English Audio: Speech & Pronunciation

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:38:45 GMT

John Hillerman in the film "What's Up Doc" as the hotel manager used mid- atlantic, As Higgins in "Magnum" he used receive pronuncitation. Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston in his radio performance on the "Shadow" series used mid atlantic, one of the most beautiful I have heard. Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III lampooned mid-atlantic in Gilligan's Island" Franklin Roosevelt had a very thick mid atlantic. Walter Chronkite used mid western standard. Seth MacFarland has the best AND funniest received pronunciation from a non native as Stewie in "Family Guy.

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

AlpheccaStars — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:27:33 GMT

Patrick: Well, the thread is really answered, and is more than a year old. Our new software (implemented about a month ago) has a new and slightly irregular definition of "unanswered." It does not mean "this thread has no replies," but "no one has nominated a best answer". We certainly don't go back to the thousands of old threads to pick the "best answers". This new definition has been challenged by the moderators and teachers alike, so is likely to be reverted to the previous definition ("no replies" when the site programmers have the time to make the change. We invite you to register at the Forums, so you can post without moderator review. Cheers! A- s

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:18:13 GMT

I noticed that this question is tagged as unanswered. Received pronunciation is so named because it was 'received by', i.e. taught to public school pupils and RADA pupils. ( RADA = Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts ). You can hear example in most British movies made before about 1960. Most notably, in black and white WWII movies, there are two nain categories of accent: officers and men. The higher the rank, the more likely the actor is to be using received pronunciation. The term 'received pronunciation' was first used, I believe, by the phonetician Daniel Jones. As for 'mid-atlantic' pronunciation, this is also best observed in films. British actors would learn the American accent and American actors would...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Rex Harrison was indeed from Huyton, which most Huyton people consider to be "in Liverpool". For further information and images if Huyton past and present, check out www,huytontimes.co.uk

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Zerox — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Anonymous wrote: It really bugs me the way Americans say a 'British' accent because more than one country makes up Britain, there is England, Scotland, and Wales, all of which have very different accents. Then of course all three countries have many regional accents which are again very different. I think I know what is ment when it is said I'm a friends fan and I know the episode where Ross puts on a 'British' accent so I presume that's what your refering to, but very few people in England actually speak like that. I believe I don't have an accent, I'm from the South West so had a rather 'farmer' accent but neither of my parents were from the area so I managed to get rid of that pretty quick, I can still put the Dorset accent on...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:53:40 GMT

It really bugs me the way Americans say a 'British' accent because more than one country makes up Britain, there is England, Scotland, and Wales, all of which have very different accents. Then of course all three countries have many regional accents which are again very different. I think I know what is ment when it is said I'm a friends fan and I know the episode where Ross puts on a 'British' accent so I presume that's what your refering to, but very few people in England actually speak like that. I believe I don't have an accent, I'm from the South West so had a rather 'farmer' accent but neither of my parents were from the area so I managed to get rid of that pretty quick, I can still put the Dorset accent on when I want to but...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Jpmiles — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:53:40 GMT

There's a film starring Tom Cruise. He portrays a man from Ireland. He gets into fights for money but I don't remember the name of the film. I really didn't like his Irish accent. As for Dick Van D***, that was dreadful.

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Colombo — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:53:40 GMT

Tallulah Tam wrote: I feel that Alan Jay Lerner was not so concerned about his own grammar when he wrote the song, he insults the intelligence of the audience by using the word "hung" incorrectly, especially when putting the words into the mouth of Professor Higgins who as I said, should, and most likely would, have known better. Also the rhyming is bad. Henry, 'Look at her, a prisoner of the gutter, Condemned by every syllable she ever uttered. By law she should be taken out and hung, For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue.' I would modestly suggest:- Look at her, a prisoner of the gutter, Condemned by every syllable to utter. By law she should be taken out to hang For the cold-blooded murder of the English...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Tallulah Tam — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Hello Julie, That was a message copied from another forum, not my message, but I did think it was interesting. I have actually never done a comparison between the two myself. It is so long since I saw My Fair Lady and even longer since I read Pygmalion, I would have to read it again to discuss the details.

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

julielai — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Tallulah Tam wrote: The film version of the musical sensation, 1964's "My Fair Lady" was unfortunate because it befell the rather common problem faced by properties that become too beloved and well known. Instead of finding it's own voice as a film, the producers (and pretty much everyone else involved including the cast) maintained a "safe" course not daring to divert from the source material. On the contrary, I don't think "My Fair Lady" is faithful to the play. Shaw was so repulsed by the idea of a romance between Higgins and Eliza he wrote a sequel to tell us what the ending is supposed to be.

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Tallulah Tam — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:53:40 GMT

I have not seen the film myself, but I have reproduced here a message from the IMDb message board about the Pygmalion film which I thought was interesting comment, (even though its off topic Mr Micawber). User Comments: 3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful:- Classic without being Pretentious , 11 August 2003 Author: chconnol from New York, N.Y. The film version of the musical sensation, 1964's "My Fair Lady" was unfortunate because it befell the rather common problem faced by properties that become too beloved and well known. Instead of finding it's own voice as a film, the producers (and pretty much everyone else involved including the cast) maintained a "safe" course not daring to divert from...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Tallulah Tam — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

You bring up so many points in your message Colombo. The grammatical points I will leave for someone else to answer since I am not very hot on grammar as you will see from my spat with the Gurus some time ago. I am quite good at conversation though and would like to hold a discussion with you. I have chosen to address "poetic licence" from your first paragraph. I feel that Alan Jay Lerner was not so concerned about his own grammar when he wrote the song, he insults the intelligence of the audience by using the word "hung" incorrectly, especially when putting the words into the mouth of Professor Higgins who as I said, should, and most likely would , have known better. Also the rhyming is bad. Henry, 'Look at her, a prisoner...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

julielai — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:53:40 GMT

Tallulah Tam wrote: I don't know whether Henry's speech was written by George Bernard Shaw in Pygmalion, or whether it was especially written by another author for My Fair Lady, (perhaps Mr Pedantic could help out here) but the cantabile rhythm of the sentence you quoted "I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be drilling than to ever let a woman in my life." suggests that it was written to be sung. (or spoken by Rex Harrison) I don't think Pygmalion is meant to be sung, Tallulah. I'm nearly certain that is not written by Shaw, though I read the play quite a while back and my memory is slipping....

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Colombo — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Hi Tallulah Tam, Yes, as you suspected, the line I copied belongs to a song (I won't go so far as to say it's "sung" by Rex Harrison), as in the case of the hung sentence, and I think both of them were written by Alan Jay Lerner for his and Loewe's "Pygmalion" (I don't remember seeing these song lines in Shaw's text). I suppose that it could be called poetic licence, but it sounded kind of ungrammatical to me. Equally as is reiterative, isn't it? But also, I cannot see any point in the word than , considering that as should take as , shouldn't it? (To add just one more thing, I had never seen willing for before, although that doesn't mean anything, it may be correct even though I don't know it ) Going back to the matter of Higgins'...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Tallulah Tam — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Hello Colombo, It is such a long time since anyone addressed me in this forum, I was quite taken aback. I don't know whether Henry's speech was written by George Bernard Shaw in Pygmalion, or whether it was especially written by another author for My Fair Lady, (perhaps Mr Pedantic could help out here) but the cantabile rhythm of the sentence you quoted "I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be drilling than to ever let a woman in my life." suggests that it was written to be sung. (or spoken by Rex Harrison) I'd be equally WILLING For a dentist to be DRILLING Than to ever let a woman in my life. Boom boom It does make sense, you know what he means, but obviously it is not normal speech. P.S. The word hung (for...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Colombo — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Tallulah Tam wrote: Here is a lament by Professor Higgins, (who should have known better than to use the word "hung " in that particular context) on the lack of parity in spoken English. (By the way, doesn't Higgins' sentence "I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be drilling than to ever let a woman in my life" sound queer, too?) Speaking of different British accents, can anybody tell me whether George Harrison's accent is different from that of the other Beatles? Althouhg I notice similarities it seems a little different to me, both singing and speaking. I cannot tell whether it's a matter of how he pronounces certain sounds, or of the intonation of the whole sentences, but I like his accent more than the...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Received Pronunciation or RP is a term used to describe the "very proper British accent". It is only actually spoken by about ten percent of the British population. Some examples are most recent Prime Ministers, the Royal family and many BBC radio comentators. I am sure you can find more detailed information if you search online. Here is the definition of Mid-Atlantic English from Wikipedia online; there is a wealth of other information on the definition page that you may want to read. Mid-Atlantic English describes a version of the English language which is neither predominantly American or British in usage. It is also used to describe various forms of North American speech that have assimilated some British pronunciations....

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Hi , thanks Just i want to know this word pronunciation ( anonymous ) ok if possiable to tell me it pronunciation thanks alot once again

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:53:40 GMT

I think a good example of an American using a British accent is Jennifer Ehle in the 1995 mini-series version of Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth).

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Tallulah Tam — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Here is a lament by Professor Higgins, (who should have known better than to use the word "hung " in that particular context) on the lack of parity in spoken English. Henry, 'Look at her, a prisoner of the gutter, Condemned by every syllable she ever uttered. By law she should be taken out and hung, For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue.' Eliza, 'Aaoooww! Henry, ( imitating her) 'Aaoooww! Heaven's! What a noise! This is what the British population, Calls an elementary education. Pickering 'Oh, Counsel, I think you picked a poor example. Henry Did I? Hear them down in Soho square, Dropping "h's" everywhere. Speaking English anyway they like. You sir, did you go to school? Man 'Wadaya tike me for, a...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

LeicesterLad — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:53:40 GMT

I don't think I'd recommend learning the Newcastle accent if you want to learn a British regional accent. Its often reckoned to be one of the most difficult of accents to understand - not only for non British, but for many British themselves! There are both vowel and consonant sounds that are unique to the area, one of the most distinctive being how they say the "t" sound in a word like "butter". Try simultaneously combining a glottal stop (creating a "vowel" by closing the throat) with saying the letter "d". That's the best way I can describe it! The only other language group I know that use anything like this sound are the south east Asian languages of Malaysia and Indonesia - though a language expert may know others. I think the...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Bluealbatross — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:53:40 GMT

Hi hello!!! I guess you are a British native speaker!! I'm from Mexico and I'm delighted with British English mainly the southeast England accent...but wait a couple of days ago I watched the film Millions by Danny Boyle and I had a crush on this accent! It's supposed to be Newcastle accent but the way they pronounce "poor" (pooe) or Obviously (ovvieously) caught my attention!! They donot pronouce ending "R's" so soft middle "R's". and remark vowels in a clearway. They pronounced in a kind of poshly way and the intonation is sophisticated in comparison to the Billy Elliot characters film!! Tell me what do you think about the newcastle accent!!! it is worth to try to practice it? How is this accent regarded in the island! Thank...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Sam C — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:53:40 GMT

LeicesterLad wrote: Interesting - the auto editor has blanked out Dick's surname, but not his first name! so we - on a language discussion board, no less - can discuss penises and arseholes (metaphorically, as in 'he's a dick!'), but not ditches or stone walls? or is it the juxtaposition it takes exception to? sam, winding down on friday

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

LeicesterLad — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:53:40 GMT

Interesting - the auto editor has blanked out Dick's surname, but not his first name!

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

LeicesterLad — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:53:40 GMT

This is an interesting one LanguageLover. The success of American actors trying a British accent ranges from the impressive to the truly awful! I could name several in the latter category - Including Dick Van ***'s legendary attempt at Cockney in "Meery Porpins" (Mary Poppins) and Mel Gibson was a bit dodgy with his Scottish accent in Braveheart. When Mel does an English accent he is more succesful - I think this is partly because of his Australian upbrining (Mel is pretty much "bilingual" in US/Australian English), and Australians seem to find an English accent easier to master because its not so different from their own. The worst "Americans doing British" usually appear in American sitcoms, where a US actor is used to play a Brit....

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

LanguageLover — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Sorry LeicesterLad, I hadn't go through the whole article myself! Just the names had caught my eyes. Sam Neill, I would pay more attention to his accent next time I see him in a movie. What do you think about American actors putting on British accent in their movie? Like Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma, Great Expectations, ..., or Mel Gibson in The Bounty, or others? How British they sound to you? I mean how successful they are in their attempt of speaking with a British accent?

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

LeicesterLad — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Hmm, LanguageLover, I think the Wiki article suggests that the actors you listed actually promoted American dialect rather than speaking mid-Atlantic English - to a Brit like me they all sound especially American! I agree with the article that Christopher Plummer has a mid-Atlantic accent. As a native Brit, its quite hard for me to tell which side of the Atlantic he comes from! A more recent actor I'd include in this category is Sam Neill. He was born in Northern Ireland, but brought up in New Zealand and has homes in the US, Australia and NZ. He has played New Zealanders, Australians, Brits, Americans - in fact characters from most of the English speaking world! His accent is intriguingly hard to place. Listen to him in a film like...

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:53:40 GMT

Could You use a little smaller font in your text, please?

Re: Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

LanguageLover — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Welcome to the Forums, Bluealbatros, Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language, sometimes defined as the "educated spoken English of southeastern England". According to the Fowler's Modern English Usage (1965), the term is "the Received Pronunciation". If you want a more in-dept information about it, visit the Wikipedia website: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation Mid-Atlantic English describes a version of the English language which is neither predominantly

Received Pronunciation & Mid Atlantic English

Bluealbatross — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:53:40 GMT

Could someone give me some info about Received Pronunciation, please! What does it mean? It is a term used only for people who speak a native language? What is Mid-Atlantic English? Is a kind of refined american accent? like the accent from PhD's in Harvard? I'm confused! Can you give me an example of someone who speak this accent? Thank ever so much!!!