Estuary English

Essay on Estuary English

In the present day, English is one of the most known language in the world. It is written and spoken in almost every country and this makes for quite a range of different accents of the English language. In England itself there are many different regional accents that each sound slightly different from the standard English. The RP accent is one of the most used accent and conveys the idea of professionalism, class and power. It is used by the media because it is understandable by everyone and it is more recognizable than other accents.

On the other hand, Estuary English is slowly taking over the place of Estuary English. It is a posh accent and creates the impression of being upper class. It has spread quickly from London outward and is taking its position among the dominating accents in England.

The reason RP English had such an impact is because it was used by the upper class. The media then used it as well to seem more genuine and informative. This made a quick distribution across England possible. Nowadays, RP English is spoken by a variety of people without much distinction between classes. This makes the accent more bland and less special than it used to be when it was only used by educated, upper class people.

Estuary English today has the same impact RP English did before it became worldwide. It is used by people who want to distinguish themselves from the rest of the population. In the future, the media might use Estuary English to represent class and professionalism instead of RP. This will then snowball in the same way RP did, until it will eventually replace RP as the most influential and prestigious accent in England. This phenomenon though might take several decades but that shouldn't take away from its plausibility.

Currently, RP English is the most used accent in England. It will probably remain that way for quite some time but there is no doubt that that fact will change someday. Whether or not it will be...