I need to learn RP

[Rom]

I'm going on a trip to England soon, and I would like to learn how to speak with an RP accent. The last time I went to England, my accent was so bad that they thought I came from Boston with a bit of a nasal Australian accent mixed in. How do I articulate my words so I can speak with a proper English accent, or at least a Mid-Atlantic sounding accent (like the kind Frasier has)?

[grocer]

Are you American? Are we allowed to do that?

[Gormur]

Are you American? Are we allowed to do that?

Well I'm in Canada. I also know two other Americans here, and we're all beginning to sound "foreign".

[Stan]

Well, Renee Zellweger (a Texan) learned to speak like a brit for that movie (can't remember the title)

[grocer]

Much to the amusement of the English, if I'm not mistaken?

[Rom]

Where are you from?

Canada

[Stan]

That's like suggesting an Irish person change their accent when they're going to England

I think it's absurd

[Kirk]

Rom, keep your Canadian accent. Just because you're going somewhere else doesn't mean you need to imitate the local accent. Your Canadian accent will be understood just fine in the UK.

[Gormur]

Where are you from?

Canada

Ah, so I flunked the quiz you posted with your speech.

[Kirk]

That's like suggesting an Irish person change their accent when they're going to England

I think it's absurd

Yup.

[reflexsilver86]

Not to sound harsh, but I think this sounds incredibly, incredibly stupid. Not saying you're stupid. But how many Brits themselves even try and hide their regional accents with an RP accent these days? You're Canadian, you can't deny where you were raised. Believe me, they'll know if you're putting on an RP accent or not. You'll invariably slip up on something and they'll know you're not British.

It seems fake and reeks of insecurity. There is more than one way to speak English. RP is a very nice way, yes, but if you're a native why are you trying to put on an accent?

I love the Aussie accent but I sure wouldn't kid myself by walking around Sydney trying to sound like Crocodile Dundee.

[sa wulfs]

I always thought RP was only there to work as a model for foreign students, who can learn about dialectal variants at a later stage if they're interested.