Introduction: 'A National Obsession' -- 1. The Rise of a Standard -- 2. Accent as Social Symbol -- 3. The Practice of Prescription -- 4. /h/ and Other Symbols of the Social Divide -- 5. Ladylike Accents and the Feminine Proprieties of Speech -- 6. Literature and the Literate Speaker -- 7. Educating Accents -- 8. The Rise (and Fall?) of Received Pronunciation
Summary
Talking Proper is a history of the rise and fall of the English accent as a badge of cultural, social, and class identity. Lynda Mugglestone traces the origins of the phenomenon in late eighteenth-century London, follows its history through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and charts its downfall during the era of New Labour. This is a witty, readable account of a fascinating subject, liberally spiced with quotations from English speech and writing over the past 250. years. - ;Talking Proper is a history of the rise and fall of the English accent as a badge of cultural, social, and clas
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 328-346) and index
