Talk:Received Pronunciation

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Can we use some other name that's not Received Pronunciation, because every time I read it I interpret it was being the pronunciation as heard rather than as practised. The name is vague at best. --66.190.99.112 23:16, 21 December 2014 (UTC)
 * It's not really vague, as is the name of a very specific accent; but it's much more usually known by the initialism RP than by its full name. —Aɴɢʀ (talk) 23:59, 21 December 2014 (UTC)


 * It’s not vague? How would you ever infer that it’s specifically a British pronunciation? The name doesn’t tell you that. --Romanophile (talk) 01:58, 22 December 2014 (UTC)


 * Now that fewer than 1 in 50 people in the UK use the Received Pronunciation, isn't it time that we started using "BBC pronunciation" or "General British" for the non-regional accent on this side of the pond?   D b f  i  r  s   10:54, 22 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Since the BBC doesn't require it anymore, "BBC pronunciation" is also a misnomer. Of the alternative names listed at, I think "Standard Southern British" is probably the most straightforward, and doesn't have the class-based baggage that "RP" does. —Aɴɢʀ (talk) 19:13, 22 December 2014 (UTC)
 * The BBC doesn't require RP any more (in that they allow regional accents), but there is still a pronunciation that could be called Standard English or General English that is not "Southern", and is recognised (and often spoken) by educated British people from all regions. This pronunciation is no longer the same as Conservative RP.    D b f  i  r  s   23:45, 22 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I think the "Southern" means it's standard in Southern Britain (i.e. England and Wales), not just Southern England, the idea being that even highly educated Scots tend to use Standard Scottish English. (However, I have met educated Scots who do speak something approaching RP, but not very many.) —Aɴɢʀ (talk) 08:42, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Don't confuse vague and opaque: for anyone familiar with the term it's very clear and precise, just as there are all kinds of technical terms in science that mean nothing to most people, but are extremely precise. Of course, if you're not familiar with the term, you can't guess what it refers to- but that's not vagueness. Chuck Entz (talk) 20:32, 22 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, the term RP seems to mean different things to differnt people.   D b f  i  r  s   23:45, 22 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree it's not vague, it's opaque. Renard Migrant (talk) 15:14, 23 December 2014 (UTC)