The King's Speech: Charles III's accent

A discussion of the King's RP accent and how this upper class British accent differs from modern SSB (Standard Southern British).
0:00 RP (Received Pronunciation) and SSB (Standard Southern British)
0:49 The King's vowels
2:45 The King's consonants
4:09 Weakening and 'mumbling'
5:15 Emphasising and gesturing
If you want to speak British English clearly and confidently, I recommend this course from accent coach Luke Nicholson:
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Picture credits:
Thumbnail Charles:
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Empire flag:
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Beatles black and white:
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Beatles colour:
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Public domain
Young Charles:
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[@DrGeoffLindsey]

0:00 RP (Received Pronunciation) and SSB (Standard Southern British) 0:49 The King's vowels 2:45 The King's consonants 4:09 Weakening and 'mumbling' 5:15 Emphasising and gesturing

[@chenzenzo]

I'm you 999th like and am an impressionist/linguist. It's wonderful to hear your analysis of King Charles. He's a great speaker and it's honestly quite soothing to hear him.

[@cliffordcasnermillar4976]

How does Prince Andrew compare to the King since he is 12 years younger?

[@wifegrant]

Eh, English Zimbabweans and South Africans still speak with RP. However, it has a slight twist to it. My grandmother, who was very British, spoke with an RP accent.

[@embreis2257]

as with his mother, I have been able to easily identify him just by his voice and the manner of his speech for decades - ever since I listened to his marriage vows pressed on a vinyl record in the early 1980s. 🤭

[@vhawk1951kl]

It is merely how one of the tribes speak and how we recognise one another, and there are of course endless shibboleths to detect which is which, if the sound alone does not suffice

[@WSS_the_OG]

I quite enjoy how Charles speaks. Sounds a bit formal, but at the same time, rather relaxed and relatable.

[@spawel1]

very relatable, living in a big palace with gold from all over the world 😀

[@bourbon2242]

@@spawel1 isn’t that what everyone thinks about their own home, even if that isn’t literally how it is

[@tinttiakka2028]

​@@spawel1 God save the king! Poor browns and blacks of the world should give thanks to the British

[@spawel1]

@@tinttiakka2028 why?

[@Joaohcd]

​@@tinttiakka2028O britânico menos racista:

[@franticranter]

It would be interesting to see his accent compared to William or Harry, to see how much they've been influenced by Charles' RP and Southern Standard British English

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

Yes, a future video.

[@Kim-lc3fv]

The sons don't sound as if they speak RP at all. In fact, they even substitute "me" with "I" as an objective pronoun, but that's a different subject...

[@gavalav6791]

Janet Streetporter once said William and Harry ‘sound like they’re from Croydon’. Maybe the posh side.

[@sarahberney]

Yes I'd be interested in this too. I thought Princess Diana's accent was an interesting hybrid

[@thejoin4687]

@@sarahberney There were three people in that accent, so it was rather crowded.

[@Thomassina1]

I like his accent, easy on the ears, clear, using few words, well chosen and articulated. Once heard him recite a poem, is a wonderful speaker, could easily do an audio series.

[@vhawk1951kl]

The King does not have an accent , nor do any of our tribe, he merely speaks clear unaccented well-modulated English, the ability to emulate which perfectly is a species of shibboleth.

[@loveisall5520]

His Majesty could've been a voiceover artist, he has such a beautiful spoken voice, deep and resonant.

[@annerector8765]

INDEED!

[@rezonthe]

I agree, and you can tell he’d much rather be doing that than some of his royal duties.

[@Lioness1499]

I prefer Prince Harry's speaking voice. It is so beautiful.

[@loveisall5520]

@@Lioness1499 Unfortunately it goes with the empty space between his ears. He's always been a dunce and still is.

[@Lioness1499]

@@loveisall5520 Maybe that why he was born with heart of compassion and love like his mother Princess Diana. That's is why he shines head and shoulders over the Brits line you. He so blessed to have billion of people around the globe who adores him of all nationality.

[@GrayCatbird1]

As a non-native English speaker I found this video incredibly instructive and clear to understand why the King's accent sounds distinct when I don't have the knowledge or ear to do so myself.

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

Thank you.

[@peterlabrie9762]

When Charles III cracks a joke, it has more punch because you are getting humor in formal package.

[@aleksandra_in_the_woods]

As a person who's mother's tongue is not English, I find the King's accent pleasant and understandable. When we combine this accent with the King's timbre of voice we receive speeches lovely to listen. I wish to us all more voices like the King's one

[@WendyTheCat86]

@@Nilguiri I wonder who’s the real fool here

[@MrPip9999]

Me too. I like King Charles's accent. But I also like Mr Bean has no accent at all. . When he speaks no sound comes out of his mouth. It's the best.

[@teresa955]

I like King Chsrles' voice and accent too. It's out of the ordinary. Makes my ears pleasant

[@howard1beale]

Whose not who's

[@travissample5798]

Exactly.... g girl when I said.. period t. 0 need to put Alfred and what I said was the Google algorithm and I have to speak in southern American speech in order for my own Google algorithm to understand what the f*** I'm saying. Is very very funny the English language. For example I called a call center in 2010 and a very old Indian woman who spoke standard Indian English lingua Franca set and I quote quotation marks honey I do not understand where you learned English in the world because I have never had anyone speak English to me in this manner. Where are you from ? And I said honey I was raising Houston Texas in the southern part of the United States and we speak English here and just because you can understand what the English that I'm speaking does not mean that my English is improper or unintelligible;; I ended up having to spell numbers to this person. WTF

[@martineinfrance]

As a French I find the King's accent very pleasant and understandable to listen to.. Well spoken English is always a pleasure to the ear..

[@jm9673]

And it is so rarely heard nowadays due to “dumbing down”.

[@martineinfrance]

@@jm9673 yes, all languages change, as society changes and not always for the best!

[@joseeallyn9950]

The French speak clearly and correctly. I travelled to France (from USA) with a Canadian family in the next row who spoke beautiful French. From their looks they were not Canadian born. It is good that the language is uniform and understandable from Canada to Haiti to Africa . I have a house in a remote town in France. One neighbor is understandable ( my French is minimal!) and we chat for hours. My other neighbor is inscrutable and mixes Occitan with French, I am quite lost !!

[@martineinfrance]

@@joseeallyn9950 not all French speak correctly unfortunately, as in all languages, particularly today. Many regional accents too.. I 'm glad you meet people understandable. I find with American accents if they speak too fast, it takes a few minutes to adapt and finally understand. Same with Canadian, French and English. It' s when living in the country that you learn a language and I remember watching BBC in the UK taught me a lot! It was such a good English. I've never been to the US or Canada unfortunately but worked in an American environment which helped me a lot as there are slight differences.

[@joseeallyn9950]

@@martineinfrance Thank you for your reply. As I said, my French is minimal but I struggle on as my husband is deaf and I need to translate. He speaks and writes French really well, but deafness in old age is a real problem. I think that the reginal accents are valuable , but vanishing fast as media takes over the languages. It is fascinating to me that so many of the Old Languages that were ironed out with the introduction of constructed 'French' still exist, at least in part in rural France. Occitan, was the most widely spoken and written language and indeed Dante decided not to write in it , but 8 verses are still in the language even though the rest is in Italian. That my neighbour who was born and raised in The Limousin, still uses it mixed in with the much later French is interesting, at least to me. The vision of Our Lady in Lourdes spoke in Occitan, not French. I learn a great deal at Mass as The Romance Languages based in Latin are easier to understand than English which is a mixture of mostly Germanic languages and some Old French. Very few Saxon words survived the Danish/French invasion of 1066.

[@TerezatheTeacher]

How did Dr Geoff Lindsey get the King to show up for his video and say "do like and subscribe!" at the end? I admire this level of commintment :D

[@jpatino3547]

I simply love King Charles accent and tone. He's so refined and easy to understand.

[@Asidders]

He reminds me of Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey.

[@GoodMusicManiac999]

His accent is very poised and clear. Also, he's a good speaker too, which helps alot in understanding what he's saying even for people who aren't native English speakers like myself.

[@louisehenry760]

Just discovered this channel. It is everything I ever wanted, thank you for your content!!! Delighted to hear about the differences between traditional RP and modern SSB!

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

Thanks so much for letting me know!

[@annelbeab8124]

Same here. I wonder what the analysis of Lord Sumption would be like.

[@slangyrussianwords5972]

Top

[@AztlanOz]

I believe in gender equality, he’s not posh he’s just an old slapper, thats highlighted by his choosing that strumpet over his (former) good wife

[@matthewbartsh9167]

Yes. One feels...I mean, I feel the same way.

[@davidgrandy4681]

As a Canadian, all I know is that I can understand every word that the King says. With many UK TV shows I keep the close captioning on because frequently I need to have the "new" English deciphered. The words are the same but in shows like Shetland I miss many many of those words.

[@MsElinorh]

“Closed” captioning. Or is this RP speech from you? 😄

[@meriadecdarfaouet7139]

Franco-American here, mostly French, not a native English speaker: I have the same experience. With people like Charles, it's as if my brain wouldn't even "tag" the speech as either FR or EN. Just... speech. While, as you say, I need closed captions with many British productions (and it's an issue with many, like News, live reporting, etc, when the option is not available and/or reliable). Now, I've seen closed captioning so many times in, like, BBC documentaries (same in the US, but not that often). English language does come in many varieties :) It adds colors, no worries. Note that it also happens in France (in French), but rarely - and considered a bit rude, though necessary. It's almost taboo to apply it to French speakers from other parts of the world (from Québec to Africa). A pity, because we just want to understand them, and they should not feel offended: not a shame to speak the language in their own way. I think...

[@RicktheRecorder]

@@MsElinorh Sub-titles

[@almostfm]

's tough, bruv, innit?

[@meriadecdarfaouet7139]

@@almostfm Aye. Keep the heid an’ cairry oan.

[@QHiguchi]

I have often wondered how/why he could sound so down to earth & friendly while maintaining unmistakably posh RP characteristics - and then comes this excellent video! Many thanks. As you point out, aside from purely phonetic features, his general mannerism plays a big role; so does, perhaps, our knowledge that he can be an absolute comedian when he chooses to. Whatever you think of him as a person, long live the king's accent!

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

Yes, I like to think he'd enjoy the video. He grew up putting on accents from the Goon Show.

[@rezashia3135]

@@DrGeoffLindsey I wonder what he made of the accent of his one time favourite comedian Spike Milligan?!

[@lucyfisher8347]

You make me sad - can RP speakers not be down-to-earth and friendly? Perhaps we just need to try harder!

[@QHiguchi]

@@lucyfisher8347 Oh no Lucy, my apologies - the RP itself is a lovely variety. In fact, that is what I aspired to when I spent a lot of time learning English; I am almost emotionally attached to it. You know, it was the combination of being a King and having RP that I was talking about.

[@sasukesarutobi3862]

@@DrGeoffLindsey I do hope those accents and impressions include Min's "manual trill". Seeing him performing that would be something else.

[@aosth5]

Your style of editing is very helpful.

[@johnbarclay88]

I was watching an interview of the late Patrick Leigh Fermor to see what this great traveller and writer sounded like, given that he lived outside Britain for most of his life from age 18 and must have had to make himself intelligible to many thousands of non-native English speakers. I was surprised to find his accent was such an extreme version of RP that I could barely understand it myself!

[@quoquo100]

I think even Queen’s accents had changed, if comparing her earlier speeches with more recent ones

[@marmac83]

Her accent seems non-existent now..

[@boio_]

@@marmac83 bruh 💀

[@paulgabolinscy2502]

Hugely🇬🇧

[@Nilguiri]

@@marmac83 You mean it's like yours. EVERYBODY has an accent.

[@SamanthaIreneYTube]

@@Nilguiri r/whoosh

[@TerezatheTeacher]

The UK: gets a new PM and a new king Dr Geoff Lindsey: immediately compares their accents You, sir, are an inspiration.

[@vhawk1951kl]

Members of my tribe whom I detect by how they speak, would say that we do not have an' accent,' but that the Elsies or lower classes- another tribe altogether, most definitely do; in contemporary England, the mostpart of power -possessing beings are drawn from one tribe, that detects its own by reference to speech patters and pronunciation and vocabulary. The plain fact of the matter is that men (human beings) ascribed*themselves*to one or another caste class or tribe by reference to which that they will make a number of assumptions. The man making the video plainly resents that by reference to how he speaks he immediately relegated to one or another cast class or tribe, and quite reasonably does not like being excluded from particular clubs or groupings. Keir Starmer who likes to portray himself as a lower class boy made good, and doubtless on joining the Bar, quickly realised that he had to adopt the speech patterns and pronunciation of members of the Bar, nearly all of whom are drawn from one cast class or tribe, and one wonders why he was so keen to lose whatever speech patterns pronunciation he may have had before joining the Bar, so that he would not be excluded from a relatively small circle, and he will not be the first runt (Labourite) to do that, and it is noticeable that men (human beings)ascribe *themselves* to one or another cast class or tribe, they quickly seek to learn to acquire the capacity to speak as another tribe does, and it would be interesting to listen to a recording of Starmer before he joined the Bar, which is pretty much entirely drawn from the members of one tribe, and it is noticeable that one Corbyn and his woman Abbott could not wait to acquire the speech patterns and pronunciation of members of another tribe which was not their own, and one wonders precisely why Starmer Abbott and Corbyn sought to acquire the speech patterns and pronunciation of an altogether different tribe from their own, and one wonders why they did that

[@MichaelSidneyTimpson]

trading one liz for another

[@kitty_s23456]

@@MichaelSidneyTimpson there can only be one Liz at a time :-) (seated in a place of power)

[@lucyfisher8347]

I'm glad our new PM doesn't sound as if she went to a private fee-paying school.

[@vhawk1951kl]

@@lucyfisher8347 More's the pity.

[@sofiacandidori1006]

As an italian, the king's pronunciation, it's a lot easy to understand because he pronunce the vocals similarly we do in italian

[@Arol00007]

His father was Italian prince, wasn't he?

[@Bison_Beans]

@@Arol00007 Greek but mostly grew up in the UK, I believe

[@tonygumbrell22]

The King's speech sounds to me distinguished but at the same time natural to him, so unaffected, and although very British perfectly clear to an American, pretty astonishing really.

[@NarsFromMars]

An Anglomaniac from Iran here🙋 Linguistic nuances always fascinate me, and this video made my day, even in this difficult times of protests.... #mahsaamini

[@mauvegreenwisteria3645]

Nice to hear from you in Iran.

[@oak_]

Watching this video 3 months after it came out and was surprised because i had already forgotten liz truss was prime minister

[@zephyr755]

This is wonderful. I studied with Gimson and O'Connor >50 years ago, and it is lovely to see those phonetic symbols revisited and reappraised in the context of the King's accent. Thanks for not being judgmental - you give a very fair and measured account, particularly with the fascinating element of dropping entire words and phrases. Will take a look at your book.

[@FannomacritaireSuomi]

As a phonetics student, I find this video absolutely fascinating!

[@hirsch4155]

British accents fascinate me. As an American I can’t “do” any of them , but from study and watching various media I am starting to get good at identification. I recently asked an English expat at my AA meeting, after listening to him speak, if he was from Leeds, I was close he said - Halifax. I was “chuffed” to be just a few miles off! Also I now know there’s a city named Halifax close to Leeds lol.

[@scampi9588]

You’re use of ‘chuffed’ is excellent use of British dialect mate

[@irenejohnston6802]

@@scampi9588 even better to say 'dead chuffed'. By the way, there are more layers in Liverpool than the media depiction of so-called Scouse. A word I didn't hear growing up in South Liverpool, Lancashire, before politicians changed our name to Merseyside in the early 1970s. Lancashire lass aged 82.

[@contagiousintelligence5007]

I’ve been to Halifax in July. It used to be a booming textile town, but alas, not anymore

[@hirsch4155]

@@scampi9588 Thanks man :)

[@butterflymoon6368]

@@scampi9588 your

[@FionaEm]

Just found your channel 🙂 As an Aussie, it fascinates me that a small country like England has such a huge range of accents, from west country to Cockney to RP to Scouse and so on. Our accent is comparatively uniform, even though we're a huge continent with hundreds or even thousands of kilometres between major population centres. Re: the royals, I've often noticed that William and Harry don't sound as 'posh' as their father. It makes them seem more down-to-earth somehow.

[@Tom_YouTube_stole_my_handle]

I grew up in the English Midlands. As you moved between villages a few miles apart you could hear the accent change back then.

[@petesmitt]

There are some differing accents with certain Australian born; Aboriginals (real Aboriginals, not those 'identifying' as Aboriginal) speak English with a distinctive accent that most Aussies will recognise as Aboriginal; then there's the 'wog' Aussie accent, spoken by those of Southern European descent.

[@FionaEm]

@@petesmitt I'm aware of that, which is why I said 'comparatatively' uniform 🙂

[@Dave_Sisson]

@@petesmitt There also WAS the Adelaide accent, which has sadly almost died out, the former foreign minister Alexander Downer was one of the last public figures with it. It was quite distinct from the speech of other parts of the country and allowed people who spoke with it to be identified as growing up in Sth Aust.

[@petesmitt]

@@Finnfreya1 I've got an Anglo workmate that grew up in a 'wog' area in Melbourne and all his schoolmates were Italians; he developed the wog accent even though his family spoke normal Aussie; he's in his 30's and everyone that hears his accent thinks he's of Southern Mediterranean origin; so it exists and is still common although changing demographics are diluting it.

[@mr.rusiruchitrasena-univer3839]

Splendid and very informative videos. RP and its variants fascinate me and I love watching your videos and learning from their insights ! Love to see more videos like these !

[@antonio_carvalho]

I love these explorations of the Royal Family's mannerisms. Excellent video as always!

[@jamesmcinnis208]

What I particularly like about Charles's accent is his voicing of what I call the "strangled vowel," as in Paul, thought, or caught. Most Brits pronounce it way back in the throat and quite exaggerated. His pronunciation is much more subtle and, to my ear, pleasant sounding.

[@EriniusT]

Thanks for talking about this relaxed speaking style characteristic of RP, I've noticed that before with people like Winston Churchill but I didn't know it was something any linguists paid attention to

[@rin_etoware_2989]

i always thought it was because of, or is said as a joke for, Churchill's gargantuan appetite for alcohol. i would also be remiss to not point out, ahem, underidoderidoderiododeridoo, at this point.

[@resourceress7]

@@rin_etoware_2989 Not being British, I'd love to know what that last part means.

[@sliftylovesyou]

​@@resourceress7 at any rate that is what we are going to try to do said in the "we shall fight on the beaches" speech by churchill, but he said these words in a single seconod

[@resourceress7]

@@sliftylovesyou thanks

[@kelrogers8480]

Please do something on how Elizabeth II changed over time. There are marked differences between her speech in the 1950s and present day.

[@tonybaroud6820]

👋I’m really impressed with your comment, if you don’t mind friendship where are you from?

[@moritzjohanneskellner7125]

This is really so interesting! Thank you for this video.

[@chenzenzo]

He speaks quite beautifully when you take the time to listen to him. It's a fine thing hearing the king in his elements.

[@chenzenzo]

Many Americans speak quite the same way, more particularly very old Bostonians from recent years and New Yorkers from the early twentieth-century and late nineteenth century.

[@andreap.7213]

Thank you, Geoff, for this great video. Very interesting and inspiring!

[@rezashia3135]

That was incredibly informative and entertaining for us all! May God bless his Royal Highness King Charles III!

[@ushoys]

Charles not only pronounces words well, what he says is actually worth listening to. He was by far the best speaker at last year’s climate conference in Glasgow, much better than any of the politicians in attendance.

[@Lucas-gf6zm]

Great! Very clear and dynamic. Excited to follow up on your videos.

[@RGVLMR]

Dr. Lindsey, thank you for this video! Very informative. I think the King has such a wonderful timbre and quality of voice. Maybe you can make that your next video! Again, thank you for your time and efforts in making this.

[@531c]

Always been fascinated by the way people speak including facial and body gestures. As well as class accents, we have regional accents and dialects. I'm so glad I stumbled upon your video and have subscribed for further information. On a personal level, my job means I frequently get to speak to very well educated people whom are usually very wealthy, and people who are not very well educated and are quite poor. I end up mimicking slightly not to mock but to smooth the conversation. I must get the book

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

Thank you. Adapting our speech to those we're talking to is called accommodation. I do it a lot -- it's not really deliberate but of course I notice myself doing it.

[@charleswhite758]

* who are usually very wealthy

[@531c]

@@charleswhite758 correct.

[@mauvegreenwisteria3645]

@@charleswhite758. Yes. « Who » not « whom » when it is the subject, not the object, of the verb. There seems to be a plague of misplaced whoms on the internet at the moment.

[@charleswhite758]

@@531c Feel free to use the edit facility!🤣

[@mimisanjuan8026]

Really love the entire video. But my favorite part actually was the end card. lol That's so creative.

[@the_neutral_container]

Thanks! That cleared up a number of questions about RP for me. (Stephen Fry also totally does the 'mumbling' like that.)

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

I discuss Stephen Fry in my Weak Forms video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5K7ipSpap2SocU

[@nemonemini]

@@DrGeoffLindseyThanks! I'd love an analysis of the pronunciation tricks used by Nigel Hawthorne to make Sir Humphrey Appleby sound posh even with the simplest phrases like "Yes, indeed" or "Most inappropriate" or "Very droll" or "Of course" or "Quite so".

[@lenbantay3993]

I love how King Charles speaks. He sounds very honourable. His voice is soothing and very manly.

[@RockDove5212]

This is fascinating! Please do more on the King, and other older royals with this accent. Subscribed! Please do voice quality that you mentioned at the end. I like it that you give clear examples. Younger female voices with this accent ( Kirsty Allsop, Sarah Beeny, Louise Thompson, singer Wendy James' gorgeous 80s voice) would be interesting too. Thank you!

[@astra1360]

Amazingly well done! Thanks a lot for your analysis!

[@nonnayourbsns1001]

This is one of the best videos ive seen in a While

[@abvwtube]

Indeed the speech of your new King and your new Prime Minister are a world apart. I'm a dutchman and learned to speak English in the seventies and Charles sounds just as my English teacher learned us do it. I have no difficulty to understand him. When I hear Ms Truss speak I am constantly distracted by things that sound very strange to me. For instance there is the pronunciation of the r. That seem to be replaced by a w "Bwillanty Bwitish".

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

I think a huge number of people around the world are still being taught RP pronunciation, meaning that modern speakers are harder to understand. The main culprit is the inability of British EFL phonetics to update itself.

[@marna_li]

One thing that interest me is how his way of speaking changes between being in a formal setting vs more casual or private setting. We have seen clips when the late Queen Elizabeth was in the role of granny to her grandchildren, or having friendly conversations with her staff. It is like they have different personas depending on context, with different ways of speech.

[@chumleyk]

Who doesn't

[@tonybaroud6820]

👋I’m really impressed with your comment, if you don’t mind friendship where are you from?

[@clod8]

That seemed to be the way in the mid 20th Century; even Americans changed their accents on radio, films and tv from the 1930’s-1960’s. I think the Queen was very conscious about how she was “supposed” to sound.

[@faithlesshound5621]

@@clod8 The Queen was heavily criticised for her way of speaking in the late 1950s by Lord Altrincham and deliberately changed it, presumably with professional help like her father had.

[@rdevrij]

Dr. Geoffrey Lindsay, What an extraordinarily fine presentation! Thank you, ever so much.

[@isabellepelletier2540]

Thank you for another excellent video!

[@SeverityOne]

The King's speech... wasn't that his grandfather? 🙂 For me as a Dutchman, there are similarities with Princess (formerly Queen) Beatrix, and her son, King Willem-Alexander. Whilst her pronunciation is very formal, his is more like the standard region-less accent (which the Dutch like to call "accent-less") that you need to speak to get ahead in life. But she was born in the late 1930s, whereas he is from the late 1960s.

[@MacKenziePoet]

This could not be more interesting, especially for those of us who very much enjoy the King's english.

[@danielarrate669]

Many thanks Geoff for this lingo analysis. Much appreciated 😊

[@walterweiss328]

I found a new soft spoken gentleman and videos I will binge on for sometime, cause this is very naturally interesting material, thank you!

[@jasonremy1627]

7 months later "Our new Prime Minister" was more ironically funny than probably seemed at the time.

[@hsepo]

Whatever it is I really like King's English pronounciation. It sounds very nice, elegant.

[@roxieeyeleers4465]

I am so glad I found you!!

[@jonasdaverio9369]

I saw your blog post about the obsolete use of IPA in English years ago, and found it to be one of the best ressource on pronunciation online. It came to me as a big surprise when I saw KZbin recommending me your channel just now, and realising it was the same Geoff Lindsey. Thank you for your work

[@mauvegreenwisteria3645]

What’s IPA, please ?

[@schniggs2011]

I think the King’s speech pattern and accent is “elegance itself.” I could listen to people like him or, say, Sir David Attenborough speak all day.

[@tonyclifton265]

wow.. this is brilliant. liked & sub'd. i've also noticed a "buckingham palace" micro accent shared by prince andrew and the duchess of cambridge in which vowel elision is so clipped now that they hardly pronounce vowels at all - only voiceless consonants. it struck me as i realised that when andrew said "m'strepsteen" he was trying to say "mister epstein". kate's vowels are so consistently absent that i actually find her utterances quite hard to understand. my brain has to work hard to insert the missing vowels

[@iTube22100]

I assume from your nickname that you are English mother tongue. It is comforting for a foreigner like me to know that even a native speaker has a hard time understanding Catherine and, as far as I'm concerned, William and Harry too as it was Prince Philip!!!

[@seandaugherty9171]

If you think their differences in accent are hard to understand, just put yourself in my shoes. I'm from California, and my aunt is from the northern part of Florida, very close to the state of Georgia. I prefer to text rather than talk to her on the phone because I can't understand a word coming out of her mouth!

[@WreckItRolfe]

It's interesting, as in other accents it's more common to drop consonants.

[@RicktheRecorder]

All young people today, including the posh, gabble and elide so it is hard to follow what they are saying.

[@e.r.4077]

Pleasure to hear this!

[@Theredundantrose]

@DrGeoffLindsay Thank you! What a charming and amusing way to present phonetics! Loved it and subscribed!

[@millevenon5853]

King Charles has the best British accent. No other comes close. The accent has class and nobility.

[@annerector8765]

You are absolutley correct!!! He has a perfect British accent..very regal, yet earthy.

[@Shrek-pu8uu]

@@annerector8765 pretentious comment, honestly who cares

[@rotarydude9737]

@@Shrek-pu8uu ???

[@mohamedahrouch4842]

Nowdays it's not a british accent any more, it's philipino accent

[@Marcel_Audubon]

grow up

[@nancygreene7911]

Very interesting thank you. I live in Southern U.S. and I love all of the variances of the British accent. My condolences on the loss of your Queen and best wishes for the new King.

[@jshepard152]

🇺🇸 🇬🇧

[@user-mt4gx8qe1t]

The higher the level of education of a native speaker, the clearer his English is for foreigners!

[@EmilyTienne]

Quite fascinating. Love this kind of analysis.

[@jamessergeant2136]

Fascinating thank you! The line I heard was that you could approximate Prince Charles by saying ‘ears’ for yes and ‘near’ for no.

[@deustectips9519]

Love this (prof Higgins) never thought about it, other than the way someone speaks. Shared this with my 78 mother, who found it also fascinating (and yes 78 and using YT 😉).

[@rezakarampour6286]

Search . ' What the Media Won't Tell You about King Charles . '

[@thehearth8773]

Your videos are just as fascinating for a native english speaker as for a non-native! I'm an engineer by schooling and trade, but linguistics is an area that's always fascinated me, and these breakdowns of features English has, from a perspective that doesn't make any assumptions about what the listener's dialect sounds like, are very interesting to see!

[@Vinemaple]

Lovely! Your videos are so useful! Have you done one on the Trans-Atlantic accent? I'd love to hear your in-depth analysis!

[@sarahberney]

Thanks I enjoyed this video. It may not be fashionable to say so but I actually enjoy listening to king Charles speak. Suggestion: perhaps pop your book deets in the description box? I'm not finding it easily enough grrrr

[@MrPercy112]

Nicely done, Doc, I enjoyed that.

[@user-yf4lz4ol8v]

I really appreciated your analysis of King Charles' accent. On a side note, I must confess that I stumbled upon your website a few years ago and became a great fan ever since. It would be interesting to make a video about Bertrand Russell's unusual accent even within the spectrum of classic RP. The most unusual RP I've ever heard.

[@heatherstubbs6646]

As a Canadian, I found this fascinating and great fun. My grandfather, born into a middle class family in Battersea, emigrated to Canada in the early 20th Century, reinventing himself by adopting an upper class accent. I grew up with RP in my ears, so when I played Madame Arcati in Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit”, she must have sounded very posh, because RP was the only English accent I knew how to imitate. I never slurred quickly through words, though. 😉

[@Tom_YouTube_stole_my_handle]

Coming from Battersea I suspect he was working class rather than middle class? The British middle classes are the professionals, the working class work with their hands.

[@heatherstubbs6646]

@@Tom_KZbin_stole_my_handle His father was a coal merchant’s clerk. My grandfather used to say he was a true Cockney because he was born within the sound of the Bo bells (that spelling is probably wrong) but I think he’d have to have mighty good hearing if that were the case! He was a born mimic, and could do a really good Cockney accent.

[@Tom_YouTube_stole_my_handle]

@@heatherstubbs6646 It's Bow bells, the bells of St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London. At the time your grandfather was born Battersea would have been a pretty tough part of London.

[@heatherstubbs6646]

@@Tom_KZbin_stole_my_handle This is very interesting! When I was studying in London in the early 1970’s, I I looked into applying for landed immigrant status. That’s when I learned that my grandfather was the son of a coal merchant’s clerk, born in Battersea. Who knows why the family was there? I guess that’s where the work was. By the time I was in London, my relatives were in Richmond. I’m a big fan of Anne Perry’s mystery novels, which are set in London about the time my grandfather was born. She describes the rough areas of London vividly.

[@Tom_YouTube_stole_my_handle]

@@heatherstubbs6646 Coal would likely have come up the Thames and been distributed by rail from Clapham Junction railway station or thereabouts. There are many railway sidings in Battersea to this day. Land was cheap there and of poor quality. There was a lot of industry along the Thames and Battersea power station to the south of the river and Lots Road on the opposite bank, although not built when your grandfather left. prior to the turn of the 20th century there would largely have been villages to the south of Battersea with the big housing construction which resulted in everywhere being absorbed into Greater London starting around 1900. In the Sherlock Holmes stories, Chiswick, now in west London was described as being in the countryside.

[@eh1702]

In the recently-former Soviet Union, I came across people - in an area where a jamming mast had been located - who had heard almost no spoken English in their lives, and who had taught themselves English pronunciation from dictionaries almost exclusively. They absolutely sounded like elderly Oxbridge professors. Not QUITE like the Queen asa little girl, but not far off it.

[@urasam2]

That was a really excellent video! So interesting! I really liked the way you slowed down some words

[@albinjohansson5975]

Just came across your channel, and have to say you are both a good educator and entertaining! I think the person who has the most clear RP accent i've ever heard is Miriam Margolyes. Listening to audiobooks narrated by her is really relaxing.

[@alanm6329]

Great video! I would love to see an analysis about how Kate Middleton's accent has evolved over the years, seemingly into a more conservative RP than William or Harry's.

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

Thank you. I haven't studied her properly, but my vague suspicion is that she was previously uber-posh and they've tried to tone her down a bit. Could be wrong.

[@rezakarampour6286]

Search . What the Media Won't Tell You about King Charles . '

[@lospazio]

As a non native English speaker, I find the King's accent quite understandable. On the contrary, it's very difficult for me to understand princess Anne.

[@longhaulblue1145]

Thank you. It was both informative and entertaining.

[@Lumenum]

Definitely subscribing! :) highly interesting and practical content, thank you!

[@markussjobergh2605]

Great video! Could you do one analyzing the speech of J.R.R. Tolkien? The clip from the 1968 BBC interview for example. As a non-native speaker, I've never heard someone talk quite like him

[@joseeallyn9950]

Because he was not British?

[@c.h.benwan3793]

Hi Geoff! Am I right to say coalescence is a thing of Charles's speech (e.g. Tuesday) but not in the late Queen's? Also, I feel like Charles's /r/ is really an alveolar approximant vs her mother's tap. What do you think? Again, thanks for your great work.

[@1000pollak]

I am a subscriber and enjoy many of your videos. Imitating Charles has been a "party piece" of mine for years, and I met him a few years ago. He did all the things you demonstrate! Definitely my favourite so far of your videos.

[@KMR1776]

Wow. Time to bring this accent back. It's wonderful

[@mysticjen379]

I’m from Liverpool and I would say “id is” for “it is” 🙂 We also drop h’s, add r’s to link words, mix t with d. For example “Av got/d de winder-ropen” (I’ve got the window open) and I also say fillim instead of film. In Irish there is an invisible vowel between l and m apparently! And yes there is an s on t’s like in “devosed” (devoted). I’m from the Irish diaspora so my pronunciation is heavily influenced by the Irish speakers in my family only two or so generations before me. Not everyone in Liverpool has it in their accent - the Scouse accent changes slightly depending which part of Liverpool you’re from and which ethnic background/tongue. For example North Liverpool (where I’m from) sounds different to South Liverpool (what we call the South end). Different cultural groups settled in different parts of the port city and their respective languages influenced the English pronunciation and, oddly, form of Scouse accent.

[@oliversmith2]

Well, that was interesting. I have never given much thought to how people speak. I am sure that some actors would find this information extremely useful. Liked and subscribed.

[@DrGeoffLindsey]

Thank you!

[@dreamer_4937]

This was brilliant!! Love it 😂

[@kaymuldoon3575]

This was very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

[@Mr.Monta77]

I didn’t know that I actually like King Charles a lot. Nice chap, Charlie. He’ll be all right.

[@annerector8765]

Yes, I agree. He is a solid fellow, very intelligent and loves his wife and country. He will be a very great monarch!

[@mauvegreenwisteria3645]

Dear Mr Monta, What took you so long?!

[@Mr.Monta77]

@@mauvegreenwisteria3645 Good question. I suppose all the (unfair) negativity against him in the press influenced me. I never really made up my mind about him until now. But I now realize he’s a very good King after all. Hope he’ll recover soon.

[@lindahandley5267]

This was just great! I've always been fascinated with the English accent and just how many dialects there are. To me, cockney is the hardest to understand. King Charles' accent seems VERY sophisticated! Of course, here in America, we have many different accents too. I was reading up on the subject and in a study that was done, Ireland seems to like our Deep South accent the best! Good for me!

[@rezakarampour6286]

Search . ' What the Media Won't Tell You about King Charles . '

[@zosoart]

what a brilliant and fascinating video!!

[@rosemaryjamir23]

It's really good channel. Thank u Dr. Lindsey

[@BryonLetterman]

I'm American and the King is one of the few Brits I can immediately understand every word he says. I feel like I'm coo crazy when I feel like I need subtitles to understand someone speaking English just because they're British. One example of that would be the actor John Boyega. In interviews he speaks so fast and doesn't seem to enunciate

[@BryonLetterman]

@@mohamedahrouch4842 I already stated that I'm an American.

[@mohamedahrouch4842]

@S T R A N D C A S T who

[@mohamedahrouch4842]

@S T R A N D C A S T do you think that he's well sized ?

[@vesnastihovic7014]

He speaks exactly as English language should be spoken! 👍I am a professor of English language and literature.

[@rezakarampour6286]

Search . ' What the Media Won't Tell You about King Charles . '

[@bnap3221]

Brilliant video, thank you so much

[@theshivers1967]

I love your analysis.

[@thedamned8202]

Thanks for the video Dr. Lindsey. Is the vowel /ɒ/ really pronounced in RP or is it just /ɔ/? I'm a Persian speaker and I've never heard the word lock being pronounced like the Persian word lâk /lɒːk/.

[@dnstone1127]

King Charles's accent doesn't sound forced or affected, like Boris Johnson eg. The Victorians had the best upper class accents, which can still be heard on old recordings of Winston Churchill, George V..

[@patrickmccutcheon9361]

Boris's accent is fake. He is play-acting with his hybrid Bertie Wooster Billy Bunter accent.

[@genevieveeguia7626]

Thank you for the Master Class !!!

[@rare6499]

Fascinating stuff thank you!