Talk:British Non-Regional Pronunciation

Disputed

The reference is a text book which says "To refer to this variety we shall employ the term non-regional pronunciation (abbreviated to NRP)". Note this is not saying "the term for this is" or "linguists call this", just that they are using the term. The only other references on the web are wikipedia articles and copies thereof. -- Q Chris (talk)

But it IS a pretty standard text book widely used in the relevant university departments. Even if you are right, this article is still appropriate, but should say "NRP is the term used by so-and-so to denote..." However, given how influential the book is, my feeling is that you will find this in other places too. --Doric Loon (talk) 10:56, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Incidentally, I take it your objection is only to the term, not to the existence of the phenomenon? If you listen to the recordings which are referenced in that passage, the two pronunciations are very different, and quite subjectively most British people would feel that the one designated RP is dated and "posh", while the one designated NRP is a mainstream contemporary TV-culture accent. They are certainly different, and I don't know any other terminology for the difference. But perhaps you do? --Doric Loon (talk) 11:11, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

I would have to listen to the recording, but RP is changing and certainly becoming "less posh". Perhaps this is what it is referring to -- Q Chris (talk) 11:26, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps. OK, I think I have nothing more to say about this just now. I suggest we leave it as a stub with a "disputed" tag and give other people a chance to find it and think about it. I will put a note on the English phonology and RP talk pages and then take a back seat for a bit and watch what people want to do with it. --Doric Loon (talk) 13:05, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I think that's a good idea. We need more opinions to find the consensus, and possibly some people will have more references. -- Q Chris (talk) 13:08, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't think that this needs a page on its own. It seems to be the name given by two people for the advanced RP that is already described in other articles. It's a bit like Jack Windsor Lewis's phrase "General British", which no-one except him uses; should there be a page for that? I don't see the need for duplicating information across articles. How about adding a sentence or two on the RP articles about the numerous names that are applied to it?

It is interesting how these names reflect their author's views. Collins, Mee and Lewis believe that there is a non-regional accent for the whole of Britain. Wells and Trudgill believes that there is only one for England and Wales. The Oxford Dictionary believes that it is only in the south of England where you get a standard pronunciation. These subtly different definitions could be detailed somewhere. Epa101 (talk) 15:38, 21 March 2009 (UTC)