How to speak with a British accent

Video: British Pronunciation Secrets (Modern RP) Learn British Accents

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 6: Pronunciation of the letter "R"
Part 2 of 6: Pronunciation of the letter "U"
Part 3 of 6: Solid consonants
Part 4 of 6: Pronunciation of the letter "T"
Part 5 of 6: Pronunciation
Part 6 of 6: Listening and repeating what you hear
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

The accents that are common in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales differ from each other, and over time you can start to speak one of them in such a way that you will be mistaken for a local. Along with accents, there are mannerisms that you should learn, as these are equally important. Here you will find instructions on correct english speech or the so-called "Oxford Pronunciation" (RP), common in South England and Wales, but hardly used in modern Britain, but there is a stereotype among foreigners that the British speak this way. RP is mostly about pronunciation, while standard language learning also includes spelling, official vocabulary and style.

Steps

Part 1 of 6: Pronunciation of the letter "R"

1 Start by pronouncing "R". It should be understood that in most British accents, speakers do not curl the tip of their tongue (except for accents of Scotland, Northumbria, Northern Ireland, and parts of Lancashire), but not all British accents are the same. For example, a Scottish accent is very different from an English one. After the vowel, do not say "R", but stretch the vowel and you can add "uh" (instead of "here" they say "heeuh"). In words like "hurry," "R" does not need to be merged into a vowel. Say huh-ree.
- In American English, the ending words "rl" or "rel" can be pronounced using one or two syllables and will not be considered a mistake. But this thing won't work with British English. Words ending in "rl" - "girl", "hurl" and so on, are pronounced as one syllable with a dumb "R", while "squirrel" is pronounced "squih-rul" and "referral" as "re -fer-rul ".
- Some words are easier to pronounce with a British accent. For example, "mirror" which sounds like "mih-ra". Don't pronounce “mirror” as “mere”, as the British almost never say that. When pronouncing words ending in "w", the end is often "r". For example, the word "saw" can be pronounced like "saw-r" using it in the sentence "I sawr it!"

Part 2 of 6: Pronunciation of the letter "U"

1 Letter U in words stupid and duty should be pronounced like ew or "you". Try not to speak oo with an American accent; so one should say stewpid or as usual - schewpid, but not stoopid etc. duty need to pronounce dewty, there is also a more common option - jooty... In a standard English accent, the letter A (for example, in the word father), pronounced with the back of the mouth with an open throat and sounds like "arh". This is common in almost all British accents, but the Oxford Pronunciation (RP) emphasizes it. In southern England and RP, the words "bath", "path", "glass", "grass" are also pronounced with this vowel (barth, parth, glarss, grarss, etc.). But in other parts of Britain in the words "bath", "path" and so on, this vowel sounds like "ah".

Part 3 of 6: Solid consonants

1 Pronunciation of words with hard consonants. In the word "duty" T pronounced like T, not like an American D in a word doody so that the word "duty" is pronounced dewty or a little softer - jooty... Suffix -ing pronounced with firm G... So it sounds more like -ing but not -een... But sometimes it is shortened to inas in the word lookin.
- Words human being pronounced like hewman being or yooman been in some places, although it can also be pronounced as hewman bee-in.

Part 4 of 6: Pronunciation of the letter "T"

1 Sometimes the letter T can be omitted. In some accents, including the Cockney accent, it is characteristic that the letter T not pronounced in words where Americans replace it with D. However, it is replaced by a short pause or "hitch". Thus, the word "battle" can be pronounced as ba-illbut sometimes you can hear someone say "Ba-ill" holding the air with the back of the tongue at the end of the first syllable before exhaling it out while pronouncing the second syllable. This technique is known as the glottal stop. Americans also use guttural stops when pronouncing words like "mittens" and "mountain". It's just that the British use this chip more often.
- Estuarians, Oxford English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh speakers believe omitting the letter T - this is a gross mistake that lazy speakers make, and this cannot be done, but in almost all accents it is allowed to omit the letter in the middle of words in everyday communication, and for almost all languages of the world, the glottal stop is used at the end of a word.

Part 5 of 6: Pronunciation

1 Note that there are words that are spelled and pronounced the same way. The word “herb” should be pronounced with the sound H. The word “been” is pronounced “bean”, not “bin” or “ben”. In RP, “Again” and “renaissance” are pronounced as “a gain” and “run nay sänce,” and “ai” sounds like “pain” rather than “said”. Words with the endings "body" are pronounced the same way as they are written, that is, it is correct to say "any body" and not "any buddy". But the short British sound O should be used.
2 Note that the letter H pronounced not always. The "H" is pronounced in the word "herb", unlike the American version erb... However, in many British accents H at the beginning of the word is often omitted, for example, in many northern accents and in the cockney accent.
3 Say "bean", not "bin" when you say been. In an American accent, they often say bin... In an English accent, the usual option is been, but in everyday speech you can hear "bin" more often, especially without stress.
4 Note that two or more vowels next to each other can form an extra syllable. For example, usually the word "road" is pronounced as rohd, but in Wales by some social groups in Northern Ireland it can be pronounced as ro.ord... Some people even say "reh-uud".

Part 6 of 6: Listening and repeating what you hear

1 Listen to the "music" of the language. All accents and dialects have a special sound. Pay attention to the tones and accents of the English. Do offers usually end on high, high, or high? How does the tone change in a regular sentence? There is a huge difference in tonality in different areas of the country. English speech, especially RP, usually does not differ much from American English throughout the entire sentence, except that the tone is slightly lowered towards the end of the phrase. But in Liverpool and the North East of England, things are very different!
- For example, instead of saying "is he going to the STORE?" Say "is he GOING to the store?" The tone should be lowered towards the end of the interrogative sentence, as opposed to raising the pitch (raised tone is common in American and Australian English).
2 Ask the Briton to clearly articulate well-known sentences: How now brown cow and The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain and listen carefully. The typical London rounded vowels such as "about" are pronounced without lip rounding in Northern Ireland.
3 Immerse yourself in English culture; that is, surround yourself with people who speak, live, walk and communicate in British English. This is the surest way to quickly learn how to speak British. You will soon notice that your pronunciation has become much more varied. You need to listen to English speech - listening to the BBC (free radio and television news broadcasts on the Internet), songs by English singers or films in English is perfect.

Tips

Along with the accent, pay attention to slang words such as lads or blokes instead of boys and men, birds or lasses (in the north of England and Scotland) instead of women. Loo denotes a toilet and bathroom - this is the room where they swim.
As with any accent, the best and quickest way to master it is to listen to and imitate native speakers. Remember that when you were a child, you learned the language by listening and then repeating words in an attempt to imitate an accent.
It's easier to learn accents by listening to people. The official British accent is very common on the BBC news. Official British speech is clearer and more leisurely than American, but broadcasters deliberately reinforce these differences by reading news on TV or radio.
When you say “at all,” pronounce it like “a tall,” but with a British accent.
The Oxford Pronunciation (RP) was called the Queen's English for a reason - listen to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II speak. It would be nice to hear her speech in honor of the Official Opening of Parliament. She always gives a very long speech and you will have a great opportunity to observe this.
Don't learn more than one accent at a time. Since Estonian English is so different from the Newcastle dialect, you can get confused very easily.
Hundreds of different accents are spoken in the United Kingdom, so it would be wrong to classify them all as dialects of British; wherever you go, you will be faced with an incredible array of different reprimands.
Be creative. Enjoy your classes. Expand your knowledge, do not stop there. Test your British accent by talking to your friends! They will tell you if you are successful or not!
Many places have their own rules for the use of words. Many British terms can be found in the British dictionary online. Keep in mind that obvious differences between words such as tap / faucet, pavement / sidewalk can hide different meanings, which at best will amuse the locals, and at worst they will be lenient with your attempts to adopt local words and expressions.
If you have visited England, then remember that Oxford and Cambridge Universities are one of the last havens of the traditional RP and the accent of the "Queen of England". However, an increasing number of students speak dialects from different parts of not only Britain, but the whole world, and the natives of local cities and environs speak their (very characteristic) accents. They may even be offended if you decide that they say “typical British”; don't be fooled into thinking that an Oxford or Cambridge accent is the same as an RP.
Pronounce each word clearly and distinctly, making sure to pause between words.
Improve your British accent with the standard Learn the British accent- FAST! Curriculum at many schools around the world - available online right now.
Travel to the United Kingdom and hear real live speech.
Children are better able to perceive different sound frequencies, enabling them to distinguish and reproduce the sounds of the languages that surround them. To master your accent better, you must develop your hearing by listening to examples over and over again.
Once you understand how it works and start listening to British speech, try to read excerpts from works written in dialect. It will be interesting and beneficial to you.
If you want to hear a more modern version of this accent, watch a couple of episodes of TV series. East End residents and Fools are lucky... People continue to say this, especially the working class in east London and parts of Essex and Kent, although it is more noticeable when talking to older people.
Remember that accents of Julie Andrews or Emma Watson (Hermione from the movie Harry Potter) that speak with correct pronunciation (RP) are very different from the accents of Jamie Oliver and Simon Cowell (Estuarine English is probably the most common accent in southern England, somewhere between Cockney and RP) or Bill Connolly (Glasgow).
Always use British English words if they are different from American English. The British, as always, have foreseen everything, even the differences. In particular, it is better to use "rubbish" and "tap" rather than "trash" and "faucet". It is also better (but not necessary) to pronounce the word “schedule” with the prefix “sh_” rather than “sk_”, but you should learn to say “specialty” with five syllables rather than three, as is pronounced in Britain (spe-ci -al-i-ty).
As you develop your hearing, you will be able to speak automatically. When you “hear” a sound, it will be easier for you to pronounce it.
Another method of practicing English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish accents is to watch and follow a news anchor on any UK news channel and repeat. Watching for half an hour every day will greatly improve your speech in just a couple of weeks.
If you know a native English speaker, ask them to tell you a couple of phrases so you can hear and repeat them.
Take care of your audience.If you want people to really believe that you are British, you need to look deeper, because different areas speak differently, and you will have to work hard to get what you want.
You may have heard the Cockney (East London) accent. This accent is very unusual for the 21st century, but if you try to imitate it, keep in mind that London workers pronounce words almost in a chant and almost always replace vowels and remove letters, that is, in the word "change" you will hear the sound "i". Films based on Dickens's books, such as My Fair Lady, may contain examples of such accents.

Warnings

Don't overestimate yourself thinking that be able to speak with a good British accent... It is very difficult to learn to speak at the level of a native speaker.
Don't think that you will master your accent too quickly. Most likely, a native Briton will get you straight right away, but foreigners may believe you.
Do not narrow your lips too much when you pronounce words with the letter "A", for example, shark or chance... Otherwise, it may seem like you have a South African accent.

What do you need

CD player, multiple discs with a British accent recording
You can also look at the BBC Learning English website
Record the British accent, open it in windows media player and set it to slow play. This will help you master your British accent faster.