It’s funny how some people’s impression of a UK accent is how the royals sound, when in reality the UK has the most diverse accents of any english speaking country i know of
I feel like it’s just recognized more than the myriad of accents across America. There are so many accents just in a single city, let alone across the whole country. For example, you might hear about 3 or 4 different accents in San Francisco, and then hear 5 or 6 totally different ones in Los Angeles.
Then add in all the many Scots accents and dialects, Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Welsh-accented English. Hardly anyone speaks RP (received pronunciation, ie posh) any more. Even the royals have toned it down. The late queen was really plummy back in the 50s.
https://youtu.be/Ga-UcoJzsHg
Interesting, her accent has really changed a lot to become more regular sounding. I would guess in the old recording she was actively putting on the ridiculous accent, because the royals are all about projecting a posh image. Like i bet she did a lot of elocution training to purposely teach her how to sound that way
Her whole family and their aristocratic social circle spoke like that, she grew up speaking like that. She’s not putting it on, that’s who she was. The growing pressure for royalty to be less aloof forced a gradual move to more “normal” speech from about the 70s. At the same time, broadcasters were starting to hire people with (gasp) regional accents. Previously anyone aspiring to be a newsreader etc had to speak RP, “the queen’s English”.
It’s funny how some people’s impression of a UK accent is how the royals sound, when in reality the UK has the most diverse accents of any english speaking country i know of
I feel like it’s just recognized more than the myriad of accents across America. There are so many accents just in a single city, let alone across the whole country. For example, you might hear about 3 or 4 different accents in San Francisco, and then hear 5 or 6 totally different ones in Los Angeles.
I don’t think US accents are nearly as diverse per area as the UK, but i guess that’s just my impression, I’ve never read a study on it or anything
The US may be big, but the UK had more centuries of existence before the unifying effect of national TV and radio.
This wikipedia article boldly asserts that “The UK has the most local accents of any English-speaking country” but the claim is [citation needed].
Well “per area” is vastly different purely from a geographical standpoint. Much bigger country and the UK is a much more densely populated place.
Source: I just feel like it’s true right now.
Pffft. I have a different accent to my wife. And my dog.
Then add in all the many Scots accents and dialects, Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Welsh-accented English. Hardly anyone speaks RP (received pronunciation, ie posh) any more. Even the royals have toned it down. The late queen was really plummy back in the 50s. https://youtu.be/Ga-UcoJzsHg
Interesting, her accent has really changed a lot to become more regular sounding. I would guess in the old recording she was actively putting on the ridiculous accent, because the royals are all about projecting a posh image. Like i bet she did a lot of elocution training to purposely teach her how to sound that way
Her whole family and their aristocratic social circle spoke like that, she grew up speaking like that. She’s not putting it on, that’s who she was. The growing pressure for royalty to be less aloof forced a gradual move to more “normal” speech from about the 70s. At the same time, broadcasters were starting to hire people with (gasp) regional accents. Previously anyone aspiring to be a newsreader etc had to speak RP, “the queen’s English”.