The principal types of English pronunciation and the status of RP in English. The relationship between the principal types of English pronunciation and their dialects.

The principal types of English pronunciation and the status of RP in English. The relationship between the principal types of English pronunciation and their dialects.

 I. General remarks

 1. Literary and local types of pronunciation

 2. The orthoepic teaching norms of English pronunciation

 II. English pronunciation in Great Britain

 1.RP as the literary variant of English

 2.The choice of RP as the teaching norm

 3.The Eastern type of pronunciation

 4.The Southern type of pronunciation

 5.The Western General American type of pronunciation

National standards undergo constant changes due to various internal and external factors. Pronunciation, above all, is subject to all kinds of innovations. Therefore the national variants of English differ primarily in sound, stress, and intonation. It is wellknown that there are countries with more than one national language, the most common case being the existence of two national languages on the same territory. For this Canada will be an example, where two different languages – English and French – form the repertoire of the community. In this case scholars speak about bilingualism in contrast to monolingualism typical of a country with one national language. Here arises the problem of interference, that is "linguistic disturbance which results from two languages (or dialects), coming into contact in a specific situation". Every national variety of the language falls into territorial or regional dialects. Dialects are distinguished from each other by differences in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. When we refer to varieties in pronunciation only, we use the word "accent". So local accents may have many features of pronunciation in common and consequently are grouped into territorial or area accents.

In due course, RP came to sybolize a person's high position in society. During the 19th century, it became the accent of public schools, such as Eton and Harrow, and was soon the main sign that a speaker had received a good education. It spread rapidly throughout the Civil Service of the British Empire and the armed forces, and became the voice of authority and power. Because it was a regionally 'neutral' accent, and was thought to be more widely understood than any regional accent, it came to adopted by the BBC, when radio broadcasting began in the 1920s. During WW2, it became linked in many minds with the voice of freedom, and the notion of a "BBC pronunciation" grew. Today, with the breakdown of rigid divisions between social classes and the development of the mass media, RP is no longer the preserve of a social elite. It is best described as an "educated" accent - though "accents" would be more precise, for there are several varieties. The most widely used is that generally heard on the BBC; but there are also conservative and trend-setting forms. The former is found in many older establishment speakers. The latter is usually associated with certain social and professional groups - in particular, the voice of the London upwardly mobile ("the Sloane Rangers") in the 1980s.