The Daily Telegraph

Nothing elitist about received pronunciat­ion

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SIR – Received pronunciat­ion is not “posh”, as the presenter Amol Rajan claims (report, September 28).

It is precise, which means anyone can understand it. In making speech accessible to all, it is the very opposite of elitist. Mr Rajan is hard to understand not because of his accent, but because he gabbles, slurs and swallows his consonants. Cynthia Harrod-eagles

Northwood, Middlesex

SIR – When Amol Rajan calls broadcaste­rs “posh”, he simply means that they speak properly.

He is right to complain that only 10 per cent of the population speak with received pronunciat­ion. The tragedy, however, is that this figure is not higher. Broadcaste­rs are in the communicat­ions business; if they employ people who use appalling grammar or have incomprehe­nsible accents, they are doing viewers and listeners a great disservice.

This is not snobbery. Anyone can speak the English language as it should be spoken if they make the effort. Inverted snobbery on the part of broadcaste­rs who encourage bad English is a national disgrace.

Nicholas Young

London W13

 ?? ?? Loud and clear: the BBC announcer Frank Phillips delivers a live broadcast in 1951
Loud and clear: the BBC announcer Frank Phillips delivers a live broadcast in 1951

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