Standard Southern British (SSB)
Current British Accent
Received Pronunciation (RP), once the traditional British standard, is now primarily spoken by older generations and aristocrats and often carries a pompous and pretentious tone. In contrast, Standard Southern British (SSB), also known as Modern Received Pronunciation or General British, is used by people from all backgrounds and reflects contemporary Britain’s multicultural society. Key features of SSB are discussed below. Anticlockwise Vowel Shift
The vowels have undergone a 'counterclockwise' shift from RP to SSB, becoming more similar to those in other European languages. For example, the <e> in bed has shifted from the closed [e] in RP to the open [ɛ] in SSB. Similarly, the <a> in trap has moved from a more fronted vowel [æ] to a more central vowel [a], and the <o> in lot has shifted upwards and become less open, from [ɔ] to [o]. Many British English dictionaries (e.g., Cambridge Pronouncing Dictionary, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary) still use the old symbols, while only a few (e.g., CUBE, Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation) have adopted the new ones. Smoothing of Centering Diphtongs
Centring diphthongs, which glide from a vowel towards the schwa in the central vowel space, were characteristic of RP speech. Today, most dictionaries and educational books still use these IPA symbols: [eə(r)], [ɪə(r)], [ʊə(r)], but they are rarely heard in London except among older speakers. They have largely undergone smoothing and are now pronounced as long vowels. Among the three original diphthongs, this shift is most established with [eə(r)], which many dictionaries now represent with the IPA symbol [ɛ:(r)]; L-IFA: /EEr/. However, a similar process is also occurring with the other two: [i:(r)] /IIr/, [ʉ:ː(r)] /UUr/. North-Cure (Quasi) Merger
The fate of words that were pronounced [ʊə(r)] /UËr/ is more complex. Words spelled with <o> are now pronounced with the same vowel as in north: a long [ɔ:(r)] /OOr/ (e.g., poor /POOr/). In contrast, words spelled with <u> can be pronounced with a long [ʉ:(r)] /UUr/ (e.g., abjure /ËBJUUr/), a long [ɔ:(r)] /OOr/ (e.g., sure /SHOOr/), or variably with either sound (e.g., cure /KYUUr/ or /KYOOr/). Goat-Goal Split
The diphthong [əʊ] /ËÛ/ in the 'goat' subset before 'dark' (i.e., non-prevocalic) [l] /L/ is now pronounced [ɒʊ] /OÛ/ in words such as goal /GOÛL/, and hold /HOÛLD/. Some dictionaries, such as CUBE, include this feature with the optional 'goal' selection, and Logman treats it as an allophonic variant: [əʊ → ɒʊ]. Backing of the Price Diphthong
The starting point of the diphthong in the words of the 'price' subset has shifted from the front vowel [a] /A/ to the mid vowel [ʌ] /Ä/. This change reflects a trend observed among younger speakers of Multicultural London English. Happy Tensing
The short [ɪ] /I/ in the final position, once used in RP for words like happy /HAPI/, has been entirely replaced by [iː] /IÎ - IY/. As a result, happy is now pronounced /HAPIY/. The CUBE dictionary uses the IPA symbol [ɪj] to represent this change, while other dictionaries employ the special symbol [i] to indicate that older speakers used the short [ɪ] and younger speakers use the long [iː]. This symbol has led some to believe in a distinct 'happy' vowel, although such a vowel never actually existed. Weak Vowel (Quasi) Merger
The short [ɪ] /I/ and [ʊ] /U/ sounds in weak (i.e., unstressed) syllables were common in RP. Today, there is a tendency in SSB to replace them with schwa [ə] /Ë/, a phenomenon known as weak vowel merger. This shift is especially noticeable in words spelled with 'e'. However, in SSB, these sounds are often used interchangeably, even by the same speaker. Some dictionaries use special IPA symbols [ɪ] and [ʊ] to indicate that both [ɪ] or [ə] and [ʊ] or [ə] are acceptable. The merger is more widespread in American English, where Lenin and Lennon are both pronounced /LENËN/, and it is virtually complete in Australian English, where even rabbit is pronounced /RABËT/.
Yod Coalescence
Over time, English has seen a shift where consonant plus yod clusters [tj] /TY/ and [dj] /DY/ have coalesced into easier-to-pronounce [tʃ] /CH/ and [dʒ] /J/. This change had already affected some unstressed syllables (e.g., culture, soldier) by the RP period, but now it extends to all weak syllables (e.g., situation, education) and, among younger speakers, even to stressed syllables (e.g., tube, duty). The /TY/ and /DY/ sounds are still commonly used by people over 35. For those learning English today, it is advised to use /CH/ and /J/. Epenthesis
In phonology, epenthesis refers to the optional addition of one sound. Some SSB speakers exhibit categorical epenthesis, which means that words never contain a nasal consonant /M/, /N/, /NH/ directly followed by a voiceless fricative /S/, /SH/, /F/, /TH/, unless a stressed vowel follows. They optionally insert another consonant in between, resulting in forms such as /MpS/, /MpTH/, /NtS/, /NtSH/, /NHkT/, to facilitate pronunciation. Consequently, several contrasts are lost, as seen in the words patience /PEÎSHëNtS/ and patients /PEÎSHëNTS/. Syllable Reduction
In English, many words with three (or more) syllables are 'reduced,' shortened to two (or more) syllables to facilitate pronunciation by creating a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one. This reduction involves eliminating the syllable with the weakest stress, which often contains a schwa sound. This practice has been in place since RP and is now expanding to include new words in SSB. External Links: Standard Southern British
♦ Blog Standard Southern British (SSB) G. Lindsey, English Speech Services, 2022
♦ Video Comparing RP and SSB - Father and Children G. Lindsey, English Speech Services, 2022
♦ Video Change in Pronunciation from /TYUÛB/ to /CHUÛB/ G. Lindsey, English Speech Services, 2022