Professor David Crystal on American English vs Received Pronunciation (RP)

Most English learners speak American English or General American (GA). They emerge themselves in American music, games, social media, cinema and advertisement. But somehow, when it comes to listening tests and assessments, they are mostly in British English, to be more specific 'Received Pronunciation' (RP). Why do we keep harassing learners of English with RP when they understand GA so much better? RP is spoken by just 2% of the British population, most commonly within the royal family and on the BBC.

Professor David Crystal sheds light on this topic. We talk about the early developments of RP and current and future developments.

Professor David Crystal needs little introduction. Together with Noam Chomsky, he is the world's foremost linguist. He has published more than 100 books about the English language and language in general. And luckily for me, he is easy to talk to and a prolific speaker.