Received Pronunciation

n. A pronunciation of British English, originally based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England and characteristic of the English spoken at private boarding schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Until the late 1900s, it was the standard form of English used in British broadcasting. Also called Received Standard.

Received Pronunciation

n (Phonetics & Phonology) the accent of standard Southern British English. Abbreviation: RP

Received′ Pronuncia′tion

n. a pronunciation of British English derived from the educated speech of S England, traditionally used in the public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge universities and widely used in broadcasting. Abbr.: RP [1865–70]

Thesaurus

Noun

Received Pronunciation - the approved pronunciation of British English; originally based on the King's English as spoken at public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities (and widely accepted elsewhere in Britain); until recently it was the pronunciation of English used in British broadcastingEnglish, English language - an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countriesorthoepy, pronunciation - the way a word or a language is customarily spoken; "the pronunciation of Chinese is difficult for foreigners"; "that is the correct pronunciation"

Translations

Received Pronunciation

An accent of British English derived from that of the British upper class in the early 20th century. It is commonly used in public broadcasting, as well as in schools such as Oxford and Cambridge. If you want people to take you seriously, you need to lose your country accent and adopt the Received Pronunciation. Studying at Cambridge has caused me to start speaking in the Received Pronunciation.See also: received

received pronunciation

The standard accent of British English, which is typically spoken in the south of England. While RP is not intrinsically better than other regional accents, it is typically the accent native to, or adopted by, Britons with power, money, education and influence, a tendency that began in the early 20th century. It is the accent spoken or adopted by most doctors in the UK.

Received Pronunciation