Editing Received Pronunciation (section)

==Phonology==

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-style="font-size: 90%;"
|+Consonant phonemes{{sfnp|Roach|2004|pp=240–241}}
!
!colspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
!colspan=2| [[Interdental consonant|Dental]]
!colspan=2| [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
!colspan=2| [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br/>alveolar]]
!colspan=2| [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
!colspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
!colspan=2| [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! <small>[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]</small>
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" | || width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|m}}
|colspan=2|
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" | || width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|n}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" | || width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|ŋ}}
|colspan=2|
|-
! <small>[[Stop consonant|Stop]]</small>
|style="border-right: 0;"|{{IPA link|p}}||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|b}}
|colspan=2|
|style="border-right: 0;"|{{IPA link|t}}||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|d}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|style="border-right: 0;"|{{IPA link|k}}||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|colspan=2|
|-
! <small>[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]</small>
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|tʃ}}|| width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|dʒ}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|-
! <small>[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]</small>
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|f}}|| width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|v}}
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|θ}}|| width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|ð}}
|style="border-right: 0;"|{{IPA link|s}}||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|z}}
|style="border-right: 0;"|{{IPA link|ʃ}}||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|ʒ}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|h}}|| width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |
|-
!rowspan=1| <small>[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]</small>
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|style="border-right: 0;"| ||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|l}}
|style="border-right: 0;"| ||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|ɹ|r}}
| width="20" style="border-right: 0;" | || width="20" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|j}}
|style="border-right: 0;"| ||style="border-left: 0;"|{{IPA link|w}}
|colspan=2|
|-
|}

Nasals and [[liquid consonant|liquids]] ({{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/ŋ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}) may be [[Syllabic consonant|syllabic]] in [[unstressed syllable]]s.{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=241}} The consonant {{IPA|/r/}} in RP is generally a [[postalveolar approximant]],{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=241}} which would normally be expressed with the sign {{IPA|[ɹ]}} in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]], but the sign {{IPA|/r/}} is nonetheless traditionally used for RP in most of the literature on the topic.

[[Voiceless plosive]]s ({{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ/}}) are [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]] at the beginning of a syllable, unless a completely unstressed vowel follows. (For example, the {{IPA|/p/}} is aspirated in "impasse", with primary stress on "-passe", but not "compass", where "-pass" has no stress.) Aspiration does not occur when {{IPA|/s/}} precedes in the same syllable, as in "spot" or "stop". When a [[sonorant]] {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|/w/}}, or {{IPA|/j/}} follows, this aspiration is indicated by partial [[devoicing]] of the sonorant.{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=240}} {{IPA|/r/}} is a [[Voiceless postalveolar non-sibilant fricative|fricative]] when devoiced.{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=241}}

Syllable final {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ/}}, and {{IPA|/k/}} may be either preceded by a [[glottal stop]] ([[Glottalization#Glottal reinforcement|glottal reinforcement]]) or, in the case of {{IPA|/t/}}, fully replaced by a glottal stop, especially before a [[syllabic nasal]] (''bitten'' {{IPA|[ˈbɪʔn̩]}}).{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=240}}{{sfnp|Gimson|1970}} The glottal stop may be realised as [[creaky voice]]; thus, an alternative phonetic transcription of ''attempt'' {{IPA|[əˈtʰemʔt]}} could be {{IPA|[əˈtʰemm̰t]}}.{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=241}}

As in other varieties of English, voiced plosives ({{IPA|/b/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/dʒ/}}) are partly or even fully devoiced at utterance boundaries or adjacent to [[voiceless consonants]]. The voicing distinction between voiced and voiceless sounds is reinforced by a number of other differences, with the result that the two of consonants can clearly be distinguished even in the presence of devoicing of voiced sounds:

*Aspiration of voiceless consonants syllable-initially
*Glottal reinforcement of /p, t, k, tʃ/ syllable-finally
*Shortening of vowels before voiceless consonants

As a result, some authors prefer to use the terms [[fortis and lenis|''fortis'' and ''lenis'']]<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Fortis and lenis obstruents in English |first=Herbert F. W. |last=Stahlke |date=1 January 2003 |journal=WORD |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=191–216 |doi=10.1080/00437956.2003.12068832 |s2cid=141381109 |doi-access=free}}</ref> in place of ''voiceless'' and ''voiced''. However, the latter are traditional and in more frequent usage.

The voiced dental fricative ({{IPA|/ð/}}) is more often a weak [[dental plosive]]; the sequence {{IPA|/nð/}} is often realised as {{IPA|[n̪n̪]}} (a long [[dental nasal]]).{{sfnp|Lodge|2009|pp=148–149}}{{sfnp|Shockey|2003|pp=43–44}}{{sfnp|Roach|2009|p=112}} {{IPA|/l/}} has [[velarised]] [[allophone]] ({{IPA|[ɫ]}}) in the [[syllable rime|syllable rhyme]].{{sfnp|Halle|Mohanan|1985|p=65}} {{IPA|/h/}} becomes voiced ({{IPA|[ɦ]}}) between [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] sounds.{{sfnp|Jones|1967|p=201}}{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2008|p=204}}

===Vowels===
[[Image:RP English monophthongs chart.svg|thumb|Monophthongs of a fairly conservative variety of RP. From {{harvtxt|Roach| 2004|p=242}}]]
[[Image:Modern General British monophthong chart.svg|thumb|Monophthongs of a modern variety of RP. Adapted from {{harvtxt|Cruttenden| 2014|}}]]
[[Image:Ranges of RP and GA English weak vowels.svg|thumb|Ranges of the weak vowels in RP and GA. From {{harvtxt|Wells| 2008|p=XXV}}]]
[[Image:RP English allophones on a vowel chart.svg|thumb|Allophones of some RP monophthongs, from {{Harvcoltxt|Collins|Mees|2003|pp=92, 95, 101}}. The red ones occur before dark {{IPA|/l/|cat=no}},<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Collins|Mees|2003|pp=95, 101}}</ref> and the blue one occurs before velars.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Collins|Mees|2003|p=92}}</ref>]]

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ [[Monophthong]]s ("Short")
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|unrounded}}
! {{small|rounded}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|ɪ}}
| {{IPA link|ɵ|ʊ}}
|
|
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ|e}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|ʌ}}
| {{IPA link|ɔ|ɒ}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|a|æ}}
| 
|
|
|}

Examples of [[short vowel]]s: {{IPA|/ɪ/}} in ''k'''i'''t'', ''m'''i'''rror'' and ''rabb'''i'''t'', {{IPA|/ʊ/}} in ''f'''oo'''t'' and ''c'''oo'''k'', {{IPA|/e/}} in ''dr'''e'''ss'' and ''m'''e'''rry'', {{IPA|/ʌ/}} in ''str'''u'''t'' and ''c'''u'''rry'', {{IPA|/æ/}} in ''tr'''a'''p'' and ''m'''a'''rry'', {{IPA|/ɒ/}} in ''l'''o'''t'' and '''''o'''range'', {{IPA|/ə/}} in '''''a'''go'' and ''sof'''a'''''.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ [[Monophthong]]s ("Long")
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|iː|audio=en-uk-e.ogg}}
| {{IPA link|ʉ|uː}} 
|
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛː|audio=en-uk-air.ogg}}
| {{IPA link|ɜː|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-er.wav}}
|{{IPA link|o|ɔː|audio=en-uk-awe.ogg}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɑː|audio=En-uk-r.ogg}}
|}

Examples of [[long vowel]]s: {{IPA|/iː/}} in ''fl'''ee'''ce'', {{IPA|/uː/}} in ''g'''oo'''se'', {{IPA|/ɛː/}} in ''b'''ear''''', {{IPA|/ɜː/}} in ''n'''ur'''se'' and ''f'''ur'''ry'', {{IPA|/ɔː/}} in ''n'''or'''th'', ''f'''or'''ce'' and ''th'''ou'''ght'', {{IPA|/ɑː/}} in ''f'''a'''ther'' and ''st'''ar'''t''.

The long mid front vowel {{IPA|/ɛː/}} is elsewhere transcribed with the traditional symbols {{angbr IPA|ɛə, eə}}. The predominant realisation in contemporary RP is [[monophthong]]al.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=118}}

===="Long" and "short" vowels====
Many conventional descriptions of the RP vowel system group the non-diphthongal vowels into the categories "long" and "short". This should not be taken to mean that RP has [[minimal pair]]s in which the only difference is vowel length. "Long" and "short" are convenient cover terms for a number of phonetic features. The long-short pairings shown above include also differences in vowel quality.

The vowels called "long" [[high vowel]]s in RP {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}} are slightly [[diphthong]]ized, and are often narrowly transcribed in phonetic literature as diphthongs {{IPA|[ɪi]}} and {{IPA|[ʊu]}}.{{sfnp|Roach|2009|p=20}}{{efn|{{harvtxt|Roach|2009|p=20}}'s notes on one of the reasons for not treating these two phonemes as diphthongs: "I mention above that {{IPA|iː}}, {{IPA|uː}} are often pronounced as slightly diphthongal: although this glide is often noticeable, I have never found it helpful to try to teach foreign learners to pronounce {{IPA|iː}}, {{IPA|uː}} in this way."}} The starting point of the diphthongal {{IPA|/uː/}} can be either close to {{IPA|[ʊ]}} or a more centralised and even unrounded {{IPA|[ɨ̞]}}, and its narrow transcriptions could be either {{IPA|[ʊu]}} or {{IPA|[ɨ̞ɯ̈]}}.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=133}}

Vowels may be phonologically long or short (i.e. belong to the long or the short group of vowel phonemes) but their length is influenced by their context: in particular, they are shortened if a voiceless ([[fortis consonant|fortis]]) consonant follows in the syllable, so that, for example, the vowel in ''bat'' {{IPA|[bæʔt]}} is shorter than the vowel in ''bad'' {{IPA|[bæˑd]}}. The process is known as [[Clipping (phonetics)|''pre-fortis clipping'']]. Thus phonologically short vowels in one context can be phonetically ''longer'' than phonologically long vowels in another context.{{sfnp|Roach|2004|p=241}} For example, the vowel called "long" {{IPA|/iː/}} in ''reach'' {{IPA|/riːtʃ/}} (which ends with a voiceless consonant) may be shorter than the vowel called "short" {{IPA|/ɪ/}} in the word ''ridge'' {{IPA|/rɪdʒ/}} (which ends with a voiced consonant). Wiik,{{sfnp|Wiik|1965}} cited in {{harvcol|Cruttenden|2014}}, published durations of English vowels with a mean value of 172 [[Millisecond|ms]] for short vowels before voiced consonants but a mean value of 165&nbsp;ms for long vowels preceding voiceless consonants.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=101}}

In [[natural speech]], the plosives {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}} often have no audible release utterance-finally, and voiced consonants are partly or completely devoiced (as in {{IPA|[b̥æˑd̥]}}); thus the perceptual distinction between pairs of words such as ''bad'' and ''bat'', or ''seed'' and ''seat'' rests mostly on vowel length (though the presence or absence of glottal reinforcement provides an additional cue).{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=}}

Unstressed vowels are both shorter and more centralised than stressed ones. In unstressed syllables occurring before vowels and in final position, contrasts between long and short high vowels are neutralised and short {{IPA|[i]}} and {{IPA|[u]}} occur (e.g. ''happy'' {{IPA|[ˈhæpi]}}, ''throughout'' {{IPA|[θɹuˈaʊʔt]}}).{{sfnp|Roach|2004|pp=241, 243}} The neutralisation is common throughout many English dialects, though the phonetic realisation of e.g. {{IPA|[i]}} rather than {{IPA|[ɪ]}} (a phenomenon called [[happy-tensing|''happy''-tensing]]) is not as universal.

According to phonetician [[Jane Setter]], the typical pronunciation of the short variant of {{IPA|/uː/}} is a weakly rounded [[near-close near-back rounded vowel]] {{IPAblink|ʊ|ʊ̜}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=A World of Englishes: Is {{IPA|/ə/ |cat=no}} "real"? |date=19 June 2013 |url=http://aworldofenglishes.blogspot.com/2013/06/is-real.html |access-date=5 March 2016}}</ref>

====Diphthongs and triphthongs====
[[Image:RP English diphthongs chart.svg|thumb|Diphthongs of RP. From {{harvtxt|Roach|2004|p=242}}]]
[[Image:cruttenden_closing_diphthongs.svg|thumb|Closing diphthongs of RP (with the diphthongal realisations of {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}}). Adapted from {{harvtxt|Cruttenden| 2014|}}]]
[[Image:cruttenden_centring_diphthongs.svg|thumb|Centring diphthongs of RP. Adapted from {{harvtxt|Cruttenden| 2014|}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! [[Diphthong]]
! colspan="2" |Example
|-
! colspan="3" | Closing
|-
| {{IPA|/eɪ/}} {{Audio|en-uk-a.ogg||help=no}} || {{IPA|/beɪ/}} || bay
|-
| {{IPA|/aɪ/}} {{Audio|en-uk-I.ogg||help=no}} || {{IPA|/baɪ/}} || buy
|-
| {{IPA|/ɔɪ/}} {{Audio|en-uk-oi.ogg||help=no}} || {{IPA|/bɔɪ/}} || boy
|-
| {{IPA|/əʊ/}} {{Audio|En-uk-oh.ogg||help=no}} || {{IPA|/bəʊ/}} || beau
|-
| {{IPA|/aʊ/}} || {{IPA|/baʊ/}} || bough
|-
! colspan="3" | Centring
|-
| {{IPA|/ɪə/}} {{Audio|en-uk-ear.ogg||help=no}} || {{IPA|/bɪə/}} || beer
|-
| {{IPA|/ʊə/}} || {{IPA|/bʊə/}} || boor
|}

The centring diphthongs are gradually being eliminated in RP. The vowel {{IPA|/ɔə/}} (as in ''door'', ''boar'') had largely merged with {{IPA|/ɔː/}} by the Second World War, and the vowel {{IPA|/ʊə/}} (as in ''poor'', ''tour'') has more recently merged with {{IPA|/ɔː/}} as well among most speakers,{{sfnp|Roca|Johnson|1999|p=200}} although the sound {{IPA|/ʊə/}} is still found in conservative speakers, and in less common words such as ''boor''. See [[Cure–force merger|{{sc2|CURE}}–{{sc2|FORCE}} merger]]. More recently {{IPA|/ɛə/}} has become a pure long vowel {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, as explained above. {{IPA|/ɪə/}} is increasingly pronounced as a monophthong {{IPA|[ɪː]}}, although without merging with any existing vowels.{{sfnp|Cruttenden|2014|p=154}}

The diphthong {{IPA|/əʊ/}} is pronounced by some RP speakers in a noticeably different way when it occurs before {{IPA|/l/}}, if that consonant is [[Syllable final|syllable-final]] and not followed by a vowel (the context in which {{IPA|/l/}} is pronounced as a "dark l"). The realisation of {{IPA|/əʊ/}} in this case begins with a more back, rounded and sometimes more open vowel quality; it may be transcribed as {{IPA|[ɔʊ]}} or {{IPA|[ɒʊ]}}. It is likely that the backness of the diphthong onset is the result of [[Allophone|allophonic]] variation caused by the raising of the back of the tongue for the {{IPA|/l/}}. If the speaker has "l-vocalization" the {{IPA|/l/}} is realised as a back rounded vowel, which again is likely to cause backing and rounding in a preceding vowel as [[coarticulation]] effects. This phenomenon has been discussed in several blogs by [[John C. Wells]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Wells |first=John |title=Blog July 2006 |url=http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/blog0607.htm |access-date=24 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wells |first=John |title=Blog July 2009 |url=http://www.phonetic-blog.blogspot.fr/2009_10_01_archive.html |access-date=24 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wells |first=John |title=Blog Nov 2009 |url=http://www.phonetic-blog.blogspot.fr/2009_11_01_archive.html |access-date=24 March 2014}}</ref> In the recording included in this article the phrase "fold his cloak" contains examples of the {{IPA|/əʊ/}} diphthong in the two different contexts. The onset of the pre-{{IPA|/l/}} diphthong in "fold" is slightly more back and rounded than that in "cloak".

RP also possesses the [[triphthong]]s {{IPA|/aɪə/}} as in ''tire'', {{IPA|/aʊə/}} as in ''tower'', {{IPA|/əʊə/}} as in ''lower'', {{IPA|/eɪə/}} as in ''layer'' and {{IPA|/ɔɪə/}} as in ''loyal''. There are different possible realisations of these items: in slow, careful speech they may be pronounced as two syllables with three distinct vowel qualities in succession, or as a monosyllabic triphthong. In more casual speech the middle vowel may be considerably reduced, by a process known as [[smoothing (phonetics)|smoothing]], and in an extreme form of this process the triphthong may even be reduced to a single long vowel.{{sfnp|Roach|2009|pp=18–19}} In such a case the difference between {{IPA|/aʊə/}}, {{IPA|/aɪə/}}, and {{IPA|/ɑː/}} in ''tower'', ''tire'', and ''tar'' may be [[Archiphoneme|neutralised]] with all three units realised as {{IPA|[ɑː]}} or {{IPA|[äː]}}. This type of smoothing is known as the [[English-language vowel changes before historic /r/#Tower–tire, tower–tar and tire–tar mergers|''tower''–''tire'', ''tower''–''tar'' and ''tire''–''tar'' mergers]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ [[Triphthong]]s{{sfnp|Gimson|1970}}
! As two syllables
! Triphthong
! Loss of mid-element
! Further simplified as
! Example
|-
| {{IPA|[aɪ.ə]}}
| {{IPA|[aɪə]}}
| {{IPA|[aːə]}}
| {{IPA|[aː]}}
| tire
|-
| {{IPA|[ɑʊ.ə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɑʊə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɑːə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɑː]}}
| tower
|-
| {{IPA|[əʊ.ə]}}
| {{IPA|[əʊə]}}
| {{IPA|[əːə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɜː]}}
| lower
|-
| {{IPA|[eɪ.ə]}}
| {{IPA|[eɪə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɛːə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɛː]}}
| layer
|-
| {{IPA|[ɔɪ.ə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɔɪə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɔːə]}}
| {{IPA|[ɔː]}}
| loyal
|}

====BATH vowel====
{{see also|Trap–bath split{{!}}''Trap–bath'' split}}
There are differing opinions as to whether {{IPA|/æ/}} in the <small>BATH</small> [[lexical set]] can be considered RP. The pronunciations with {{IPA|/ɑː/}} are invariably accepted as RP.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=203''ff''}} The ''English Pronouncing Dictionary'' does not admit {{IPA|/æ/}} in <small>BATH</small> words and the ''[[Longman Pronunciation Dictionary]]'' lists them with a § marker of non-RP status.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.yek.me.uk/lpdeltj.html |title=Review of Longman Pronunciation Dictionary |author=Jack Windsor Lewis |newspaper=The Times |year=1990}}</ref> John Wells wrote in a blog entry on 16 March 2012 that when growing up in the north of England he used {{IPA|/ɑː/}} in "bath" and "glass", and considers this the only acceptable phoneme in RP.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wells |first=John |url=http://www.phonetic-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/english-places.html |title=English places |website=John Wells's phonetic blog |date=16 March 2012}}</ref> Others have argued that {{IPA|/æ/}} is too categorical in the north of England to be excluded. Clive Upton believes that {{IPA|/æ/}} in these words must be considered within RP and has called the opposing view "south-centric".{{sfnp|Upton|2004|pp=222–223}} Upton's ''Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English'' gives both variants for <small>BATH</small> words. A. F. Gupta's survey of mostly middle-class students found that {{IPA|/æ/}} was used by almost everyone who was from clearly north of the [[isogloss]] for <small>BATH</small> words. She wrote, "There is no justification for the claims by Wells and Mugglestone that this is a sociolinguistic variable in the north, though it is a sociolinguistic variable on the areas on the border [the isogloss between north and south]".{{sfnp|Gupta|2005|p=25}} In a study of speech in West Yorkshire, [[KM Petyt|K. M. Petyt]] wrote that "the amount of {{IPA|/ɑː/}} usage is too low to correlate meaningfully with the usual factors", having found only two speakers (both having attended boarding schools in the south) who consistently used {{IPA|/ɑː/}}.{{sfnp|Petyt|1985|pp=166–167}}

Jack Windsor Lewis has noted that the Oxford Dictionary's position has changed several times on whether to include short {{IPA|/æ/}} within its prescribed pronunciation.<ref>Point 18 in {{cite web |url=http://www.yek.me.uk/centnthpn.html |title=The General Central Northern Non-Dialectal Pronunciation of England |author=Jack Windsor Lewis |access-date=4 July 2011}}</ref> The ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' uses only {{IPA|/ɑː/}}, but its author, Graham Pointon, has stated on his blog that he finds both variants to be acceptable in place names.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pointon |first=Graham |url=http://www.linguism.co.uk/language/olivia-oleary |title=Olivia O'Leary |website=Linguism: Language in a word |date=20 April 2010}}</ref>

Some research has concluded that many people in the [[Northern England|North of England]] have a dislike of the {{IPA|/ɑː/}} vowel in <small>BATH</small> words. A. F. Gupta wrote, "Many of the northerners were noticeably hostile to {{IPA|/ɡrɑːs/}}, describing it as 'comical', 'snobbish', 'pompous' or even 'for morons'."{{sfnp|Gupta|2005|p=25}} On the subject, K. M. Petyt wrote that several respondents "positively said that they did not prefer the long-vowel form or that they really detested it or even that it was incorrect".{{sfnp|Petyt|1985|p=286}} Mark Newbrook has assigned this phenomenon the name "conscious rejection", and has cited the {{sc2|BATH}} vowel as "the main instance of conscious rejection of RP" in his research in West [[Wirral Peninsula|Wirral]].{{sfnp|Newbrook|1999|p=101}}

====French words====
John Wells has argued that, as educated British speakers often attempt to pronounce French names in a French way, there is a case for including {{IPA|/ɒ̃/}} (as in {{lang|fr|bon}}), and {{IPA|/æ̃/}} and {{IPA|/ɜ̃ː/}} (as in {{lang|fr|vingt-et-un}}), as marginal members of the RP vowel system.{{sfnp|Wells|2008|p=xxix}} He also argues against including other French vowels on the grounds that not many British speakers succeed in distinguishing the vowels in {{lang|fr|bon}} and {{lang|fr|banc}}, or in {{lang|fr|rue}} and {{lang|fr|roue}}.{{sfnp|Wells|2008|p=xxix}} However, the ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary'' draws a distinction between {{IPA|/ɒ̃/}} (there rendered as {{IPA|/ɔ̃ː/}}) and the unrounded {{IPA|/ɑ̃ː/}} of {{lang|fr|banc}} for a total of four nasal vowels.{{sfnp|Roach|2011}}

====Alternative notations====
Not all reference sources use the same system of transcription. [[Clive Upton]] devised a modified system for the ''[[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]]'' (1993), changing five symbols from the traditional Gimson system, and this is now used in many other [[Oxford University Press]] dictionaries; the differences are shown in the table below.

{| cellspacing="5" style="margin-left:1.5em;" class="wikitable"
|+ Upton's reform
! style="text-align:left; width:33%;" | Example word
! style="text-align:left; width:33%;" | Traditional symbol
! style="text-align:left;" | Upton's reform symbol
|-
| ''dr'''e'''ss'' || {{IPA|/e/}} || {{IPA|/ɛ/}}
|-
| ''tr'''a'''p'' || {{IPA|/æ/}} || {{IPA|/a/}}
|-
| ''n'''ur'''se'' || {{IPA|/ɜː/}} || {{IPA|/əː/}}
|-
| ''squ'''are''''' || {{IPA|/eə/}} || {{IPA|/ɛː/}}
|-
| ''pr'''i'''ce'' || {{IPA|/aɪ/}} || {{IPA|/ʌɪ/}}
|}

Linguist [[Geoff Lindsey]] has argued that the system of transcription for RP has become outdated and has proposed a new system (which he calls Standard Southern British, or SSB) as a replacement.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lindsey |first=Geoff |url=http://englishspeechservices.com/blog/?p=1795 |title=The British English vowel system |website=speech talk |date=8 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wells |first=John |url=http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/lindsey-system.html |title=the Lindsey system |website=John Wells's phonetic blog |date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

Lindsey's system is as follows—differences between it and standard transcription are depicted with the traditional transcription in parentheses.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Lindsey's monophthongs and diphthongs
!Short
!Long (triggering r-liaison)
!+j diphthong
!+w diphthong
|-
|{{IPA|/a/}} (æ)
|{{IPA|/ɑː/}}
|{{IPA|/ɑj/}} (aɪ)
|{{IPA|/aw/}} (aʊ)
|-
|{{IPA|/ɛ/}} (e)
|{{IPA|/ɛː/}} (ɛə)
|{{IPA|/ɛj/}} (eɪ)
|
|-
|{{IPA|/ɪ/}}
|{{IPA|/ɪː/}} (ɪə)
|{{IPA|/ɪj/}} (iː)
|
|-
|{{IPA|/ɔ/}} (ɒ)
|{{IPA|/oː/}} (ɔː)
|{{IPA|/oj/}} (ɔɪ)
|
|-
|{{IPA|/ɵ/}} (ʊ)
|{{IPA|/ɵː/}} (ʊə)
|
|{{IPA|/ʉw/}} (uː)
|-
|{{IPA|/ə/}}
|{{IPA|/əː/}} (ɜː)
|
|{{IPA|/əw/}} (əʊ)
|-
|{{IPA|/ʌ/}}
|
|
|
|}