RP RULES Flashcards
Consonant Sounds [r] included
- at the beginning of a word
- after a consonant sound
- between two vowel sounds in a single word
- between two vowel sounds split between two words (linking R)
- between a word ending in the “ah” sound and followed by a word starting with a vowel sound (intrusive R)
Consonant Sounds [r] not included
- when it comes after a vowel sound and simply elongates the preceding vowel sound (car, cart)
- when it comes after a vowel sound and is replaced by a schwa (hair)
Consonant Sounds [t]
- distinct and crisp (unvoiced, aspirated, released plosive)
- explode medial t (football, boatload, treatment, sentimental, greatly, grateful, shortly)
Consonant Sounds [l]
- clear and light (low silly feeling), made with the front of the tongue, vs. darker and more vowel like (full, well, still, wild).
- Older speakers will not use the darker sound.
COMPLETE Vowel and Diphthong Sounds
- [iː] (subtle) to [əiː] as in me! No Cockney
final y is [ɪ] - [eɪ] to [ɛ], tighter, “bɛk ə kɛk” (bake a cake)
- [ɛ] to [e]
- [æ] to [ɛ] tighter, “Pɛm sɛŋ” (Pam sang)
- [æ] sometimes becomes [ɑː], “ask list”,
also, look to the “can’t” list - [aʊ] to [ɑː], or no change
- [ɑː] to [ɒ]. lot and cloth sets
- [ɑː] to [ɔː]
- [oʊ] to [əʊ, ɛʊ, eʊ, or ʌʊ]
- [uː] (subtle) to [əuː] as in who? No Cockney
- [ʊ] and [uː] are more rounded
- ə to ʌ
- ɝː + syllable to ʌ + r + syllable
- /r/ initiates next syllable
- Example sentence: The worried burro hurried to the borough of Durham for courage.
- Please not that place names ending in -borough may be pronounced with a single syllable - [ɛ] + r + syllable to [æ] + r + syllable
/r/ initiates next syllable
Examples: carry, marry, Harry, character, carriage, arrogant, narrow, clarify
COMPLETE Consonant Sounds
r, t, l, j
Consonant Sounds [j]
- “liquid u”
- following alveolar consonants t,d,n,l,s
- preceding the [uː] vowels e, eu, ew, u, ue, ui
Examples: new, duke, Tuesday, assumes nuclear - Older speakers may use it for alluring, lewd, suit
Special Rules
1. -ɛri to -rɪ Newbury's satisfactory secretary 2. spelled -ile pronounced [aɪl] Fragile, juvenile mobile 3. one-off differences of pronunciation zebra, process, lever 4. one-off differences of stress in polysyllabic words cigar-ETTE, maga-ZINE, tele-VIS-ion
Things to know
Increasingly prevalent habit of adding tags like “isn’t it,” “didn’t they,” or “can’t you,” to the ends of sentences as emphasis, not as a question. Should usually be given a downward inflection (like a statement) unless you are sure they are intended as questions or needs for approval.
[eɪ]
[eɪ] to [ɛ], tighter, “bɛk ə kɛk” (bake a cake)
[æ] (2)
- [æ] to [ɛ] tighter, “Pɛm sɛŋ” (Pam sang)
- [æ] sometimes becomes [ɑː], “ask list”,
also, look to the “can’t” list
[ɑː] (2)
[ɑː] to [ɒ] lot and cloth sets;
[ɑː] to [ɔː] bought
[ə]
[ə] to [ʌ], think of short AH in certain words like cup
[oʊ]
[oʊ] to [əʊ, ɛʊ, eʊ, or ʌʊ]
[uː] (subtle)
[əuː] as in who? No Cockney
