Estuary English - A Controversial Issue?
especially along the River Thames and its estuary. Phonetician John C.
Wells defines Estuary English as "Standard English spoken with the accent of
the southeast of England".[1] The name comes from the area around the
Thames, particularly London, Kent, north Surrey and south Essex.
The variety first came to public prominence in an article by
DavidRosewarne in the Times Educational Supplement in October 1984.
[2]
Rosewarne argued that it may eventually replace RP (Received
Pronunciation) in the south-east. Studies have indicated that Estuary English is
not a single coherent form of English; rather, the reality behind
the construct consists of some (but not all) phonetic features of working-class
London speech spreading at various rates socially into middle-class speech
and geographically into other accents of south-eastern England.[3][4]
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