What is the Queen’s English? OK – it makes sense that the Queen of England uses The Queen’s English, but do you know we also consider it the standard, grammatically correct English? Back in the 17th century, English aristocracy started being associated with perfect, precise English and this is how the Queen’s English came about. If you spoke like The Royal Family it meant that you were a highly educated individual. You also had to be very careful and use Received Pronunciation (RP), which is the accent used in the south of England.
That’s a lot to remember and actually use!
So, you may be wondering – how many people actually speak the Queen’s English in this globalized world? Hardly anyone, honestly.
To be precise (like the Queen!), around 3% of the British population. The rest of the people just use their own dialects they’ve picked up growing up. But, don’t let that stop you!
Without further ado, let’s find out the top 3 things you should do to sound like the queen:
1) Avoid slang and other modern conventions
Yeah – slang may be cool, but the Queen does not think so. Same goes for adding ”like” to everything you say – using, like, filler words is strictly prohibited! Just to remind you, filler words don’t mean anything and we usually add them just to fill a pause in a conversation. Other than like, there are basically, you know, actually, also other filler words.
Some of the slang words you should avoid if you want to speak the Queen’s English are:
- extra – say ”unnecessarily dramatic” instead
- lit – opt for ”delightful” instead
- shook (as in I was shook) – say ”incredibly surprised” instead
- etc.
My choice of slang is very much Gen Z today, but just remember you should avoid all slang. Period.
2) Speak slowly and take your time to pronounce words
The Queen’s never rushing anywhere because she’s never late. Everyone else is simply early! Try to put yourself in her shoes in order to speak the real Queen’s English. Don’t rush your words – if you’re used to saying ”particularly” without pronouncing the second to last syllable, avoid doing the same when opting for RP/ Queen’s English. We should pronounce it as par-tic-yoo-lahr-ly.
3) Use ”posh” words
Can you imagine the queen saying ”I’m done” or ”booze”? Neither can I! Here’s a list of words of what you should say vs. what you shouldn’t, just to give you an idea:
- I’m finished vs. I’m done
- Alcohol vs. booze
- Invitation vs. invite
Also, use ”terribly’‘ instead of ”very” ( for example, I am terribly sorry) , and don’t think ”serviette” will make you sound cool just because it’s French – definitely go for ”napkin” instead. ”Scent” should also be used instead of perfume.
There you go – those were the three things to keep in mind if you’d like to speak the Queen’s English! Just in case you have an appointment with the queen herself or something, you just never know.
