International Dialects of English Archive
Founded 1997

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Received Pronunciation

These recordings of Comma Gets a Cure were all made by trained speech teachers who speak and teach some variety of "Received Pronunciation" or "RP" speech for the stage. They will be useful to those interested in learning what various British speech professionals recommend. If you are an RP-speaking voice and speech professional and care to submit your own recording, please email us your mp3 and bio.

For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here
please go to Other Dialect Services

Dialect Samples

To properly play a sound sample, you may first need to save it to your own computer. To display the various 'save' options, PC users should right-click on the desired sample below; Mac users should press the Control key while clicking. A high-speed connection to the Internet may allow you to play the file simply by clicking it once or twice.
Sound Sample Basic Information
Helen Ashton
Helen Ashton trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating with Distinction from the MA in Voice Studies. She specialises in Speech and Dialect, which she teaches at Drama Centre London, and Birmingham School of Acting. She has coached actors on accents for audition, screen and stage. Helen works with business people through Powerful Communication Associates, and has designed and taught bespoke Accent Softening courses for individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. Helen is committed to helping people from all walks of life to communicate expressively and with ease. She also holds an MA with First Class Honours in History from The University of Edinburgh.
Hilary Jones
Hilary reads the piece twice: once in very conservative R.P. complete with flapped /r/; and second in what she considers her "everyday voice." Jones currently lectures at 'The Centre for Voice in Perfomance' at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She studied for her IPA with Greta Colson,has taught accents and dialects at many of the major UK drama schools and coached numerous theatre productions including 'Bruises' for The Royal Court and 'Three Birds Alighting On A Field' for The State Theatre, Adelaide. Contact h.jones@rsamd.ac.uk
Paul Meier
Paul Meier is IDEA's founder and director. He is Professor of Voice, Speech, Dialects, and Heightened Text at the University of Kansas. He trained at the Rose Bruford School of Speech and Drama and holds a first-class Certificate of Profiency from the International Phonetic Association. He is a dialect coach for theatre and film, and is the author of Accents and Dialects for Stage and Screen available from bookstores and from Paul Meier Dialect Services.
Marina Tyndall
Marina Tyndall was born and raised in Brighton, England, where she still lives today. She holds an MA Voice Studies, an IPA Proficiency Certificate and a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults). She is a Dialect Coach at Central School of Speech and Drama, Rose Bruford College and WAC College for the Performing Arts. She is also part of the Accent Reduction team at King Street Language College London.

Special Collections

  • General American
  • Holocaust Survivors
  • Oral Histories
  • Phonetic Transcriptions
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  • Received Pronunciation

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