TV Narrator/standard British
Listening samples
Oral Posture
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Forward Placement: Sounds are produced at the front of the mouth, near the teeth, rather than in the throat or back of the mouth.
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Tongue: The tongue is generally forward and relatively flat, with the tip active and rarely moving too far back. The sides of the tongue may lightly anchor to the upper teeth.
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Jaw and Lips: The jaw is often held higher and more closed compared to many American accents, while lips are often relaxed or only slightly rounded.
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Soft Palate: The soft palate is raised, creating a sense of space at the back of the mouth, similar to a "pre-yawn" sensation.
Practicing Standard British Posture:
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The Yawn Technique: Start with a "pre-yawn" feeling to lift the soft palate and lower the tongue back.
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The Pencil/Finger Technique: Place a finger or pencil gently between your teeth to feel the required slightly raised and forward jaw position.
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Smile slightly: Imagine a very subtle, tight smile to keep the lips slightly retracted and close to the teeth.
Pronunciation
VOWELS
WORDS LIKE BATH --> [ ɑ ]
national service in the Royal Navy, and soon afterwards, into the BBC
And the half hour or three quarters hour whatever it was
WORDS LIKE TRAP --> [ æ ]
it's both good and bad
that we should elaborate on what was happening at the time. The man in the early 50s for animals
WORDS LIKE THOUGHT --> [ ɔ ]
In that instance, I thought I was the author of the program.
on what was a bit of a jaunt really
WORDS LIKE NURSE --> [ ɜː ]
one of the first films I ever saw, I think probably the first film I ever saw,
Does it go back earlier than that, to your days in the Midlands?
WORDS LIKE NORTH/FORCE --> [ ɔː ]
and even more extraordinary
You see the Midlands is enormously famous throughout the world
WORDS LIKE START --> [ ɑː ]
nobody thought the elephants were going to charge them or bite them
and to be absolutely candid, I would far rather climb up that pile of bat dung every morning to go to work than get on the Piccadilly line.
WORDS LIKE lettER --> [ ə ]
who became equally successful and well known as an actor and film director
well remembered, of course, and I saw a clip of it only the other day
WORDS LIKE NEAR, SQUARE, CURE --> [ ɪə ], [ ɛ̞ ], [ çɔ ]
NEAR: because of the quality of the people who appeared in it,
SQUARE: you put yourself into some fairly hair raising, hazardous, even repugnant situations
CURE: Some, I'm sure
WORDS LIKE GOAT --> [ əʊ ]
Richard, who became equally successful and well known as an actor and film director,
most of television today
WORDS LIKE LOT/CLOTH--> [ ɒ ]
as a director, to get very histrionic
he was acting from as long as I can remember.
WORDS LIKE happY --> [ I ]
you used to get terrifically wound up
And it's extremely leisurely
CONSONANTS
USE OF /T/
Medial and final /t/s are pronounced as unvoiced and aspirated plosives.
And I got on a little train feeling enormously guilty.
NOTES ON PROSODY
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Pitch over volume or vocal energy for emphasis. Be intentional about selecting operative words to emphasize through pitch.
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Vocal energy builds through the end of the thought.
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Energy is given to consonants, given it a clipped, fast pace.
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Vowels can also be lengthened for emphasis.