Is life easier in some ways for people who speak RP?

[user1466795981]

I have an older (retired) male friend/acquaintance who lives in a provincial town.

He is convinced he is called 'sir' in shops etc and addressed more courteously as he speaks in this way and not in the local/regional accent.

The merits of being attractive have recently been discussed. Is speaking 'RP' an advantage?

An RP accent and a tweed suit vs a football strip and a broad regional accent?

Two different world's.

ItchyArmpits - that is so interesting what you said about men and women all the pull. FWIW - when I was 18, I went out with a group of friends to celebrate some, as it happened, joint birthdays. There was a pretty decent looking young lad, - we were all much same age - and when I asked him where he lived as a conversation starter thing - he named a VERY working class part of town - think 70s council estate right on the very edge of a town - in other words - an area that can't be 'gentrified' really unlike some 'inner city areas today. When he said this - in my mind I was like "Get your coat, you've pulled". Seriously!! I ended up having a major crush on him. (I love a bit of rough)

I was brought up in the home counties speaking RP, then moved and was teased relentlessly for being "posh" (we really weren't). I then spent years working on my accent to fit in better and now sound a bit like I'm from the east end/Essex. I really wish I'd kept my original accent because yes, I do think the way people respond to you is affected by your accent and perceived education, status, etc.

Also, in another situation where I was chatted up at 18 by a man I wasn't really attracted to - I led him up the garden path completely - said I came from a really rough council estate, from a completely different type of family. Funnily enough the only thing I told the truth about was my star sign.

Tonight, you can be anyone you want to be.

A friend from uni spoke beautifully. The amount of reverse snobbery she experienced was unreal. However she now works on an international level so she got the last laugh.

Interesting theory, itchy

I'm a first generation immigrant with a RP accent, so I'm told. It definitely throws people when I meet them for the first time as i'm not what they'd expected iykwim.

dragonsarebest

yeah, I mean what was the matta wivvya????

Understandable, though, I was called posh as well - it's not always a synomym for privilege.

Fanella thats exactly what people thought of my friend.

toffeeboffin - not always - I can definitely think of someone very 'RP' who's also very 'football strip'

Shocking grammar though, so I'd never pass for a true Brit!

I would say yes.

In the same way that beautiful people and white men aren't aware (and often deny) the privilege that it brings because they don't know any different, I would say yes but a lot of people who speak RP will post to deny that this is the case.

Howver, in my own country I speak without a particular regional accent and it is an advantage. In Ireland if I walk in to and antique shop for a poke about, I'm welcome. In Ireland if I ring to make a reservation, I'm given a good table. If I complain, my complaint is taken more seriously. Of course I don't know this. I can't prove it. But I suspect it. In the UK I'm one of the unwashed masses, lol. There is no privilege to being just one more of the populice. So I would say that I notice a difference in the absence of that unacknowledged privilege. Although, now, I do acknowledge it because the absence of it used to smart a little.

It depends what you mean by RP. Do you mean the Queen's accent? It has changed quite markedly since her childhood. Do you mean Prince William's accent? Do you mean the accent used by many broadcasters e.g. Fiona Bruce?

Even prince William and prince Harry do t speak RP so I imagine that you'd be pretty much laughed at in most places of you did speak like that. However, life with a neutral southern accent where you pronounce all words correctly generally helps a bit I imagine but any kind of accent so long as it isn't overpowering is probably similar

I'm one of those irritating people whose accent changes wildly depending on who I'm talking to and what I'm talking about. Comes from having a family from all cities over the British Isles, and having moved a lot, and having gone to a posh school for a bit. I think being stuck with RP is no blessing - some people like me have a bit of a chip on the shoulder about posh people and will assume that if you pronounce "fire" as "fah" you probably hunt foxes, bray witlessly over Pimm's and go to Ascot all the time with your pointless weak-chinned friends, even if you're perfectly normal!

a neutral southern accent where you pronounce all words correctly
Massive value judgement

I think it depends on circumstances. Where I'm from, anyone with a "posh" accent is presumed to be a wealthy Londoner who buys second homes to drive up the prices of housing out of the locals' grasp. They would be treated with contempt by proxy, I'm afraid.

I thought it meant reet posh!

i8sum - that's very interesting what you say - it's the subtle difference.

derxa - interesting question - I suppose reaslitically, Fiona Bruce.

Being in a relationship with a black, working class man with a North London accent, I am reminded on a regular basis by society's differing responses to he and I that if you're white, middle class and well-spoken you've won a lottery of life of sorts.

Of course, each of those things independently makes my life much much easier but yes - I do absolutely believe that an RP accent opens a lot of doors. People assume I'm well-educated and affluent and treat me accordingly. There's still prejudice about certain regions which you avoid if your accent gives no indication of a connection with them. My accent gives little away about my background, heritage or place of origin, therefore I find people feel entitled to make fewer assumptions about me.

Whilst people occasionally comment that I sound "posh" or "well-to-do" it's never in a negative or disparaging way: even when I've found myself in a proper locals pub in the East End of Glasgow, I've never had anything more than a bit of gentle ribbing and good-natured imitation.

I think that I speak RP and sound a bit posh - DH is from oop North and says 'tis so. I do think that some people respond to me differently once I start talking - maybe it's something to do with being addressed by someone who sounds like that authoritative person, the newsreader I have noticed this particularly with non-British people in Britain. Perhaps my accent is closer to the learning videos than average and so easier to understand, which makes me likable.....

I don't know, but I do think it makes a difference.

My mum speaks RP... Never knew there was a correct term for it until this thread.

When im tired or irritable for some reason her accent really grates on me and I can't be around her. It just sounds so put on most of the time and I don't know how she keeps up the pretense (just my mum mind, most others are fine! think it stems that were in the north so she does stick out quite a bit!)

Some people used to have a "telephone voice" - bit like Hyacinth Bucket- that was an attempt at RP. Does anyone still do that?

I am Scottish and grew up here but am often accused of being English due to my RP accent - I really don't know where it came from, as I went to the local (rural) comp. So socially, it was hell in my childhood and teens.

As an adult, I think it does help in the professional world, people do listen more - or maybe because I work in an well-educated field, I no longer encounter anti-English prejudice.

On the plus side, my DH finds my posh voice a massive turn on

Yes, generally, but not everywhere.

It's handy to be able to tone it down too.

Sal74.... me too!!!