King’s College London Pre-Sessional Programme
Self-Study Reading: Accents
TASK
Read the texts, A Standard Dialect with Different Accents and Changing Attitudes to Accent, and
answer the questions that follow. You will be able to check your answers at the end.
Standard Dialect with Different Accents
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Within the British Isles many of the more fundamental differences of vocabulary and sentence
structure between the dialects of English have become eroded (not to mention, of course, the drastic
decline - sometimes active suppression - of Welsh and Gaelic). Often, all that remains as a kind of
historical residue of the original dialect is its distinctive mode of pronunciation - its accent. For this
reason- we now have a situation in which the standard dialect is spoken with many differing regional
accents. How is it that accents have survived the merging of dialects? One important factor is probably
mutual intelligibility. Groups who use different dialects but have some degree of contact with each
other will find ways of erasing the linguistic obstacles to mutual understanding, if they want to
communicate with each other and if they have need to do so. In this respect, accents are much less of
an obstacle to mutual understanding than basic differences in vocabulary and sentence structure. A
further factor that underpins the continuing vitality of accents is that of split reactions to prestige
forms. Basically, a large proportion of the working class, while recognizing the prestige value of certain
forms, none the less identifies strongly with the speech patterns of its own locality. In terms of accent
this leads to a cone- or pyramid-like distribution of various forms, a situation that for the British Isles
can be summed up in the following paragraph.
The prestige accent, known as Received Pronunciation (RP), had its historical origins in a dialect of
English associated particularly with the region stretching south-east from the Midlands down towards
London, but including the historic university cities of Cambridge and Oxford. It survived because of its
association with centres of power and influence. It was spoken by the merchant classes of London in
the fourteenth century, for example, and would have been familiar to students attending the universities
of Oxford and Cambridge in the Middle Ages. Its status as an important dialect was enhanced by its
use in government and official documents from about 1430 onwards. More recently, its association
since the nineteenth century with public schools helped to achieve special pre-eminence for its
distinctive patterns of pronunciation. Consequently, it is, for instance, the preferred form of
pronunciation for reading BBC news bulletins and for teaching English as a foreign and second
language; and this for the simple reason that, having lost its former regional affiliations, it is now the
most widely understood and spoken of all the accents within the British Isles. Its widespread and
typical use by members of the middle and upper classes guarantee it a prestige and status denied to the
more regionally marked accents. These latter forms have survived amongst those groups historically
less mobile, with less access to higher education and to jobs that entail permanent moves away from
their place of origin. Hence the conical nature of accent distribution: the higher up the social scale, the
more likely one is to find the single accent – RP; the lower down the social scale, the more likely one is
to find regional variation.
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The survival of regional accents does not, of course, preclude quite sharp judgments upon and
reactions to the forms that endure, often rationalized by reference to the way they sound. Thus, the
Birmingham accent, associated as it is with a large industrial conurbation, is often disliked (even by a
proportion of those who actually use it), and this negative reaction will be couched in terms of dislike
of its 'nasal whine'. On the other hand a much more positive reaction will commonly be registered for
the Southern Irish accent which will be praised for sounding 'soft' and 'warm'. Other accents with
similar ethnic or rural associations such as the Welsh, Scots and West Country accents will likewise
evoke positive judgements - the South Wales accent, for example, often being regarded as 'lilting' and
‘musical’. But despite the 'colourful' properties considered to reside in some of the regional accents,
the only accent that speakers generally think of as having absolute claims of ‘correctness’, whether or
not they like it, is RP.
Changing Attitudes to Accents
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The relative status of accents with respect to each other is, of course, not totally fixed and static. Just as
the alignment of the various groups and formations in society in relation to each other changes
constantly, so with patterns of pronunciation and our attitudes towards them. The range and role of
accents in the media probably provide quite sensitive indicators of more far-reaching changes taking
place in the wider society. For example, until the 1960s it was relatively unusual in British broadcasting
for any accent except RP to be used by ‘institutional' voices such as presenters, quiz hosts, introducers,
newsreaders, link persons, interviewers, etc. (Hence, of course, the currency of the term ‘BBC
English’). Since that time there have been structural changes within broadcasting itself that have
allowed access to a wider range of accent types (not to mention minority languages) through the
development of regional networks (BBC Wales. for instance, was established in 1964). This in itself
reflects a certain sensitivity on the part of the State to separate regional identities within the larger
society. But other kinds of socio-cultural and linguistic changes have filtered through into the overall
composition of broadcasting even at a national level. For instance, the transformation of popular
music in the 1960s - its partial alignment, with, and expression of - a distinctive 'youth’ or ‘counter’
culture, the popularity of the pirate radio stations - had fundamental consequences for what had been
known previously as the ‘music and light entertainment' sections of broadcasting. The emergence of
performers with some claim to working-class roots in large cities such as Liverpool and London (for
example, The Beatles and The Who), carrying with them in their speech clear marks of their origins,
conferred a limited respectability on accents which had hitherto thrived only as the hallmark of
individual comics or of comedy as a genre. Disc jockeys with working-class accents began to fill radio
time and these same accents began to be heard more frequently in drama and soap opera (for example,
television programmes such as Z-Cars and Coronation Street). The accents of the Celtic minorities had
always been minimally represented, but it is interesting to note the recent elevation of both North
Country (for example, Yorkshire) and Southern Irish accents to the relatively prestigious position of
chat show hosts and interviewers: Southern Irish in the persons of Henry Kelly, Frank Delaney and
Terry Wogan; North Country in the persons of Michael Parkinson, Russell Harty and Melvyn Bragg.
Only in the extreme conditions of wartime radio broadcasting did the BBC use a regional accent for
presenting the news. In the early years of the war, when it looked as if the Germans might invade,
Wilfrid Pickles - who spoke with a strong Yorkshire accent was moved south to London to read the
news. It was considered that the Germans might successfully mimic an RP-accented speaker for
propaganda purposes but that Wilfrid’s Yorkshire accent would defy imitation. Audience reaction was
mixed and the innovation only lasted as long as the fear of invasion. In peacetime the last bastions of
BBC TV to fall to regional accents will no doubt be Panorama and the Ten O'clock News; but then
probably to a Scots, Irish, Welsh or Yorkshire accent rather than once associated unambiguously with
one of the major industrial conurbations.
Use your own language to answer these questions. Do not copy directly from the text.
1. Give two reasons why different accents have survived in Britain.
2. Why is RP the accent generally preferred for teaching English as a foreign language?
3. What is the main difference in attitude to urban and non-urban accents?
4. When did the dominance of RP begin to loosen? Give one reason.
5. During the war, a man with a Yorkshire accent was employed to present the news instead of
RP because… (Circle one answer only.)
a. …the BBC had become sensitive to the socio-cultural difference and variation in accents
which existed in the UK.
b. …it was thought that the enemy would find it difficult to mimic a Yorkshire accent to
spread false information in the UK and influence people’s opinions.
c. …more people in the UK associated with and understood a Yorkshire accent than they
did RP.
6. What do the following words in the text refer to? Quote the exact words from the text.
a. It (in the text, A Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 20)
b. These latter forms (in the text, A Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 30)
c. This (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 10)
d. them (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 18)
e. the innovation (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 32)
7. Define each of the following terms (given in italics) in your own words.
a. A further factor that underpins the continuing vitality of accents… (in the text, A
Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 11)
b. …and to jobs that entail permanent moves away from their place of origin… (in the
text, A Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 31)
c. …had fundamental consequences… (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 15)
d. …but it is interesting to note the recent elevation of both North Country… and
Southern Irish accents… (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 23)
e. ...with one of the major industrial conurbations. (in the text, Changing Attitudes to
Accent, line 35)
ANSWERS
1. Give two reasons why different accents have survived in Britain.
i.
ii.
iii.
While people who speak different dialects find it difficult to understand each
other, understanding someone with a different accent is less of a problem.
Although many working class people recognise that some forms of English have
a higher status, their own accent is an important part of their identity.
Working class groups tend to not have fewer opportunities to go to university
and/or to do jobs with which they have to travel, and so stay in the region
where they have grown up, hence maintaining the local accent.
2. Why is RP the accent generally preferred for teaching English as a foreign language?
Received pronunciation has a traditional and historical association with
centres of power and influence, with Oxford and Cambridge universities, with
London merchants, and with public schools. Its importance has meant that it has
lost its association with any particular region, and is therefore understood and
spoken more widely than any other accents in the UK – hence why it is preferred
in teaching EFL.
3. What is the main difference in attitude to urban and non-urban accents?
The author suggests that people generally like the sound of rural accents (such as
accents from southern Ireland, the (south-)west of England etc.), but have a
more negative reaction to accents from the cities (such as from Birmingham).
4. When did the dominance of RP begin to loosen? Give one reason.
Other accents began to gain in recognition alongside RP around the 1960s. One
reason for this was…
i. that the BBC began to recognise other accents, rather than insisting that news
readers and presenters spoke with RP (or ‘BBC English’).
ii. the way in which popular music changed and gave popularity to bands and
singers with working class backgrounds.
5. During the war, a man with a Yorkshire accent was employed to present the news instead of
RP because… (Circle one answer only.)
a. …the BBC had become sensitive to the socio-cultural difference and variation in accents
which existed in the UK.
b. …it was thought that the enemy would find it difficult to mimic a Yorkshire accent to spread
false information in the UK and influence people’s opinions.
c. …more people in the UK associated with and understood a Yorkshire accent than they did
RP.
6. What do the following words in the text refer to? Quote the exact words from the text.
a. It (in the text, A Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 20)
Received Pronunciation (RP)
b. These latter forms (in the text, A Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 30)
regionally marked accents
c. This (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 10)
broadcasting allowing a access to a wider range of accent-types through the
development of regional networks
d. them (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 18)
performers (with working-class roots)
e. the innovation (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 31)
using Wilfred Pickles to read the news with a Yorkshire accent to prevent
imitation by the Germans
7. Define each of the following terms (given in italics) in your own words.
a. A further factor that underpins the continuing vitality of accents… (in the text, A
Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 11)
existence / survival
b. …and to jobs that entail permanent moves away from their place of origin… (in the text, A
Standard Dialect with Different Accents, line 31)
involve / can mean
c. …had fundamental consequences… (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 15)
important
d. …but it is interesting to note the recent elevation of both North Country… and Southern Irish
accents… (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent, line 23)
rise / promotion
e. ...with one of the major industrial conurbations. (in the text, Changing Attitudes to Accent,
line 35)
cities