Is there anything like “the purest end cleanest” English pronunciation?
No. There’s no such thing as a “proper” pronunciation, since that is a subjective attribute and not an objective one. However, in British English, Received Pronunciation is the accent of prestige, and is generally considered the accent which is most neutral, as, although derived from regional pronunciations, it is the accent of education and most spoken media. If you want to find a “proper” pronunciation, what definition do you want to go by: – the most widely used pronunciation – the pronunciation that most closely matches its spelling – the pronunciation which is given the most prestige in a particular area – or the pronunciation which has changed least over time? To those above: RP is a regional accent and is defined by more than just by being a non-rhotic accent (the lack of ‘r’ sounds unless followed by a vowel), and is itself undergoing sound changes. Some examples of current sound changes is the pronunciation of an “l+consonant” as an “o”, the continual lowering and fronting of
You mean RP or Received Pronunciation, spoken by news readers, broadcasters and the queen. But it is only one accent among many English accents, and not necessarily the purest or cleanest. Sometimes it sounds downright antiquated and stiff. RP is not really a regional accent any more, although it originated in the South East of England. It’s a class accent. It’s spoken by the upper classes in England. It doesn’t sound neutral or pure to other English speakers from say, Scotland or Ireland, it sounds like an English accent.
There is not and never was a “purest and cleanest” English pronunciation. The pronunciation of English according to a Southern English dialect by those born into money is sometimes said to be the best. But that is just snobbery, especially since 96% of the population of the British Isles speak with an identifiable regional accent. That in this so-called “received pronunciation” an “r” following a vowel in written English is not pronounced indicates it is certainly not the “purest” dialect in pronunciation. Why should dropping an “r” in pronunciation be considered good but dropping an “h” be considered bad? As to “cleanest”, what does that mean? This posh English is just the prestige dialect in British English but hardly to be shown to be “purer” or “cleaner” than many other dialects. Indeed, it contains more words of non-English origin than many local dialects. This English became the prestige dialect because it was spoken by those who went to public schools in the south of England wh
