RP or not RP – that is the Question …

Actors are often asked to speak using RP or Standard English. There is fierce debate about what the spoken (as opposed to written) Standard English actually is and this section offers samples of Standard English speech which may also be useful to speakers of English as a second language (ESL).

Contemporary RP

Female voice recordings

Sample 1: from Colchester, England

Sample 2: from Hertfordshire, England

Sample 3: from SE London, England

Sample 4: from Stratford-upon-Avon, England

Male voice recordings

Sample 1: from Sussex, England

Heightened RP

Sample 1: Female