Category Archives: British English

The accents and dialects of the United Kingdom.

David Beckham’s “Poshification”

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Ben

Researchers from  University of Manchester recently announced that David Beckham has “poshed up” his accent since moving the the United States (pun probably intended). Given that Beckham is one of the biggest sports stars in the world, it’s fairly easy … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

The Death of Drama School Accent Enforcement

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Ben

Although I enjoy the series Downton Abbey, I know little about the personal lives of its cast members. So the other day, after watching a program on PBS, I was startled by a promo interview with the actress who plays … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Jane Austen’s English

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Ben

A reader recently wrote me with a question about the language in Jane Austen’s novels: I see you’ve talked a little about accent in Shakespeare’s time, but do we know how English people sounded during the Regency era? I think … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Thoughts on Language in “Game of Thrones”

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Ben

I wrote a post eons ago questioning why characters in fantasy films have British accents. HBO’s Game of Thrones adaptation was my impetus, yet I confess I haven’t seen the program until recently. Aspects of the show’s language are more complex than I … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged | 31 Comments

The Teesside Controversy

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Ben

Some British school administrators recently sought to “improve” their students’ Teesside dialect by urging parents to correct their children’ speech. The letter prompted outcry, for reasons well-summarized by Stan Carey of Sentence First. This photo of the note in question has … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged | 36 Comments

Richard III’s “Brummie Accent?”

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Ben

[Ed. note: An earlier version of this post had an embedded sound clip of Philip Shaw reading a letter by Richard III in a historically accurate accent. Unfortunately, I’ve had a few embedding issues since updating to the latest version … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Piers Morgan’s “Hoity Toity” Accent

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Ben

Politicians have a curious habit of mocking their own markers of privilege. How else does one explain Mitt Romney slamming Obama for attending Harvard, Romney’s MBA alma mater? Or G.W. Bush describing the “intellectual arrogance” he encountered while at Yale? … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Chelsea-Speak

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Ben

While doing some channel surfing the other day, I stumbled upon the reality show Made in Chelsea. I’d describe the program to Americans as akin to The Hills or Laguna Beach (although I don’t recall Lauren Conrad cracking jokes about “phonological … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Why This American “Slips Into Britishisms”

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Ben

An article by Alex Williams in the New York Times discusses the “recent” trend toward Northeastern Americans adopting British slang in everyday conversation. The piece targets the usual suspects: BBC America, Downton Abbey and JK Rowling are the most commonly … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Was Received Pronunciation Ever Rhotic?

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Ben

People around the world associate Britain with non-rhoticity, the process whereby /r/ is dropped at the end of syllables such as ‘car‘ and ‘start.’ This impression largely stems from the fact that the non-rhotic Received Pronunciation (RP) was the standard for … Continue reading →

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Posted in British English | Tagged , | 18 Comments