How to Learn the British Accent: Received Pronunciation (Modern RP)

If you are interested in improving your English pronunciation and in particular

如果您有兴趣提高英语发音，特别是

acquiring a British accent then you are in the right place as I'm going

掌握英国口音，那么您来对地方了，因为我将为

to be giving you some valuable tips to help you to acquire the British

您提供一些有价值的提示，帮助您掌握英国

accent and sound more natural and feel more confident when speaking English.

口音，让您听起来更自然、感觉更舒服。说英语时充满自信。

Many students ask me to help them to acquire a British accent.

许多学生要求我帮助他们掌握英国口音。

But what they often mean is that they want to learn modern Received Pronunciation.

但他们通常的意思是他们想学习现代标准发音。

Often called RP, Received Pronunciation has a history of being an accent of class

通用发音通常被称为 RP，历史上一直是阶层口音

rather than region, though it is widely accepted as the Southern English accent

而不是地区口音，尽管它被广泛认为是南方英语口音

and there are many RP speakers from all walks of life, not just the upper crust.

，并且有许多来自各行各业的人使用 RP，而不仅仅是上流社会。

The useful thing about learning RP or modern RP is that it is the

学习 RP 或现代 RP 的有用之处在于它是

form found in the dictionaries.

在字典中找到的形式。

So if you ever need to know how a word is pronounced in RP, just head

因此，如果您需要了解某个单词在 RP 中的发音，只需前往

to the Cambridge Online Dictionary.

剑桥在线词典即可。

Ok, that's enough of the introduction.

好了，介绍就够了。

Let's get into the good stuff.

让我们开始吧。

Oh yeah!

哦耶！

Every student comes with their own unique accent.

每个学生都有自己独特的口音。

So the sounds that you need to work on to acquire an RP accent will be

因此，为了获得 RP 口音，您需要努力练习的声音将

different to Dave's, just like how different bodies in a gym need different

与 Dave 的不同，就像健身房中不同的身体需要不同的

exercises to achieve a muscular physique.

锻炼来获得肌肉发达的体格一样。

However, when I'm assessing my student's pronunciation, there are

然而，当我评估学生的发音时，有

a handful of features that seem to cause trouble time and time again.

一些特征似乎一次又一次地造成麻烦。

Number one.

第一。

The schwa sound.

施瓦的声音。

The schwa.

施瓦。

This is the most common sound in English and it sounds like this, uh, uh..

这是英语中最常见的声音，听起来像这样，呃，呃..

I call this the lazy sound because the oral posture, the set up

我称之为懒惰的声音，因为口腔姿势，

of everything in your mouth is relaxed and neutral, uh, uh, uh.

所有东西在你嘴里的 设置 都是放松和中性的，呃，呃，呃。

The lips are parted.

嘴唇分开。

The jaw hangs loose and the tongue lies there completely disengaged

下巴松弛地悬挂着，舌头完全脱离，

as you can see uh, uh, uh.

正如你所看到的，呃，呃，呃。

Now, the schwa is found in many words, usually in place of the weak

现在，schwa 出现在许多单词中，通常代替

or unstressed vowel within a word.

单词中的弱元音或非重读元音。

For example, take the word 'for'.

例如，以“for”一词为例。

Independently, it's pronounced /fɔː/.

单独发音为/fɔː/。

But, within a sentence, this word often switches to its weak

但是，在一个句子中，这个词经常切换到它的弱

form and becomes /fə/, /fə/.

形式并变成/fə/，/fə/。

Or is replaced with the schwa, uh, fuh, fuh.

或者被替换为 schwa，呃，fuh，fuh。

Take this sentence.

就拿这句话来说吧。

"Tea for two please and two sugars for me."

“请给两人茶，给我两块糖。”

Did you notice when I said 'for', both times they were weak,

你有没有注意到，当我说“为了”时，他们两次都很虚弱，

"Tea for /fə/ two please and two sugars for /fə/ me."

“请给/fə/两杯茶，给/fə/我两颗糖。”

"Tea for /fə/ two, sugars for /fə/ me."

“茶给 /fə/ 两个，糖给 /fə/ 我。”

"Tea for two please and two sugars for me."

“请给两人茶，给我两块糖。”

You will hear the same thing happen with of, of.

你会听到同样的事情发生在 of、of 上。

It becomes /əv/, /əv/.

变成/əv/、/əv/。

Listen to this.

听听这个。

"A piece of cake can cause a lot of trouble."

“一块蛋糕可能会引起很多麻烦。”

Piece of /əv/ cake instead of piece of /ɒv/ cake.

一块/əv/蛋糕而不是一块/ɒv/蛋糕。

Piece of cake.

小菜一碟。

Lot of /əv/, lot of /əv/ trouble.

很多/əv/，很多/əv/麻烦。

"A piece of cake can cause a lot of trouble."

“一块蛋糕可能会引起很多麻烦。”

And it happens with was /wɒz/ which becomes /wəz/, /wəz/.

它发生在 /wɒz/ 上，它变成了 /wəz/, /wəz/。

Listen to this.

听听这个。

"I was thinking while he was /wəz/ working on a bridge that was /wəz/ really old."

“当他 /wəz/ 在一座 /wəz/ 非常古老的桥梁上工作时，我就在想。”

"I was thinking while he was /wəz/ working on a bridge that was /wəz/ really old."

“当他 /wəz/ 在一座 /wəz/ 非常古老的桥梁上工作时，我就在想。”

Now, the schwa replaces words that end with ER, like in the word water.

现在，schwa 取代了以 ER 结尾的单词，例如水这个词。

Water.

水。

So we may ask for a bottle of water, a bottle of water.

所以我们可能要一瓶水，一瓶水。

Notice, I also replaced the ah with a schwa as well, a /ə/, a

请注意，我还用 schwa 替换了 ah，a /ə/，一瓶

bottle of water, a bottle of water.

水，一瓶水。

A bottle of water please.

请给我一瓶水。

It doesn't just replace er endings, it can also replace or, ar, and many

它不仅可以替换 er 词尾，还可以替换 or、ar 和许多

other endings, like in the word doctor.

其他词尾，例如 Doctor 一词。

Doctor /ˈdɒktə/, rather than doctor, and mirror /ˈmɪrə/, rather than mirror.

Doctor /ˈdɒktə/，而不是 doctor；mirror /ˈmɪrə/，而不是镜子。

Often students are caught out when the schwa sneaks in and replaces

当 schwa 偷偷溜进来，

the A or the E in words ending with consonant AL or consonant EL, like,

用辅音 AL 或辅音 EL 结尾的单词替换 A 或 E 时，学生们常常会被抓住，比如

"He was sentimental about the animal on the highest level of medication."

“他对动物的情感在最高水平的药物治疗中。”

"He was sentimental about the animal on the highest level of medication."

“他对这只动物怀有最高水平的药物治疗的感情。”

"He was sentimental about the animal on the highest level of medication."

“他对这只动物怀有最高水平的药物治疗的感情。”

And did you spot the word ending with T I O N?

您发现以 TION 结尾的单词了吗？

The schwa is in there too!

施瓦也在那里！

/ʃən/, /ʃən/.

/ʃən/，/ʃən/。

Medication.

药物。

Master the schwa sound and that will make a huge difference.

掌握 schwa 声音，这将会产生巨大的变化。

Okay, time for you to listen and repeat.

好的，现在是你听并重复的时间了。

"Tea for two please and two sugars for me."

“请给两人茶，给我两块糖。”

"A piece of cake can cause a lot of trouble."

“一块蛋糕可能会引起很多麻烦。”

"I was thinking, while he was working, on a bridge that was really old."

“当他在一座非常古老的桥上工作时，我在想。”

"A bottle of water."

“一瓶水。”

"He was sentimental about the animal."

“他对这只动物很有感情。”

"I'm on a high level of medication."

“我正在接受高水平的药物治疗。”

Now learning an accent or improving your pronunciation can seem difficult,

现在学习口音或提高发音似乎很困难，

perhaps impossible, but let me reassure you that it is absolutely possible.

甚至不可能，但让我向您保证，这是绝对可能的。

And though it does take time, it can also be an enjoyable journey of discovery.

尽管这确实需要时间，但这也可以是一次愉快的发现之旅。

And if you'd like support and guidance on your journey to perfecting

如果您在完善发音的过程中需要支持和指导

your pronunciation, then click on the link in the description and

，请单击说明中的链接，

I'll tell you how I can help you.

我会告诉您如何帮助您。

So next I must talk about the R sound in RP.

那么接下来我必须谈谈RP中的R音。

British English is non-rhotic.

英式英语是非卷舌语。

We don't pronounce the R when it follows a vowel.

当 R 跟在元音后面时，我们不发音。

This can cause pronunciation confusion as other popular varieties of English

这可能会导致发音混乱，因为其他流行的英语变体

are rhotic and do pronounce the R.

都发音为 R。

But this is not the case in RP.

但 RP 中的情况并非如此。

The R is silent unless it begins the word or is followed by an audible vowel.

R 是不发音的，除非它开始于单词或后跟可听见的元音。

So, in words such as real, rock and roll, you will, of course, pronounce the R

因此，在“real”、“rock and roll”等单词中，您当然会

just as you would in words like zero, and irate, and carrot, zero, irate, carrot.

像在“zero”、“irate”、“carrot”、“zero”、“irate”、“carrot”等单词中一样

In these words, the R is sandwiched between two vowel sounds, zero, EOR.

发音 R。 在这些词中，R 夹在两个元音、零、EOR 之间。

R in the middle.

Zero.

中间是R。

零。

IA in irate.

IA很愤怒。

AR, RO in carrot.

AR，RO在胡萝卜中。

I don't pronounce the R.

我不发音R。

However, if it comes after a vowel and is followed by a consonant, so car for

但是，如果它出现在元音后面，后面跟着辅音，例如汽车

example, we wouldn't pronounce the R.

，我们就不会发音R。

But there would be an R if the following word began with a vowel sound.

但是如果后面的单词以元音开头，就会有R声音。

But let's look at the words car wash.

但让我们看看洗车这个词。

Because the following sound is a consonant, wuh.

因为下面的声音是辅音，呜。

Car wash has no R sound.

洗车没有R声。

Car wash.

洗车。

Car wash.

洗车。

"Going to the car wash."

“去洗车场。”

Here's an example.

这是一个例子。

Part.

部分。

Part.

部分。

An important part.

一个重要的部分。

We didn't pronounce the R in part.

我们没有部分发音R。

Or important.

或者说很重要。

An important part.

一个重要的部分。

But you'd probably drop the last T of important.

但你可能会放弃最后一个重要的T。

When you put it next to P of part, so you'd say, important part.

当你把它放在 P 部分旁边时，你会说，重要部分。

Important part.

重要部分。

An important part.

一个重要的部分。

Try this.

尝试这个。

"The water jet is an important part of the car wash."

“水射流是洗车的重要组成部分。”

Now, with this lack of rhoticity, paw and poor sound exactly the

现在，由于没有这种僵硬，爪子和可怜的声音完全一样

same, as do father and farther.

，父亲和更远的声音也是如此。 另请注意，ERE 在

Also note that E R E can be pronounced as /eə/ in words

where /weə/、there /ðeə/ 等

like where /weə/, there /ðeə/.

单词中可以发音为 /eə/ 。

Or it could be pronounced as /ɪə/ in hear, near, sincere.

或者它可以在“听到”、“接近”、“真诚”中发音为/ɪə/。

I R E can be pronounced as /aɪə/, /aɪə/ in words like fire, higher and wire.

IRE 在火、更高和电线等单词中可以发音为 /aɪə/、/aɪə/。

A R E is often pronounced as /eə/ again in words like care, share and bear.

ARE 在关心、分享和承担等词中通常再次发音为 /eə/。

But we do not pronounce the R in any of those examples.

但我们在这些例子中都不发音 R。

So that's the important bit to hold on to.

所以这是要坚持的重要一点。

Is your head spinning yet?

你的头还晕吗？

Trying to learn all these rules can be daunting.

尝试学习所有这些规则可能会令人畏惧。

Often, it's best to just let your brain work out the patterns itself by giving

通常，最好的办法就是让你的大脑通过给予

it lots and lots of input, regularly listening, active listening and shadowing.

大量的输入、定期倾听、积极倾听和影子来自行计算出模式。

It can go a long way.

它可以走很长的路。

So go and find a great podcast.

所以去寻找一个很棒的播客吧。

The English Like a Native Podcast offers daily podcasts for you to

像母语一样的英语播客提供每日播客供您收听

listen to and they easily fit into your daily life because they're

，它们很容易融入您的日常生活，因为它们很

quite short, but not too short.

短，但又不太短。

So be sure to find it on your preferred streaming platform.

因此，请务必在您喜欢的流媒体平台上找到它。

Now repeat after me.

现在跟我重复一遍。

"Carrots are rolling but where are the rocks?"

“胡萝卜在滚动，但石头在哪里？”

"Rita is irate."

“丽塔很生气。”

"Get car hire here."

“在这里租车。”

"Share and care, sharing and caring."

“分享与关怀，分享与关怀”。

"It's an important part of the car wash."

“这是洗车的重要组成部分。”

Okay, moving on to a tricky little short vowel.

好的，继续讲一个棘手的小短元音。

The short /ʌ/ vowel.

短元音/ʌ/。

As a northerner myself, I was surprised to learn all those years ago that RP had a

作为一个北方人，多年前我惊讶地发现RP有一个

short vowel which I had never used before.

我以前从未使用过的短元音。

The /ʌ/ vowel.

/ʌ/ 元音。

This means that the vowel sound in put and good sound different to

这意味着 put 和 good sound 中的元音与

the vowel sound in cut and strut.

cut 和 strut 中的元音不同。

It also means that the phrase good luck is very tricky for me to pronounce without

这也意味着，“好运”这个词对我来说很难发音，而不会

slipping back into my northern accent, which would be good luck, good luck,

又回到我的北方口音，这将是“好运”，“好运”，

but in RP it's good luck, not good luck.

但在 RP 中，它是“好运”，而不是“好运”。

Good luck.

祝你好运。

This sound we can find it by starting in the lazy schwa position.

我们可以从懒惰的 schwa 位置开始找到这个声音。

Uh, uh, uh.

呃，呃，呃。

Then we drop the lower jaw slightly, lift the back of the tongue slightly

然后我们稍微下颌，稍微抬起舌后部

to produce an /ʌ/, /ʌ/, /ʌ/, /ʌ/.

，发出/ʌ/、/ʌ/、/ʌ/、/ʌ/。

It's not as far as an ah sound, which goes a little further with

它不像啊的声音那么远， 下巴下垂，舌头抬起，声音

the dropped jaw and raised tongue.

远一点 。

Listen to the difference between these three sounds.

听听这三种声音之间的区别。

/ə/, /ə/, /ʌ/, /ʌ/, /æ/, /æ/, /ə/ /ʌ/, /æ/.

/ə/、/ə/、/ʌ/、/ʌ/、/æ/、/æ/、/ə/ /ʌ/、/æ/。 您可能会注意到，当我从懒惰的

You may notice that it makes me smile as I move from the lazy

schwa（/ə/）移动到 /æ/ 时，

schwa, /ə/, through to an /æ/.

它让我微笑 。

/ə/, /ʌ/, /æ/.

/ə/、/ʌ/、/æ/。

Repeat these phrases.

重复这些短语。

"Come up trumps."

“上来王牌。”

"Come up trumps."

“上来王牌。”

"Lump sums of money."

“一次性的钱。”

"Lump sums of money."

“一次性的钱。”

"Some love, others lust."

“有些人是爱，有些人是欲望。”

Let's move from short to long and discuss the confusion around the /ɑː/ vowel.

让我们从短到长讨论围绕 /ɑː/ 元音的混乱。

You may have noticed earlier I said car with a long open vowel.

您可能已经注意到之前我说的汽车带有长开元音。

Car.

车。

In RP the same vowel is used in words like bath.

在 RP 中，“bath”等单词使用相同的元音。

Pass.

经过。

Last.

最后的。

And laugh.

并笑。

Now, in many regional UK accents and in American, the vowel in

现在，在许多英国地方口音和美国口音中，这些单词中的元音

these words is a short /æ/.

是短/æ/。

Bath.

洗澡。

Pass.

经过。

Last.

最后的。

Laugh.

笑。

So, keep this in mind when you're working on RP.

因此，当您处理 RP 时请记住这一点。

Bath, passed, last and laugh.

巴斯，过去了，最后笑了。

Practice the RP version with me now.

现在就和我一起练习RP版本吧。

"The last car drove past."

“最后一辆车开过去了。”

Past!

Oops typo:)

过去的！

哎呀，打字错误：）

" Who had the last laugh?"

“谁笑到了最后？”

"My father's in the bath."

“我爸爸在洗澡。”

"Up the garden path."

“沿着花园小路走。”

Sticking with long vowels, of all the vowels, I would say that most of my

坚持使用长元音，在所有元音中，我想说，我的大多数

students struggle the most with the oral posture of /ɔː/, found in words

学生在 /ɔː/ 的口腔姿势方面最困难，这种姿势出现在

such as sure /ʃɔː/, more and law.

“sure /ʃɔː/”、“more”和“law”等单词中。

And /ɜː/ found in words such as shirt and work.

和 /ɜː/ 出现在诸如衬衫和工作之类的词中。

In most cases, learners are confused by the non-rhotic R,

在大多数情况下，学习者会对 我们之前谈到的

which we spoke about earlier.

非卷音 R 感到困惑

So with the /ɔː/ sound, you need to drop the lower jaw a long way to make a big

。 因此，在发出 /ɔː/ 音时，您需要将下颌深深地放下，以便

space inside the mouth and round the lips.

在嘴内留出一个大的空间并使嘴唇变圆。

/ɔː/ /ɔː/.

/ɔː/ /ɔː/.

Repeat these phrases.

重复这些短语。

"For your door."

“到你家门口去。”

"For more paws."

“为了更多的爪子。”

"He yawns and scores."

“他打哈欠并得分。”

With that first example, "For your door," I want you to remember what we

通过第一个例子，“For your Door”，我希望你记住我们

talked about regarding the of the R.

谈论过的关于 R 的内容。

So, rather than, "For your door," in RP, you wouldn't pronounce the R in

因此，在 RP 中，你不会将 R 发音为“For your Door”

any of these words, "For your door."

。这句话是“为你的门”。

You will just hear the repeat of /ɔː/, /ɔː/, /ɔː/, /ɔː/ with a few

您只会听到重复的 /ɔː/、/ɔː/、/ɔː/、/ɔː/ 以及一些

extra letters, "For your door."

额外的字母，“For your Door”。

Now when looking at the long /ɜː/ sound, the letter R usually

现在，当看到长 /ɜː/ 音时，字母 R 通常

causes an issue for students.

会给学生带来问题。

Take a look at the words, word, work, shirt.

看看单词，单词，工作，衬衫。

The temptation is to pronounce the R word, work, shirt, but in RP you

诱惑是发音 R 词，工作，衬衫，但在 RP 中，您

would ignore the R and instead use the long, /ɜː/ word, work, shirt.

会忽略 R 而是使用长词，/ɜː/ 词，工作，衬衫。

Repeat these phrases,

重复这些短语，

"Bert preferred birds."

“伯特更喜欢鸟类。”

"I walk to work."

“我步行去上班。”

"The world of words."

“文字的世界。”

"He heard her burp."

“他听到她打嗝了。”

Is this useful so far?

到目前为止这有用吗？

It's a lonely existence standing in front of a camera alone

独自站在 房间里的 镜头前自​​言自语，这是一种孤独的存在

in a room talking to myself.

。

So if you are still with me, let me know by hitting the like

因此，如果您仍然和我在一起，请点击“喜欢”

button and comment below telling me why you're watching this video.

按钮并在下面发表评论告诉我您为什么观看此视频。

I look forward to learning more about you.

我期待更多地了解您。

Now.

现在。

I have to mention the TH.

不得不提的是TH。 如果您不

This is probably the most awkward oral posture to master if you're unfamiliar

熟悉 /θ/、/θ/、/ /ð/ 这个声音，

with this sound /θ/, /θ/, / /ð/.

这可能是最难掌握的口腔姿势 。

Yes, I'm sticking my tongue out, well not all the way out, /θ/, but it's placed

是的，我伸出舌头，但不是完全伸出，/θ/，但它放在

between my teeth with just a slither of space for the air to pass through.

我的牙齿之间，只有一条缝隙可供空气通过。

This It's simple to demonstrate, but it's one of the hardest adjustments to make.

这很容易演示，但却是最难进行的调整之一。

But as with all things, practice equals progress.

但与所有事情一样，实践等于进步。

There are two versions of the TH, voiceless TH, as in thank,

TH 有两个版本，清 TH，如感谢、

think, path, and voiced TH.

思考、路径和浊 TH。

The, that, whether, them.

该、那个、是否、他们。

Repeat these phrases.

重复这些短语。

"These three ran farther."

“这三个人跑得更远了。”

"The thief threw it."

“是小偷扔的。”

"These thoughts are threatening."

“这些想法具有威胁性。”

As I mentioned earlier, it is possible to transform your voice

正如我之前提到的，改变你的声音是可能的

just as I did many years ago.

就像我多年前所做的那样。

To learn the strategies that I used to transform, come along

要学习我用来转换的策略，请参加

to my Pronunciation Masterclass.

我的发音大师班。

The link is in the description.

链接在描述中。