"perfect" english

RP English = Received Pronunciation English

RP English is popular among non-native learners of English as it is widely used for teaching as a foreign language. It also is the only correct and most beautiful way to learn English.

RP speakers can not be located geographically as it is not linked to an accent or a place.

Surprisingly, in the UK only 2% speaks RP English all the time.

The use of RP English by a speaker is a social signal rather than a geographical signal as it is a widely used term to describe the accent of the elite. It is used by the ruling and priviliged classes. It is also not a geographical signal, because it’s meant to hide the origin of it’s speaker.

The BBC chose this variety of English as its standard, because Lord Reith believed Standard English with an RP accent would be the most widely understood variety of English, both in the UK and overseas.

Someone with a Scottish accent can’t be called an RP speaker, as a, RP accent does not use any pronunciation pattern that allows one to make assumptions about where one is from in the UK.

varieties of RP English:

• conservative RP: used by older speaker and the aristocracy

• mainstream RP: desribes an accent that we might consider extremely neutral in terms of signalling the age, the occupation or the lifestyle of the speaker

• contemporary RP: used by the younger RP speakers

all however, are united by the fact that they don’t use any pronuncition patterns that allow one to make assumtions about where they are from in the UK.

Nowadays, every accent is virtually used, which causes for younger people to find it unnecessary to adapt their speech to RP English.