What is ‘RP’?

Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard for British English.

No, the Queen of England does not speak with an RP accent! Although her unique way of speaking has mellowed over the years, it’s a far cry from ‘Received Pronunciation’.

RP is regionally non-specific, so it doesn’t contain clues about a speaker’s geographic background.

In other words, when speaking with an RP accent there would be no non-standard grammatical constructions or localised vocabulary such as you would expect with a regional dialect and accent.

RP is more of an English accent than a British one, since you are less likely to find people speaking with an RP accent in regions like Scotland, Ireland or Wales.

RP is the English accent widely used for teaching English as a foreign language. It is also popular in the rest of the world for dubbed or re-voiced television, video and podcasts in English for overseas use.  The RP accent is the British accent most easily understood for people with English as a second or subsequent language.

If you’re looking for a versatile, clear RP voice for your production, listen to my demos and get in touch to chat about your project and how we can work together.