Pertinent sounds will differ from individual to individual, depending on their own native accent.
Here are some key sounds for modern R.P., some of which may already be present within your own accent. You will need to pick and choose those that are most relevant to you.
- Aspiration on unvoiced plosives /p/, /b/ and /k/
Hold your hand out in front of your mouth and say the word, ‘catapult’. Do you feel a burst of air where the ‘c’, ‘t’ (the first one) and ‘p’ appear? If not, see if you can increase the pressure before you release an larger explosion of air into your hand.
2. A dark l and a light l realised in specific positions.
Both ‘l’ realisations occur with contact between the tongue tip or blade and the alveolar ridge. The dark l, however, also requires a lifting of the back of the tongue towards (but not touching) the soft palate (or velum). In Modern R.P., light l’s appear before vowel sounds, while dark l’s appear before consonant sounds, or at the ends of words (unless, in connected speech, following words begin with a vowel sound).
3. Modern R.P. (and indeed all variations of R.P accents) are non-rhotic.
This refers to the rules behind when we realise or do not realise the ‘r’ phoneme. When the letter ‘r’ is followed by a vowel sound, we will hear the ‘r’ (symbolised as /ɹ/ phonetically). E.g. borrow, sorry, maraud. When followed by a consonant or in a word-final position, we do not realise the /ɹ/. E.g. hard, Farsi, shower.
4. GOAT / GOAL split
Modern R.P. will see a split between words that might traditionally fit into the GOAT lexical set. In a ‘so-called general American’ accent, these words will share the same diphthong. In Modern R.P., however, the diphthongs will differ, driven by the presence of a dark l that follows it.
GOAT words include: over, moan, condone; GOAL words include: control, oldest, unfold.
5. Schwa in place of many (but not all) unstressed syllables.
The schwa /ə/ is a sound formed when the tongue lies flat in the centre of the mouth. Many R.P. Speakers will make use of this as their hesitation sound. I.e. ‘Errr… where was I?’ It is commonplace for multisyllabic words to use the schwa in the pronunciation of their ustressed syllables (e.g. baNAna /bə.ˈnɑː.nə/ ). But not always (e.g. syLLAbic /sɪ.ˈla.bɪk/ ).
Tips and tools such as these will be made available on our various platforms. If you have any specific questions about these sounds, feel free to get in touch, and we can discuss your options for delving deeper into your accent journey.