The Sociophonology of Received Pronunciation

This publication deals with the standard pronunciation of the English language (so-called RP) and its perception by English and Czech speakers. It also examines the roles that the pronunciation model fulfils in both environments. The introductory part of the work presents a diachronic and synchronic theoretical framework, which is based on a wealth of contemporary and historical academic literature, and analyses RP using sociolinguistic concepts, primarily from the field of language prescription and standardisation. The practical part consists of research that was conducted using a website with 18 recordings and a supplementary questionnaire. These recordings were evaluated by 20 English and 20 Czech respondents. The research also deals with sociolinguistic categories that help to create the conceptual construct of standard language.