Insert
 
Happy Christmas. 25 years ago my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages. Today is another landmark, because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day.
 
Feifei:  以上是英国伊丽莎白女王在祝贺大家圣诞快乐。
 
Finn:  A voice familiar to all British people. That broadcast comes from 1957.
 
Feifei:  欢迎收听《你问我答》，我是冯菲菲。
 
Finn:  And I’m Finn. Today we’ll be hearing more from the Queen as we talk about a
topic that is very popular with our audience: Received Pronunciation.
 
Feifei:  标准发音 Received Pronunciation, 也就是我们常说的RP. 对于学习英语的朋友们来说，有一个标准的发音来模仿，像标准的汉语普通话一样，在学习的时候相对就会容易些。赵雨帆听友给我们发来了这样一个问题。
 
Insert
 
Hello everyone, my name is Neil. I prefer the British accent and I am an English learner in China. Someone told me something about standard Received Pronunciation. I visited the podcast page of the BBC and downloaded some programmes but I’m still confused about which one is standard Received Pronunciation. And could you tell me something about which presenter should I copy in BBC programmes.
 
Feifei:  Whose accent should we be copying; yours, Will’s, mine, Helen’s, Yang Li’s, Diarmuid’s?
 
Finn:  Well I would say mine of course! No, seriously I think all of our presenters have beautiful, clear English voices and all of them are a good model. But do we speak RP? And what exactly does RP sound like?
 
Feifei:  正如赵雨帆说的那样，BBC的广播员们现在不都是像 40，50年代时播音员那样操有一口标准发音。
 
Finn:  Yes, in the old days all BBC announcers spoke RP. 
 
 
Insert
 
This is London. You will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister.
 
Finn:  In fact because they all spoke this way, another common name for RP appeared: BBC English.
 
Feifei:  下面请听1940年BBC 一位播音员的录音。清晰的语音，短促的元音，使得标准发音非常容易被识别。
 
Insert
 
This is the BBC Home Service. Hello children everywhere. This is one of the most important days in the history of Children’s Hour. Some time ago we were honoured by the visit to the studio of the King and Queen.
 
Feifei:  Sounds great!
 
Finn:  Yes, though you can tell immediately that it’s from another era.
 
Feifei:   来自另一个时代  from another era. 
 
Finn:  To many British people today, voices like these sound incredibly old-fashioned and even a bit funny.
 
Feifei:  过时的old-fashioned.
 
Finn:  Almost no one speaks like that today. So, has RP disappeared from Britain, or has it changed? 
 
Feifei:  我们再来听一段伊丽莎白女王的讲话，因为一说起标准发音，女王是我们想到的第一个人。
  
Finn:  We’re going to listen to two clips. One from 1957, and one from 2009. Now, most people would agree that the Queen still speaks RP. But has even her RP changed over time? Let’s listen. First 1957.
 
Insert
 
It’s inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you. A successor to the Kings and Queens of history. Someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now, at least for a few minutes, I welcome you to the peace of my own home.
 
Finn:  That was the Queen in 1957. And now let’s listen to her again in 2009. Try
and spot how her language has changed.
 
Insert
 
Each year that passes seems to have its own character. Some leave us with a feeling of satisfaction. Others are best forgotten. 2009 was a difficult year for many, in particular those facing the continuing effects of the economic downturn.
 
Finn:  So Feifei, how has it changed?
 
Feifei:  Well, I think her voice sounds older of course. 
 
Finn:  Older, yes.
 
Feifei:  But also a bit more relaxed perhaps?
 
Finn:  Yes, and there’s a reason for this. It’s to do with vowel change.
 
Feifei:  元音变化。
 
Finn:  Ok, so let’s listen to the Queen in the 1950s here:
 
Insert
 
And that is how I imagine you now… Friends and companions…
 
Finn:  Let’s listen again. There is one word in particular which sounds different from
the way it is spoken today.
 
Insert
 
And that is how I imagine you now…
Friends and companions…
 
Finn:  Did you hear it? She said ‘and’.
 
Insert
 
Friends and companions…
 
Finn:  But the way it’s pronounced today is ‘and’, or even ‘and’. 
 
Insert
 
For ourselves and for others…
And saddened by the casualties…
 
Feifei:  这些变化就在于元音的发音，字母 a 从 a 变成了 a. 变化就在于发这个元音时舌头位置的变化，以前舌头会非常靠后，接近嗓子眼儿 a, 现在可以不过于在意的放在嘴中间  a.
  
Finn:  It’s a lazier sound, if you like. From and to and. And in fact this uh sound has become one of the most common sounds in the English language, appearing in many short words like a, the, of, that.
 
Feifei:  就像Finn 说的，这个发音更多的出现在较短的词里。在很多字典里，这个发音的音标就像一个倒过来的小写字母 e. 不过这只是近年来标准发音变化的一个。So Finn, English
is changing.
 
Finn:  Yes, as we’ve seen, even the Queen’s English is changing. So what does RP sound like today? 
 
Feifei:  可能最接近的就是BBC 广播和电视的新闻播报员了。
 
Finn:  Think about how this is different from presenters from the 40s and 50s.
 
Insert
 
It’s six o’ clock on Thursday the 3rd
 of December. Good morning. This is Today with
James Naughtie and Sarah Montague…
 
Snow and ice hit the great Christmas getaway, some of the toughest conditions for years…
 
Tonight at ten, history in the making as party leaders agree to live televised debates at the next election…
 
Feifei:  以上这些发音可以被称为现代标准发音。不过现在很多发音都多少受到了地方口音的影响。最后一位播报员就有一点儿威尔士口音，不过发音还是非常清晰易懂的。
 
Finn:  That’s right, this is the point. These days as long as your accent is clear, it doesn’t matter if you don’t sound like traditional RP.
 
Feifei:  But Finn.
 
Finn:  Yes? 
 
Feifei:  I think Zhao Yufan would probably still like an answer to his original question: which presenter from our programmes should he copy?
 
Finn:  His original question. If I was learning English and I really wanted to copy one person’s voice I would say – choose one you like!
 
Insert
 
Hello this is Ask About Britain from BBC Learning English. I’m Helen.
 
Hello I’m Jo and you’re listening to Question and Answer of the Week from BBC Learning English.
 
Hello and welcome to Ask About Britain. My name’s William Kremer.
 
 
Feifei:  好了，这个问题 Finn 是不会回答了。不过我同意 Finn的说法，发音清晰，可以和他人交流才是最重要的。我们网站上有很多可以帮助大家练习语音的栏目内容，各位可以登陆我们的网站收听这些节目。Finn, you know what?
 
Finn:  What’s that?
 
Feifei:  I think, just for Zhao Yufan, we should make an effort to speak RP for the rest of the programme.
 
Finn:  (in Queen’s accent) What a wonderful idea. Now, I would like to take this opportunity to suggest to all our listeners that they visit our website.
 
Feifei:  (in Queen’s accent) Ah yes, splendid. The address is www.bbcukchina.com.
 
Finn:  (in Queen’s accent) And please send us an electronic mail if you have any other questions about the English language.
 
Feifei:  (in Queen’s accent) Oh yes, please do. Send them to questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk
 
Finn:  (in Queen’s accent) Good bye, good day to you all, until we meet again.
 
Feifei:  (in Queen’s accent) Goodbye, listeners.
 
Finn:  Goodbye.