How many people speak RP (Received Pronunciation) in England?

How many people in the UK actually speak Received Pronunciation.

Only an estimated 3% of the population speak with an RP accent, mostly in England.


Is Received Pronunciation [RP] actually spoken in England?..

Many non British people think they need to learn the Received Pronunciation version of the English language, but do they really need to?  (see my answer at the bottom)

How many people in the UK actually speak Received Pronunciation.

Only an estimated 3% of the population speak with an RP accent, mostly in England.

But many people think they do, or don’t know what it is and assume they do, as they speak normal English.

A group of English students were asked that question, and 65% said they did speak RP. However, the comments indicated that they didn’t actually know what it was.
Comments such as: “I think nearly everyone at uni speaks RP.” and “If received pronunciation is standard English, then yes, I do.”

Other comments, probably from Educators, included: Most people don’t speak with an RP accent – it’s your classic ‘BBC’ accent. In fact, true RP is quite unusual.

What is RP?

Received Pronunciation tends to be thought of as ‘educated speech’, and would have been more common in the South East of England. The posh areas.

Do Non English speakers need to learn the Received Pronunciation version of the English language?

I would say Yes. For one reason. It is a constant easily understood version of English.
But, Do Not worry about getting it 100% right. If you get it 50% right, you may be doing better than many British born, native English Speakers.


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