You’ve been asked to use a British accent, or perhaps you’re expanding your range. How do you even begin to sound convincing (assuming that you’re not already British)?
In this article, we talk through how to do a British accent. We’ll begin with a quick run through the incredible diversity of British accents, and make a start at mastering that actors’ staple, Received English Pronunciation.
What is the basic British accent?
There are a lot of British accents and dialects. Accents in Britain are very localised, and change across small geographic areas. The British audience do love to pick holes in an accent: they’re merciless, and still haven’t forgiven Dick Van Dyke for his Cockney accent in Mary Poppins – which was released in 1964. However, imagine a British actor thinking that one-accent-fits-all for a US character, and you get the idea.
The main thing to remember about the United Kingdom is that it’s made up from four different countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The accents in these four countries are completely different, and indeed in Wales, about a third of the population speaks another language. Within these four countries, there are many different accent variations. So, if you’re asked to speak in a British accent, your first task is to find out which British accent.
Types of British accents
Before we go on a whistle-stop tour of UK accents, take a moment to admire this fantastic resource. The International Dialects of England Archive (IDEA) has recorded samples of different accents speaking English, taken from people across the world. It covers native English speakers from across Great Britain, including from the other UK countries. You can also search for people from other countries speaking English in their own accents and dialects.
As well as picking up the accent, you need to be aware of the local dialect – what’s the difference between accent and dialect? A dialect is the distinct vocabulary, grammar and phraseology of a certain region. For example, someone from Yorkshire may say “Nowt” instead of “Nothing”, while the Celtic nations (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland plus Cornwall) intersperse their English with loan words from their original languages. The script may be written in standard English, making it your job to apply the accent or dialect to the written language.
Here are the main British accents to be aware of:
- English
England is the largest of the UK nations and has the greatest variety of accents. Normally, if you’re asked simply to talk with a British accent, it will be a “posh” Southern English accent (we’ll look at this in more detail shortly). Distinctive variants include the West Country, Brummie (Birmingham), Scouse (Liverpool) and Geordie (Newcastle). There’s also a range of other northern dialects, which are all subtly different to each other.
- Scottish
There’s also a wide range of accents across Scotland, from the soft, almost-Scandinavian tones of the topmost islands to the famously broad Glaswegian accent. To get an idea of the variations within Scotland, listen to actors Sir Billy Connolly, David Tennant, Kelly MacDonald and Ewan McGregor. Here’s Brian Cox demonstrating the mellow beauty of his Scottish accent.
- Welsh
Wales is full of subtle dialects and speech patterns; however most Welsh acting roles will require the famously “sing-song” accent of the South Wales Valleys. This accent is generally regarded as melodic and poetic: think Michael Sheen, Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins. Should you ever be asked to speak in a North Walian accent, it’s a cross between Valleys and Scouse.
- Northern Irish
This is a notoriously difficult accent to get right, and we’d certainly recommend a good dialect coach if you’re asked for a Northern Irish accent. Listen to Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt and Jamie Dornan, who are all actors from Northern Ireland. It differs from the accents in the Republic of Ireland because it’s more influenced by neighbouring British dialects such as Scots (especially right up in the north) and northern English.
RP Accent
When a director or a casting director asks for a British accent, this is usually the one they want: Received Pronunciation, generally known as “RP”, Received English Pronunciation and occasionally as “The King’s English”. This is an educated-sounding, southern English accent: think Hugh Grant, Stephen Fry, Emma Watson or Keira Knightley.
Actor Brian Cox naturally speaks with a Scottish accent but received training in RP. There has been a backlash in Britain against actors and presenters losing their native accents over the last few years; however, Brian Cox argues that learning RP enables an actor to speak more clearly:
“The best argument for voice work in terms of diction is to understand that in Received English Pronunciation (RP), there are twenty vowel sounds. You literally have bigger range in RP, whereas in most accents, if you’re Scots, or you’re Irish say, you may only have something like thirteen vowel sounds. They get shortened. But if you do RP, your range is that much bigger and so is your vocal expression. People often think using RP is a class thing. They don’t want to lose their class roots, but clarity of purpose, and clarity of voice go hand in hand.”
So, when you’re just starting out with learning British pronunciation, RP is an excellent place to start. To get an idea of how RP sounds in ordinary conversation, listen to actor Hugh Grant talking with cook and writer Nigella Lawson about fish, of all things. They both speak in “standard British” accents, which is a more relaxed version of RP. Because this is the British accent most people grow up hearing in movies and on TV, most non-Brits find it easy to tune into.
How to talk with a British accent: Received Pronunciation
If you want to sound like Hugh or Nigella, work with a vocal coach to create an authentic British accent. To get you started, here are a few key characteristics of RP British accent pronunciation that you might like to try.
R
One of the most noticeable differences between US English and UK English is the letter R. Most English accents including RP gloss over the Rs, while they’re sounded in American dialects. For example, “hardly” is pronounced “hah-dly” in received English pronunciation. (The R features massively in the other UK nations’ accents, however: it’s one of the main differentiators.)
Then, just for confusion, the Brits stick an R in occasionally as a joining letter. Try saying “Where are you?” in a US accent. It’s three separate words, right? An English speaker would say something closer to “Where-r-are you?”, using an extra R sound to link the two vowels.
U
Another main difference between US and UK English is how you say a “U” sound. In American English, a word like “stupid” is spoken as “stoopid”. If you’re speaking in a British accent, you’d say something a bit like “stewpid”, which is closer to how “you” is pronounced.
T
The “glottal stop” varies greatly across British accents: for example, a Cockney would say “li’el” for “little” (which in the US is often spoken as “liddle”). Sounding the Ts is a feature of received pronunciation, which considers it a terribly poor show to “drop one’s Ts”. This letter sounds quite sharp in RP speech, which is sometimes described as being a “cut glass” accent.
A
The length of the letter A is possibly the biggest linguistic divide in spoken English. If you’re not quite sure whether a Brit is from the north or south, ask them to say “bathroom”. If they say it with a long A (“bah-throom”), they’re southern. When you’re learning to speak RP, lengthening your vowels is key.
Of course, there are nuances and the rule doesn’t apply to every instance: you wouldn’t talk about the famous Dr Seuss character “The Cah-t in the Hah-t”, for example. This is where a dialect or accent coach is invaluable – they’ll know both the rules and the exceptions.
Listen to Hugh Grant and Nigella Lawson again. Can you hear these distinctive sounds? When you’re trying to learn an RP accent, keep listening to British actors like Dames Helen Mirren and Judi Dench, and you’ll increasingly notice these characteristics. Start developing your ear for British accents now, then progress to working with a dialect coach to fine-tune your performance.
Nailing that accent is a big part of getting into character. For more advice about character development and other essential acting techniques, take a look at actor Brian Cox’s BBC Maestro course on Acting.
