Evolution of the Queen's English

[BeatrixFan]

RP is still heard just as Birmingham accents are still around. The only differewnce is that the media isn't fronted by only RP accents.

[aldu]

ok, thank you beatrixfan!

[lilytornado]

Sorry, this might be a stupid question, but what is RP?

[BeatrixFan]

RP is "Recieved Pronunciation" and is the more technical name for the "Queen's English".

[Elise27]

Originally Posted by Madame Royale

Like in the Rolf Harris documentary (painting commissioned for her 80th) where asked if seeing herself age bothered her, she replied...'Naaahhh'.

that was rather shocking wasn't it but I quite enjoyed it, i dont think i would have ever imagined the queen saying 'naaahh". I wish there were a video on the net of that. I do wonder what else the queen says that we would never expect her to say.

[Queen Marie]

The simple fact is that the English language is a constantly evolving one.
This process is only speeding up, owing to television and globalisation, hence Her Majesty's seemingly quick descent into a "lower" form of English.
If we were to jump forward in time, just a few hundred years, we would have enormous trouble keeping up with a conversation in our own language!
In some ways it's a sad thing, as the Queen's English really is a lost art, but it's also interesting to study how English has changed over the centuries.

[CasiraghiTrio]

I don't know.... I still hear the same vowel pronunciations in her latest commonwealth speech. The same clipped, clenched speech of always for HM, at least I can't hear any difference.
I remember reading in Brian Hoey's book on Charles (the first one, at 30 or something) that Charles has mostly his father's voice and accent (obviously, of course) but his vowel sounds are his mother's. With Prince William, I used to hear the same Philip-Charles voice, only now William's is highly altered. Maybe his university years, stepping from the Etonian class to the upper middle class, is what did it.

[Al_bina]

The articles submitted by the members have broken my heart. Oh! My God! This isn’t happening!!!!
I admit that the language is an alive and ever-evolving structure, which is deeply affected by the environment at large (society, the sprit of times, and other developments). However, it is sad that URP tends to undergo rather unpleasant changes. I am trying so hard to acquire this veneer named the URP….

[Onassis Line]

The funniest thing is the image of Princes Harry and William teaching the Queen Mother to do the Ali G finger click and say "Booyakasha" or what ever the saying was. I remember watching them confess to doing so


Estuary English is a pet hate of mine, as is deep regional accents on television presenters these days. I mourn the days of crisp clear speech on the television and love the likes of Stephen Fry all the more, for his precise manner of speaking.

[Vanishing Lady]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

I remember that twenty-first birthday broadcast from South Africa, where "my whole life" sounded quite a bit like "may hale lafe." When she did that voice-over for the documentary about her life a few years ago, I remember being struck by how deep her voice was compared to the early broadcasts, where it was almost painfully high-pitched.

That happens because of the recording medium and how it changes over the years. If you have a tape of your voice from some years back, play it and listen to yourself -- your voice might sound a little higher.

Also, when you hear yourself talk, you are listening from the inside of your own head by convection (sound bouncing off the bones in your skull), so your perception of how you sound may be different from how you actually sound. It's always such a jolt to hear yourself recorded because recording isn't done by convection.

Another thing is the vocal cords do tend to stretch with age and use, making the voice seem lower as we get older -- this isn't true with everyone, but it does happen. Also, when she is more relaxed, her voice may be lower. I have a low voice myself, but when I need to speak up or into a microphone, it does go up in pitch a bit. The mechanics are fascinating -- I could be here all night.

On the topic of the relaxation of the Queen's English, it's partially due to evolution of the language itself, and partially due to societal relaxation and more of an attempt at egalitarianism...well, in public, anyway...

[selrahc4]

Even back in the day (1950's) when the Queen was being criticised for her high-pitched voice when delivering speeches, there were many who mentioned that her normal speaking voice in private was normally lower. So, it makes sense that it was from nervousness, at least partially,.

[Lady Bluffton]

I would say don't underestimate the power of television to modify a person's accent or even dialect. Linguists throughout the world are scrambling to find "untainted" subjects who have never travelled more than a few hours from their home and who don't watch television. In the United States, that's a very rare person, indeed. I would imagine the same in England and other developed nations.

Dare say that the Queen does not fall into that category, and can be expected to have an evolving accent / pronunciation...just like the rest of us!

[Picmajik]

I can tell a difference just traveling across my home state with regional dialects. Back in the 70's when President Carter was elected there were many books and magazine articles "analyzing" his accent and how we had at least 9 distinct dialects in our state and on and on. It's just that some in the media were making fun of the fact that if you do not speak as they do the assumption is that you are less educated and we know more, etc. If you do not have their trained "neutral" broadcast voice then you must be a hick, redneck or other country bumpkin. One thing they did get right in some of these articles is that the influence of radio, then TV and our more mobile society has made a difference in homogenizing our accents more. The best example they gave is how Carter's generation would pronounce his last name as "cot-tuh", dropping both r's. My generation would say "car-tuh", just dropping the last r.

I made a point of videotaping my great aunt before she passed on just so I could have copies of some of her stories with her great regional accent and laugh. I was born in Louisiana while my father was in college and when I first moved back to Georgia full time when I was 7 I could barely understand half my relatives. It took a while but soon I sounded more like them but still a mix of both parents. I love being able to pick up on some regional accents now and more often than not I can tell what part of the US someone is from but I'm nowhere near Henry Higgins. It is possible to find some "untainted" accents in rural areas but most of them are older and it is harder to find. I would love to sit down and videotape relatives with family stories just to preserve accents and stories. I love colloquialisms also--where did this phrase come from and whatever does it mean?

As for the "cut glass" accent I can sit and listen to it all day. My mom gets frustrated though as she can't understand it at all if I'm watching any British tv show. I found a book once that I wish I'd bought now explaining the different between U and non-U vocabulary and accents, similar to URP but Americanized.

[BeatrixFan]

Well bear in mind that most people don't speak like that and even the Queen has reigned in the Windsor accent. For example, British people no longer say 'Orf' or 'One' instead of "I".

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

For example, British people no longer say 'Orf' or 'One' instead of "I".

Errrrr!

[BeatrixFan]

Oh you don't? I thought you lot had gone out with the teasmaid.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

Well bear in mind that most people don't speak like that and even the Queen has reigned in the Windsor accent. For example, British people no longer say 'Orf' or 'One' instead of "I".

It is interesting to me that you say "no longer". So the difference of the Queen's speech is not so much a difference of socio-economic class, but actually is generational?

[BeatrixFan]

I'd say so actually. I think it shows with William and Harry who say "Longing" and not "Lornging" etc. I think it's a matter of age.

[trinny]

Originally Posted by Onassis Line

The funniest thing is the image of Princes Harry and William teaching the Queen Mother to do the Ali G finger click and say "Booyakasha" or what ever the saying was. I remember watching them confess to doing so

Oh that was funny!!

This is my memory of it but I could have got it a bit wrong:

It was in a TV show about the late Queen Mother: the members of the family talking about their memories of her ...the boys were saying what a cool Great Grandmother she was, they had been telling her about Ali G and how fantastic they thought he was and they taught her how to do the finger click (as you've said) and to say "Respect!" ...

they all went into luncheon and at the end of the meal she leaned back in her chair, said to her butler (I guess) "Ahhh So-and-So that was very nice ... *does finger click* RESPECT!"

The whole room fell apart laughing!



SORRY TO GO OFF TOPIC, by the way!

[WindsorIII]

Very funny! I would have loved to have seen that