
mrs. cheveley. Sir Robert, I will be quite frank with you. I want you to
withdraw the report that you had intended to lay before the House, on the
ground that you have reasons to believe that the Commissioners have been
prejudiced or misinformed, or something. Then I want you to say a few words
to the effect that the Government is going to reconsider the question, and that
you have reason to believe that the Canal, if completed, will be of great
international value. You know the sort of things ministers say in cases of this
kind. A few ordinary platitudes will do. In modern life nothing produces such
an effect as a good platitude. It makes the whole world kin. Will you do that
for me?

sir robert chiltern. Mrs. Cheveley, you cannot be serious in making me such a
proposition!

mrs. cheveley. I am quite serious.