How to Speak in a Posh British Accent: Pronunciation & Slang Guide

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Plus, learn how to talk fancy with a U.S. Transatlantic accent
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Looking to add a little sophistication to the way you speak? Or maybe you want to pick up a posh British accent for an acting part? If so, you’ve come to the right place! People commonly say the upper class in England has a “posh accent.” This article covers posh words you can use, pronunciation, and ways to practice. Plus, we spoke with accent and acting coaches to get their best tips for learning accents and how to talk posh.

A Quick Guide to Talking Posh

Talking posh is speaking with an upper-class British accent. To talk with an upper-class accent, use formal words and very little slang. Enunciate vowels and consonants, and lower your voice’s tone towards the ends of your sentences. Listen to people who talk posh and imitate them to make your accent more natural.

Section 1 of 5:

Using Posh Pronunciation

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  1. 1
    Focus on the clarity and openness of your vowel sounds. As British accent coach Luke Nicholson advises, “If you're aiming for a specific accent…pay attention to the distinctive features, such as vowel and consonant sounds.” Americans often use flat vowel sounds, while posh pronunciation is rounder and more open. For example, say “bahth” instead of “bath.”
    • In an upper-class British accent, the sounds come from further forward in your mouth with your jaw moving as little as possible. [1]
    • The “ee” sound, as in “here,” “near,” and “really,” is pronounced by pushing 2 different vowel sounds together (also called a diphthong). So “here” would be pronounced “hee-ah.” [2]
    • Vowels are also clipped. For example, say “hehppy” instead “happy” or “trehpped” instead of “tripped.” [3]
    • Use a more liquid “U” sound. For example, say “dewty” instead of “duty.” [4]
  2. 2
    Emphasize most of your consonants except “R.” According to Nicholson, “in British English, ‘T’ is pronounced as a clear ‘T’ sound. For example, ‘later’ is pronounced with a crisp ‘T.’” Pronounce the “T” clearly without a glottal stop, which is common in other British accents. “The glottal stop involves closing the vocal folds to block airflow briefly,” explains Nicholson. For example, in a posh accent, you would say “wahteh,” not “wa’eh” for “water.”
    • When there’s a “T” sound near the end of the word, upper-class British people sometimes don’t say it. For example, they might say “defin-ally” instead of “definitely.” [5]
    • Pronounce the “H” at the beginning of a word. For example, say “herb,” not “erb.”
    • An upper-class British accent is non-rhotic. As Nicholson explains, “we only pronounce the ‘R’ sound if there's a vowel sound after it.” For example, say “hahd” instead of “hard.”
    • When there’s a vowel after the “R,” people with a posh accent only very lightly “tap” the “R” sound with their tongue that sounds almost like a “D.” For example, say “VEH-dee,” not “very.”
    • If a word starts with a “WH,” pronounce it as “HW” with the “H” sound coming first. For example, say “Hwere,” not “where.”
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  3. 3
    Allow the tone of your voice to fall as you speak. Nicholson says that “different accents have distinct melodic patterns. For instance, some accents raise the pitch at the end of a statement, while others lower it.” A posh British accent tends to get lower and more resonant as you speak.
    • Some more modern speakers of posh English, like famous actors, allow their tone to move up and down more as they speak. [6]
    • Aristocratic speakers and BBC presenters tend to keep a more even tone that gradually falls at the end of a sentence.
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Section 2 of 5:

Using Posh Slang & Vernacular

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  1. 1
    Use posh slang like “splendid,” “dashing,” and “jolly well.” Received Pronunciation is all about using formal language. However, there are a few posh-sounding slang terms that sneak into upper-class speech from time to time. Slang and formal words British people say are:
    • Spiffing – Something that is really good, as in “I saw a spiffing film this weekend.”
    • Spruce up – To make something look better, as in “I need to spruce up my house before having company this weekend.” [7]
    • Jolly well – Used to emphasize something, especially if you’re annoyed, as in “You jolly well better clean up that mess you made!” [8]
    • Splendid – Excellent, beautiful, or impressive, as in, “What a splendid accent you have, my dear.” [9]
    • Marvelous – Amazing or excellent, as in “The paint color you chose is perfectly marvelous!”
    • Dashing – An attractive, confident, or elegant man, as in “Your son is growing up to be quite dashing.”
    • Ravishing – An extremely beautiful woman, as in, “Margaret was utterly ravishing last night.”
    • Terribly – This means “very,” as in “I’m terribly hungry today.”
    • Utterly – Completely, as in “I’m utterly exhausted after running that marathon.” [10]
    • Old chap – A nickname for an old friend, as in, “Hello, old chap! I haven’t seen you in a while.” [11]
  2. 2
    Use fewer casual slang terms than you would in standard English. When learning a British accent, it’s important to remember that people in the British upper class tend to use fewer slang terms or Americanized words. [12] In fact, there are words that they simply will not say. If you utter one of those “banned words,” it will be clear that you are not actually posh. Here’s a list of casual words and slang to avoid, along with posh words to use instead:
    • Toilet – Say “lavatory” instead.
    • Bubbly – Say “champagne” instead
    • Hey – Say “hello” instead
    • Banter – Say “repartee” instead
    • iPhone – Say “telephone” instead
    • Settee – Say “Sofa” instead
    • Uber – Say “taxi” instead
    • Dessert – Say “pudding” instead
    • Movie – Say “film” instead
    • Booze – Say “alcohol” instead
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Section 3 of 5:

Improving Your Posh Accent

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  1. According to improvisation expert and coach Dan Klein, practice is the best way to master an accent. He adds, “Some people have a natural ear for [accents] and some people need to study more.”
    • Even if you don’t have an ear for accents, lots of practice will help you master a posh accent.
    • Memorize a tongue-twister or paragraph and practice reciting it in a posh accent. When you master it, pick a new passage to memorize.
    • Practice speaking in a posh accent with your friends and family. Let them know you’re working on learning an accent so they aren’t too confused.
    • Speak with your posh accent when you’re out in public with strangers.
  2. American accent and speech coach Emmi Kohout says that “it's more about working on using new mouth movements, hearing, learning to hear new sounds, and also understanding the rhythm and intonation of the language.” Paying close attention to native posh speakers in person can help you see how they talk posh up close.
    • If you have a friend who talks posh, ask them if they’ll help you master the accent.
    • Introduce yourself to posh speakers and strike up a conversation. You don’t have to speak to them in a posh accent, just observe how they form words and string them together.
  3. Klein recommends looking for YouTube videos with people speaking in the accent. Acting coach Rita Litton adds, “We're so lucky in this day and age that we can find recordings…You can say, ‘I want to hear a person from this territory…’ and get the very specific dialect.” Listen to BBC news presenters or look for TV shows and movies that focus on the upper class, like:
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Section 4 of 5:

What does it mean to talk with a posh accent?

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  1. Using a posh accent means speaking similarly to the British upper class. The way people in the U.K. speak often reveals their social class. The upper-class uses Received Pronunciation (also called the Queen’s or King’s English). However, Received Pronunciation was developed in the late 1800s to create a common accent. It’s also associated with elite boarding schools like Eton College, Winchester College, Harrow School, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. [13]
    • Modern Received Pronunciation is about using good pronunciation and enunciation, correct grammar, and a wide range of vocabulary , like Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Grant, or Keira Knightley might. [14]
    • Technically, there’s Traditional Received Pronunciation, Aristocratic Received Pronunciation, and BBC Received Pronunciation, each of which has subtle differences from Standard British English pronunciation.
Section 5 of 5:

Bonus: Using a Transatlantic Accent to Talk Posh

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  1. Use the Transatlantic Accent to talk posh in the U.S. The Transatlantic (or Mid-Atlantic) accent was an attempt to blend British Received Pronunciation and American Standard English accents to create a common accent between the two. From the 1920s to the 1950s, it was commonly used by social elites and Hollywood actors. You can often hear it in movies from the era, like His Girl Friday , The Philadelphia Story , and All About Eve . [15] Here are a few tips for mastering the Transatlantic accent:
    • “R” Sounds : Drop “R” sounds at the ends of words and before consonants. Say “theatuh” instead of “theater” and “dinnuh” instead of “dinner.”
    • “T” Sounds: Over-emphasize the “T” sound instead of pronouncing it as a “D.” Say “behTuh” instead of “bedder” for “better” and “hahTuh” instead of “hadder” for “hatter.”
    • Longer Vowel Sounds: Use softer, longer vowels than a typical American accent. Say “fahhhthuh” instead of “father” or
    • Speak quickly: The Transatlantic accent often came with the rapid-fire cadence of a machine gun. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell demonstrate this perfectly in the movie His Girl Friday .
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      References

      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/Nj0Rh__1kDw?t=254
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/ZmiCGyjS5-U?t=147
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/ZmiCGyjS5-U?t=359
      4. ↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-to-do-a-british-accent-67942/
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/Nj0Rh__1kDw?t=185
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/ZmiCGyjS5-U?t=309
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/c7Qqi6SkYD0?t=228
      8. ↑ https://youtu.be/3GUUNulCras?t=248
      9. ↑ https://youtu.be/3GUUNulCras?t=422
      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/3GUUNulCras?t=275
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/c7Qqi6SkYD0?t=622
      3. ↑ https://harpersbazaar.com.au/upper-class-words-and-etiquette/
      4. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Received-Pronunciation
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/Nj0Rh__1kDw?t=102
      6. ↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/what-is-a-transatlantic-accent-75376/

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To talk posh, which is how the upper class in England speak, you’ll need to incorporate certain vocabulary into your speech. Start adding posh slang to your vocabulary, like “Golly gosh,” “Old bean” to describe a middle-aged person, and “Poppycock” to describe something silly. You’ll also want to embrace phrases and sayings like “Don’t get your knickers in a twist” to let someone know that they shouldn’t get excited or upset. Note that words that seem formal or out of date are actually part of the posh dialect, like saying “Seedy” if something is suspicious. To work on your posh dialect, listen to how it’s spoken in certain movies and TV shows, like “Casablanca,” “Bridget Jones’ Diary,” and “Made in Chelsea.” Also, hang around others who talk posh to pick it up fairly quickly. To learn how to pronounce words to sound posh, keep reading!

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      • Brinny

        Aug 21, 2021

        "I needed some POSH talk for a character in a script and wanted to make sure it was correct. Found several I'd ..." more
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