Tips on how to speak posh/good english

Scroll to see replies

Reply 60

cubismdream

I wish I had a vaguely interesting accent :frown:

Just watch some Hugh Grant films.

Reply 61

Pocket Calculator

Watch Jeeves & Wooster.

Reply 62

Ultimate_Geek

xps.systems

oop north.

PS, by gum, is it grim?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the North, it's a most wonderous place to be.

Have you noticed that Father Christmas lived in the North Pole as opposed to the South? :yep:

Reply 63

lucky_lettuce

frenchcat53

Make sure you enunciate eg. remember that often has a t in it so say it, if it ends in -ing make sure you say it like that, don't forget the g or in some cases and a k :s-smilie:

Ain't is not a proper word. I don't care who argues, you are supposed to say isn't. (As you may have guessed I dislike how people destroy the english language simply by speaking)

Little things like that make you sound a lot better.

Actually, 'often' is one of the exceptions where the correct pronunciation is 'ofen' without the 't'.
Just thought I'd share that.
:yep:

But otherwise, go ahead with 't's! Such a small thing makes speech sound so much better...

Reply 64

dhokes

Ilovewords

I really thought there was a bug on my screen then!! :yep:

And yeah I get alot of stick because I'm from a rough part of Essex and I do sound very common. People assume you're thick which is really annoying, I wouldn't change the way I talk though. Sod everyone else :yep:

You're not thick. Just ditzy? :wink2:

Reply 65

DSC

girls with a posh accent just turn me on

Reply 66

SleepyGrad

If you really want to sound posh, use 'whom'. You don't say, 'who did you give it to?', you say, 'to whom did you give it'. It'll sound so posh no-one will care what your accent is.

... You'll also sound like a prune-mouthed girls' school headmistress, but hey, small prices to pay.

Reply 67

kai4321

Why would you want to? :s-smilie:

Reply 68

sunlightxstarbright

Read various different outlets - magazines, newspapers etc. and extend your vocabulary as much as you can.

Reply 69

frenchcat53

lucky_lettuce

Actually, 'often' is one of the exceptions where the correct pronunciation is 'ofen' without the 't'.
Just thought I'd share that.
:yep:

But otherwise, go ahead with 't's! Such a small thing makes speech sound so much better...

My mum made me pronounce my T's and said you were supposed to say them in often. But thanks for telling me that, although going to be hard to stop now lol

Reply 70

Charlski

nexttime

Don't swear ever.

Being truly 'posh' involves swearing all the time. In all company. Really.

Reply 71

Sharifi_2009

x-pri-x

Lol.. What??

los.....laughing out sadly.....an abbreviation made by me.

Reply 72

x-pri-x

Sharifi_2009

los.....laughing out sadly.....an abbreviation made by me.

I didn't understand the rest of your post either lol (

Reply 73

Rawss

Shove a long broomstick up your @rse - should do the trick

Reply 74

Sharifi_2009

x-pri-x

I didn't understand the rest of your post either lol (

of course you don't, i didn't make any point there! lol

Reply 75

CharlieNoir

Why do you want to speak posh?

My mum tries to speak posh, it's really annoying, especially when she's on the phone...

But people say I speak posh :s I think it's just sometimes I pronounce my 't's and 'g's, so doing that does make all the difference :P or it may be from growing up with a mother who puts on a posher accent...

Reply 76

Lefty Leo

Why do you care matey? :s-smilie:

I came from India and until age ten spoke a very Indian accent. However, a few years down the line (7) and now i have, apparently, a newsreader's unaccented voice.

I don't think you ought to get a posh voice even if "voice" is something you can just "get" in a short span of time (it is for some people, but not for most i imagine) .. just be who you are? :s-smilie:

I guess i'm being hypocritical: i change my voice to Indianlike when speaking with parents and grandfather :unsure:

Reply 77

Mattos_12

Long 'a' try not to open your mouth too much :-)

theseeker

Any tips? How do you do it?

Reply 78

HQDragonWarrior

Original post by ily_em

You mean RP? I think they used to want it, doin't think it's really necessary any more. Thoiugh I think this person on radio 4 got hate mail because they had a Scottish accent, people calimed they couldn't understand him :p:

well im scottish that meen you don't understand me, we all have our own speaken language sometimes we dont understand each other doesn't meen we can put people down :mad:

Reply 79

Habsburg

People never get the vowels right when trying to put on an RP accent; the 'a' in 'land' is never raised enough. If you want to get it perfect, learn IPA and read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation

Anyway, why would you want to put on an accent which isn't your natural speech when so many regional accents are dying out? As long as you don't speak that ghastly Jamaican patois (which is partly responsible for displacing the traditional London accent), why not do your bit to save them?