Queen's English
Received British speech
The Queen's English is the standard form of British English as traditionally spoken by educated people in southern England—proper, formal, and prestigious.
The phrase suggests correctness in grammar, pronunciation, and usage: She speaks the Queen's English.
Now often called the King's English when a king reigns.
The term can carry either approval or mild mockery of affected propriety.
Prestige British accent
- elocutionFormal speaking skill
- dictionChoice of words
- enunciationClarity of spoken words
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
articulate · grammatical · correctness · prescriptive · proper · clarity · fluency · eloquence
Island off northwestern Europe
- United KingdomAtlantic archipelago nation
- CommonwealthAssociation of sovereign states
- WestminsterLondon's political center
- ThamesLondon's river
BBC · Union Jack · Anglophile · monarchy · royalty · Buckingham Palace · Windsor · British Empire
Socially and economically privileged
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- eliteSuperior select group
patrician · privileged · refined · cultivated · distinguished · polished · sophisticated · genteel
Of a prim era
- EdwardianOf early twentieth-century Britain
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- classic literatureEnduring fictional works
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
etiquette · afternoon tea · decorum · ceremony · formality · convention · old-fashioned · time-honored
RP
Prestige British accent
- elocutionFormal speaking skill
- dictionChoice of words
- enunciationClarity of spoken words
pronunciation · articulate · grammatical · correctness · prescriptive · proper · clarity · fluency · eloquence · syntax
Britain
Island off northwestern Europe
- United KingdomAtlantic archipelago nation
- CommonwealthAssociation of sovereign states
- WestminsterLondon's political center
Thames · BBC · Union Jack · Anglophile · monarchy · royalty · Buckingham Palace · Windsor · British Empire · colonial
upper-class
Socially and economically privileged
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
elite · patrician · privileged · refined · cultivated · distinguished · polished · sophisticated · genteel · courtly
Victorian
Of a prim era
- EdwardianOf early twentieth-century Britain
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- classic literatureEnduring fictional works
heritage · etiquette · afternoon tea · decorum · ceremony · formality · convention · old-fashioned · time-honored · establishment
- British AccentsGeordie, Brummie, RP, Glaswegian, Mancunian
- British RegionalGeordie, Brummie, Mancunian, Glaswegian, Yorkshire
- Language Standardsstandard language, prescriptivism, proper grammar, proper usage, correctness
- Standard Languagesstandard language, Mandarin Chinese, High German, national language, official language
- British Englishaluminium, aubergine, behaviour, biscuit, bonnet
Queen's Englishcommon speech
Informal everyday language
broad accent · Geordie · Brummie · Glaswegian
Queen's Englishslang
Informal in-group vocabulary
broken English · dialect · vernacular · patois · pidgin English
queen, queens, queenly, queenship, English, England, Englishman, Englishwoman