Where does standard English come from?

Question

So : when I was in school, I learned a language called English. I know from the spelling and some of the vocabulary I was taught that it is most consistent with British usage rather than, say, American or Australian. I also know that this version of English is the one used by the BBC, and called "Queen's English". Yet, I have never met any English person who spoke that way... accents have varied from light, yet noticeably different from the standard (like in the Midlands or Dublin, Eire), to the completely different and verging on the incomprensible if you're not used to it(like around London, around Newcastle upon Tyne)the prize going to Belfast, where I've seen people talking English between themselves, but I thought it was Gaelic... and that's in places where they use standard words : in Scotland, they have a vocabulary of their own you have to know.

So, is there any place in Britain where they speak with standard pronunciation? If not, where does Queen's English come from?

Answer 1

Standard English is "Queen's English" and is spoken by the sort of people you were never likely to meet when there: the snooty, upper crust types who think anyone who didn't attend the "right" school or belong to the "right" family are beneath them, ie. you or I.

As arrogant as such people are, learning their Standard English does serve a purpose. It provides a central point for all English speakers to communicate through. If two people were to meet, one from Edinburgh and one from Bombay, and to speak their own local inflection of English, they would be unable to communicate. But if they modified their speaking to "Queen's English", they would understand one another. (This is not only true of English, but of other widespread languages with many variations: French, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, among others.)

I encounter this problem constantly. I teach (and have taught) English in several Asian countries. I encounter locals who are learning English and foreigners who are teaching English (Brits, Irish, Scots, Americans, Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans) and I am constantly having to adjust my spoken English to accomodate their different vocabularies, grammars and speeds. This is even true of my fellow Canadians, depending on which part of the country they are from (Turronno, Newfies, Acadians, Albertans, etc.).

Without insulting Americans (although I usually do), my greatest difficulty comes when I switch from speaking to an Englishman to an American because of the drop in quality of speaking. I often start sentences, "Oft times I start sentences..." and Americans say, "What?!" Or if I say, "Were I to...", "I've no money", and "Have you any..." the Americans don't get it and I must - sorry, have to - repeat myself.


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Answer 2

The Queen english is much more over pronounced than the language they use on the news, which is standard english, similar to the way i talk, and others in my area, the queens english is exclusively to her and her family and a few very rich people who want to talk lyk her. and no-one speaks gaelic, everywhere english, a few people in wales or ireland know the native language but dont use it, except to annoy tourists, and other accents in england, like up north are just idfferent, the south does not speak the queens english, although it is the standard form of english