How to Learn a British Accent *Fast* (Modern RP)
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, Izzy, a final year medical student at Cambridge University, shares essential tips to help viewers perfect a British Received Pronunciation (RP) accent. She covers key aspects such as word choice, consonants, vowels, and intonation, providing examples and techniques like mirroring to improve pronunciation. The video is a valuable resource for those interested in adopting a more British RP accent for acting or personal interest.
Takeaways
- 😀 Learn the British Received Pronunciation (RP) accent, which is often considered the standard British accent and is similar to BBC English or Queen's English.
- 📝 Pay attention to word choice and vocabulary; use British English terms like 'rubbish' instead of 'trash' and 'trousers' instead of 'pants'.
- 🗣️ Focus on consonants, particularly the clear enunciation of 't' sounds in all positions and the dropping of 'r' sounds when not followed by a vowel.
- 👄 Practice the unique 'schwa' sound, which is the most common vowel in RP English and appears in words like 'teacher' and 'water'.
- 📚 Understand the difference in vowel sounds between British and American English, such as the short 'o' in 'hot' and the long 'a' in 'grass'.
- 🎶 Work on the rhythm and intonation of speech, which contributes to the musicality of the language and makes the accent more recognizable.
- 📽️ Watch and listen to British media like podcasts, radio shows, TV shows, and YouTube videos to immerse yourself in the accent.
- 🔁 Use the mirroring technique to practice by repeating phrases spoken by native speakers to imitate their accent closely.
- 🎯 Start by focusing on specific vowels or consonants to avoid feeling overwhelmed and gradually build up your accent skills.
- 🌟 The video is aimed at helping viewers sound more British, whether for acting or personal interest, by following simple rules and practicing diligently.
- 📖 There are many resources available online for more thorough learning of the accent, including tables of key vowel and consonant sounds.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of the video?
-The main purpose of the video is to provide tips on how to sound more British when speaking, particularly focusing on the Received Pronunciation (RP) accent.
Who is the presenter of the video?
-The presenter of the video is Izzy, a final year medical student at Cambridge University.
What are the five main points the video covers to help sound more British?
-The five main points covered in the video are word choice, consonants, vowels, intonation, and practice techniques for perfecting the British accent.
What does RP stand for and what is its traditional name?
-RP stands for Received Pronunciation, which is traditionally known as the standard accent for people in the south of England.
Why is word choice important when trying to sound British?
-Word choice is important because using British vocabulary instead of American or other versions can significantly affect the authenticity of the British accent.
How should the 't' sounds be pronounced in British English, particularly in RP accent?
-In British English, especially in the RP accent, 't' sounds should be clearly enunciated at the beginning, middle, and between words, but not as a hard 't' sound that is forcefully pronounced.
What is the difference between the American and British pronunciation of the word 'water'?
-In American English, the 't' in 'water' might be pronounced more like a 'd' sound, whereas in British English, particularly RP, the 't' should be clearly pronounced as a 't'.
What is a common feature of British English that involves the 'r' sound?
-A common feature of British English, especially in the RP accent, is the dropping of the 'r' sound when there is no vowel sound following the 'r', known as non-rhotic speech.
Why are vowel sounds important for nailing a British accent?
-Vowel sounds are important for a British accent because they contribute to the unique phonetic characteristics of the accent and are essential for pronunciation clarity and authenticity.
What technique did Izzy use to learn Mandarin and how can it be applied to learning a British accent?
-Izzy used the technique of mirroring when learning Mandarin, which involves listening to a phrase, pausing, and repeating it back to imitate the accent. This technique can also be applied to learning a British accent by focusing on specific vowels or consonants.
How can one practice to perfect their British accent according to the video?
-One can practice by listening to podcasts, radio shows, TV shows, movies, or YouTube videos in the British accent and using the mirroring technique to imitate the accent, focusing on specific sounds and gradually building up.
Outlines
🇬🇧 Mastering the British Accent: Introduction and Tips
Izzy, a medical student at Cambridge University, introduces her video on mastering the British Received Pronunciation (RP) accent, often referred to as BBC English or Queen's English. She outlines the video's focus on word choice, consonants, vowels, intonation, and practice techniques to achieve a modern RP accent. Izzy emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between British and American vocabulary and provides examples of common British words and phrases.
🗣️ Fine-Tuning Consonants for a British Accent
The second paragraph delves into the nuances of British consonants, particularly the 't' and 'r' sounds. Izzy explains the importance of clearly enunciating 't' sounds in all positions within words, contrasting the RP accent with American English where 't' can be softened or replaced with a 'd' sound. She also addresses the non-rhotic feature of RP English, where 'r' sounds are dropped when not followed by a vowel, providing examples such as 'doctor' and 'water'. Additionally, Izzy touches on the use of glottal stops in some British dialects, but clarifies that it's not part of the RP accent.
📚 Understanding British Vowel Sounds and Accent Characteristics
In this paragraph, Izzy focuses on the crucial aspect of vowel sounds in the British accent, highlighting the schwa sound's prevalence in RP English. She describes how to produce this and other key vowel sounds, such as the short 'o' in 'hot' and the long 'a' in 'grass'. Izzy also explains the distinction between the RP 'a' sound and the variant found in other British dialects. She provides a detailed guide on the correct mouth and tongue positions for these sounds, emphasizing their impact on achieving an authentic British accent.
🎶 Capturing the Rhythm and Intonation of British English
The final paragraph discusses the rhythm and intonation of British English, which Izzy describes as challenging to teach but essential for sounding British. She suggests listening to podcasts, radio shows, TV shows, movies, or YouTube videos in the RP accent and practicing mirroring, a technique where one repeats phrases to imitate the accent. Izzy recommends focusing on specific vowels or consonants to make the learning process manageable. She concludes by encouraging viewers to persevere with accent practice and offers additional resources for those interested in language learning.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡British Accent
💡Received Pronunciation (RP)
💡Word Choice
💡Consonants
💡Vowels
💡Intonation
💡Glottal Stop
💡Mirroring
💡Diphthong
💡Accent Learning
Highlights
The video provides essential tips to help viewers sound more British when speaking English.
The presenter, Izzy, is a final year medical student at Cambridge University and has been asked to make this video.
The focus is on the Received Pronunciation (RP) accent, traditionally known as the standard accent for people in the south of England.
RP is also known as BBC English or Queen's English, due to its prevalence among broadcasters and the royal family.
Word choice and vocabulary are crucial for sounding British, with British terms replacing American ones.
Examples of British vocabulary include 'rubbish' instead of 'trash' and 'trousers' instead of 'pants'.
Quintessentially British expressions like 'knackered' for being tired are highlighted.
Consonants are key to distinguishing British English, especially the clear enunciation of 't' sounds.
The 't' sound should be pronounced clearly even between words, unlike in some American accents.
The glottal stop, where 't' is replaced by a stop in the throat, is not part of RP English.
The 'r' sound in British English is often dropped when not followed by a vowel, unlike in American English.
Vowel sounds are critical for a British accent, with the schwa sound being the most common.
The short 'o' sound in words like 'hot' is very British and differs from the American pronunciation.
The long 'a' sound, as in 'grass' and 'father', is another distinctive feature of British English.
The big round 'o' sound in words like 'hello' is a diphthong that changes as it's pronounced.
Rhythm and intonation are important for sounding British, contributing to the language's musicality.
Mirroring is a recommended technique for practicing the accent by imitating phrases heard in media.
Focusing on specific vowels or consonants at a time can make learning the accent feel less overwhelming.
The video concludes with a suggestion to watch other videos on accents and language learning for further insights.
Transcripts
today i'll take you through some
essential top tips to help you sound
more british when you speak so if you
want to learn a british accent then this
is the video for you some people think
that the british rp accent is quite hard
to pull off but actually if you follow a
couple of simple rules then it becomes a
lot easier if you're new here my name's
izzy i'm a final year medical student at
cambridge university this video has been
very highly requested in my comments and
dms in this video i'm going to be
talking about some key points where you
can really make your accent sound a lot
more british i'll go over five main
points today which will be word choice
consonants vowels intonation and finally
how to practice to perfect your british
accent whether this is for acting or if
you just want to learn how to speak with
more of an rp accent then hopefully this
video can help you out i'll particularly
focus on the vowels and the consonants
as these are the areas where you can
really make the most immediate impact
and immediate difference to the way that
your accent sounds today we'll only be
going through tips to speak with a
modern or modified rp accent which is
just my accent this is how i speak rp
stands for received pronunciation
and is sort of traditionally known as
the standard accent for people in the
south of england this standard southern
british english is sort of a bit like
the accent that bbc broadcasters speak
with so sometimes it's also known as bbc
english or queen's english it is
predominantly spoken in the south of
england but obviously it's not confined
to this geographical area and there are
so many different varieties
of british english even within the south
so if you're interested in learning an
accent that sounds a bit like mine then
keep watching this video so the first
thing that you want to pay attention to
when you're trying to sound more british
is actually word choice and vocabulary
i'm not going to go into this in too
much detail but it's really important to
make sure the words you're choosing are
the british version rather than let's
say the american version so just some
examples here would be for example trash
in american english is known as rubbish
in the uk some other examples include
pants versus trousers which is what we
would say in britain there are also
certain words or expressions that just
sound quintessentially british such as
the adjective knackered to describe when
you're really tired i'm absolutely
knackered or phrases like that's a good
shout when speaking to an american
friend of mine i sometimes use this
phrase and
he's a bit baffled like oh what does
that mean what does good shout mean it
just means that's a good idea
essentially so by choosing your words
and phrases carefully you can sound more
british in this way the second thing to
really pay attention to is your
consonants so consonants are an area
where british english particularly rp
really distinguishes itself from other
forms of english accents there are two
key points that i want to address here
firstly is these t sounds make sure that
you enunciate all of your t's this t
sound should be clearly enunciated at
the beginning in the middle and also
between words
so
examples of this would be the word to or
teacher you want to really like make
sure that that t sound is there but it's
not a very hard tea that you spit out
it's like a sort of
light tea so it's not like teacher it's
just teacher and you can clearly hear
that t sound a huge difference between
american and british sounding english is
the t in the middle of words such as
words like water so the word water in rp
the t in the middle is clearly a t
apologies in advance for my american
accent i
can't really do an american accent but
i'll try to just give you an example in
american english they might say it more
like a d like water other examples of
this include the word better versus
better
or city versus city
so make sure that those are really
coming out clearly next is tease between
words so for example
the phrase let it be the t isn't a d
sound again it's this making sure that
it's clearly a t sound and not a d sound
so i feel like sometimes in american
english people say let it be almost like
a d but this is let it be
or another example it is what it is so
i'm just going to put a phrase on screen
now and i'd like you to read it out in a
british accent including all the teas
so that would be pronounced it is what
it is one thing you may be wondering
about is something known as the glossal
stop
so in some variations of british english
the glottal stop is used in place of a t
so for example the word water with a
glottal t would sound like water
so it's where the t
isn't just fully removed it's like for
example
what and you're about to put the t in
but then you kind of there's a tension
in your throat that just cuts off the
sound i would say that this isn't really
part of rp english so if that's the
accent you're aiming for then glottal
stops are not something that you need to
worry about but i thought i'd just
address them as they are a very
widespread part of other forms of
british english a very commonly cited
example of this is i want a bottle of
water which with glottal stop teas
instead of normal teas would sound like
a bottle of water a bottle of water
i can't do it the second point in
consonants is the r sound so often the r
sound is actually dropped in british
english while the ts are always
pronounced
the r's are sometimes dropped this is
known as a non-rhotic essentially in rp
you only pronounce the r sound when
there is a vowel sound after the r in
examples such as the word british you do
pronounce the r sound because there's an
i sound right after it a vowel sound but
in other examples such as the word
teacher has an r on the end of it but
there's no vowel sound after the r so we
don't actually enunciate the r sound
itself so for example in american
english sometimes you'll hear something
more like teacher
what
obviously my american accent's terrible
so please forgive me for that so some
examples of where this r is dropped off
and replaced with the diphthong vowel
essentially a kind of longer version of
the vowel are words like doctor
teacher
water
better
learn
work
party
cart
bird
so dropping off the r sounds where
there's no vowel sound after the r
is really important to developing that
rp sounding accent next coming to vowel
sounds vowel sounds are so important to
nailing a british accent or any accent
for that matter so i'll be going over a
couple of sounds that are
quintessentially british that you can
incorporate into your own speaking there
are a set number of key vowels including
diphthongs that are important to learn
and there's a table of them i'll include
one over here that you can just use for
reference there are so many more
thorough accent learning reasons online
if you're interested in that so the
first vowel sound that is super
important to british english is the
schwa sound this is the most common
vowel in british rp english so it's
super important to nail this as it's
absolutely everywhere and examples that
include it include similar words that
we've used before actually things like
teacher that uh at the end
water
doctor even the word the itself
has that sound and to make this vowel
sound you essentially want to
have a fairly relaxed mouth with your
tongue just resting in your mouth and
you just want to
go ah
the next vowel is the short o sound this
sound is very british and is included in
words such as hot stop slot
got
all of these sorts of words with this o
sound in for example american english
the word stop might be
more pronounced as stop
rather than stop so this is a very round
shape with the mouth with the lips
slightly pushing out and the tongue just
slightly relaxed and flattened in the
mouth the next vowel is the long a sound
this is like an r sound which is present
in words such as grass
bath
father rather fast last to make the
sound open your mouth quite wide like
almost like you're going to the dentist
flatten your tongue and slide it back a
little bit and make this r sound ah that
kind of sound and just practice
last
past
bath
grass and this is in contrast to an
almost hard a where in some areas of
britain in british english instead of
having this long a sound which is
present in rp english there's an almost
like an a sound instead so instead of
bath it'll be bath the next vowel is a
big round o sound so this is present in
words such as hello
no
slow
low
go
halo zero and this is actually a
diphthong where there's actually almost
two sounds within the vowel and the
vowel changes over time that's what a
diphthong is essentially it is sometimes
known as a gliding vowel so the sound
goes from oh
it's like your mouth closes down as you
go through the vowel o to make the sound
your tongue starts off nice and relaxed
with your mouth slightly open in a round
shape and then as you progress through
the vowel
you kind of imagine it kind of closing
down
oh
[Music]
that kind of thing
and i think this one's quite important
to nail because it's in the word hello
and i feel like
sometimes people try to mimic the
british english accent the rp accent
with the word hello and the really
key thing that distinguishes whether
they've nailed it or not is this o sound
at the end so some people almost
overemphasize and they go hello
but that's almost closing it down too
fast it needs to be a very gradual o
quite relaxed o and it's also not a
single sound it's not ah some people say
hello or hello
hello it's not that it's hello
finally the fourth thing to pay
attention to is the rhythm and
intonation this is so important but it's
really hard to teach in a few quick tips
it's something that you need to really
absorb over time and this includes all
the stresses and emphasis on the word
and essentially the musicality of the
language and this really contributes to
making you sound
more british and also making you sound
more understandable as well so how can
you practice all of this i would
recommend listening to plenty of
podcasts or radio shows and also
watching tv shows movies or youtube
videos
with people speaking in this accent and
what you can do is a technique called
mirroring which is essentially where you
play or listen to
them say a phrase and then you pause
whatever it is and then you say it back
you repeat this process a few times to
try to imitate their accent as closely
as possible and one thing that can help
and lots of students that i've had have
found helpful is if you focus
specifically on a few vowels or a few
consonants at a time so for example if
you start with a sentence and you
specifically
focus on making sure you nail all the
t's or making sure that you nail all the
o sounds and then you can kind of build
up from there so it doesn't feel too
overwhelming or paralyzing because it's
a lot to try to change an accent and it
does take a lot of work this technique
called mirroring is actually something i
used extensively when i was trying to
learn mandarin i'll link a video over
here somewhere about my experience of
learning mandarin and how i did that but
otherwise i hope this video has been
helpful or interesting in some way and i
really hope it helps you to get closer
to your goal of maybe sounding more
british
if you enjoyed this video you might like
this one over here where i talk a bit
more about accents and language learning
thank you so much for watching take care
of yourself and i will see you in the
next video
bye
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