Phonological Change

Britain hasn't been invaded for almost a millennium, yet there's on thing that's rapidly gaining traction over the entire nation, and that's Estuary English.

It might not sound too deadly, and depending on your perspective, it isn't at all. Estuary English (EE), originally coming from the suburbs of London and along the Thames Estuary (hence the name) is an accent that has mixed RP and cockney together to create what many call the 'new standard English'. Developed within the last 50 years, the numbers of EE speakers have steadily rose, spreading into the South East, the West and gradually, but less so, in the North.

Language evolves, much faster than we might think at first.
Take RP for example, that old fashioned sounding accent spoken by predominantly the upper class. It was only during the 1920s that the term RP was created, as before then, there was too much variety to pronounce and spell words, regardless of class, location and gender.
In a similar sense, the term Estuary English was established as recent as 1984

The Queen has changed her talk, compared to 50 years ago, she no longer uses an [ɛ]-like vowel in words like land

EE is most commonly associated with the lower classes, however even the upper-class are tending to use it now as a way to be more like the middle and lower classes. Young people, who are not so well off, often adapt to it because it sounds more sophisticated, making Estuary English a middle-way for both the well-off and the poorer people. As mentioned in the introduction, the variety is attractive to many – celebrities and businessmen as well as Members of Parliament.


Who else comes to mind when associated with RP? Perhaps David Attenborough, David Cameron and the Queen? Only 2% of the population are said to speak RP nowadays.  The BBC is the greatest example of evolution and transitions of how Estuary English has gradually taken over the nation, 

 RP, like all other accents, has changed over time. The voices we associate with early BBC broadcasts, for instance, now sound old-fashioned don't they, even for today's standards. Just as RP is constantly evolving, our attitudes as a whole towards accents are changing. throughout the twentieth century, RP was associated with authority, status and power. After the Second World War, Prime Minister Attlee introduced the 'welfare state'. Education possibilities suddenly opened to many more people (of lower class) than before, and as a result of this social change, more accents became represented in professions; the arts, the media, sports, business, even the civil service. Gradually RP became much less frequent in the world of work. Today, some middle class workers even go to the length of hiding their higher class accent to adapt to the regional classes in an effort for better chances at seeking employment. Funny isn't it how roles of accents have almost reversed. It might be interesting to record yourself now, play it back 50 years from now and notice how much your own English has 'evolved'.

 Who knows, American might become the national norm.

 So, is there now any point in keeping RP as the British representative, or keep it existing as an accent at all? For now, it gives Britain a national identity in the global field, politically and linguistically. As English is the most spoken language in the world (including as a second language), it's important that the people who learn English all learn from one form of spoken English. Otherwise with their own foreign accents, learning from another accent on top would mean mutual understanding would be near impossible.