Shadowing practice: Speak like a Bridgerton | Regency English Tutorial
Listen to the line, then say it out loud
Line 1
Full transcript
- Forgive me, am I to understand that you wish to attend the Queen's Ball this evening, and yet you do not speak Regency English?0:01
- Well, fear not, I am your dialect coach Lord Statham, and I shall teach you how to speak correct Regency English in time for tonight's gathering.0:10
- Okay, number one, we're not going to use contraction.0:22
- We shall not use contractions.0:25
- Secondly, we must do something about your awful diction.0:28
- For you to fit in at the Queen's Ball, you need to use received pronunciation.0:32
- Upper RP is the only acceptable way to speak among high society.0:38
- That means pronouncing the ah sound in words like these in the Southern style.0:43
- Ah, not the Northern ah, for example.0:48
- Fast, laugh, castle.0:52
- Repeat with me, please, we do not have all day.0:56
- The last castle in Bath.0:59
Show all 113 lines Show fewer lines
- Very good, you are doing quite well.1:06
- And of course, please, pronounce your teas correctly.1:08
- Water, not water.1:12
- Glottal teas are for the lower classes, and tonight you are not part of the lower classes.1:14
- Tomorrow, mmm, but tonight, properties, please.1:20
- Okay, so knowing that, how would you pronounce this sentence?1:24
- Splendid.1:33
- I want to eat the last cookie.1:34
- However, in Regency English, we shall replace all I want to's with these.1:36
- To declare your intent, you have two options.1:43
- I wish to.1:47
- This is a more direct, strong version of I want to.1:48
- I wish to eat the last cookie.1:52
- And I will.1:54
- However, I should like to is a softer, more polite version.1:55
- Perhaps you might consider using that instead.1:59
- I should like to eat the last cookie.2:02
- Does no one object?2:04
- Repeat with me, please, we do not have all day.2:05
- I should like to eat the last cookie.2:08
- Very good.2:14
- Now, for polite requests, please use might I have.2:15
- Might I have the last cookie?2:20
- Repeat with me, please.2:23
- Very good.2:26
- Pardon me.2:27
- Someone told you the Queen is having a ball.2:29
- No, no, no.2:31
- When talking of things you have seen or heard, something you have learned.2:32
- It has come to my attention, that blah, blah, blah.2:38
- Say it with me, please.2:40
- It has come to my attention.2:42
- The Queen is having a ball.2:43
- Very well done.2:48
- I do not go to balls.2:50
- I am not over high rank.2:53
- I should go to the Queen's ball.2:55
- Okay, this is Regency English for suggestions, change you should for might you consider, perhaps you might consider attending the Queen's ball.2:57
- You are very good at this.3:11
- Pardon me.3:13
- I have to say you're weird and annoying.3:14
- I must confess you are most peculiar and you vex me.3:17
- Bravo.3:29
- Well done.3:30
- Are you okay?3:31
- I must confess you seem awfully fatigued.3:34
- Tired.3:37
- You can't be bothered to go to the ball.3:38
- Please, your vocabulary.3:41
- I can't be bothered.3:44
- Say this.3:45
- I find I am without the inclination to blah, blah, blah.3:46
- Oh, oh, oh, I see.3:50
- You do not lack the inclination.3:53
- You are simply scared.3:55
- You are not scared to attend the ball.3:57
- You lack the courage to attend the ball.4:00
- Pardon me.4:05
- Oh, oh, you're ill.4:06
- Oh, you are sick.4:08
- You have a cold.4:09
- Yes.4:10
- No, in this instance, we say I am poorly.4:11
- Yes, British English is much, much cuter than American English.4:15
- I agree.4:19
- Pardon me.4:21
- Oh, you're poorly cause of your, oh, your monthly shame.4:22
- We call it your monthly course.4:28
- Secondly, change because of to for.4:30
- Now you are becoming a member of the higher classes.4:35
- How would you translate this sentence?4:38
- I can't be bothered to go to the gym because I'm tired.4:40
- Very good.4:46
- I lack the inclination to attend the gym for I am fatigued.4:47
- Well done.4:53
- I am delighted with our progress.4:54
- Um, okay, next, it is quite necessary that the person whom you are speaking with agrees with you.4:56
- Is it not?5:03
- We achieve this with question tags.5:04
- And again, remember, we do not use contractions.5:07
- You're a maid in it.5:10
- No, you are a maid.5:11
- Are you not?5:13
- Ah, okay.5:14
- Perhaps we have succeeded in turning this mutton into a true lamb.5:15
- Okay, let us see.5:20
- Moment of truth.5:21
- How would you say in perfect regency English the following?5:23
- You want to marry me, right?5:27
- You do wish to marry me.5:33
- Do you not?5:34
- You should go to bed.5:35
- You look tired.5:36
- Perhaps you might consider retiring early.5:41
- You seem somewhat fatigued.5:44
- And finally, I'm going to bed because I got my period and I feel rubbish.5:46
- Translate this into perfect regency English.5:51
- I wish to retire for my course is upon me and I am quite poorly.5:56
- Please do show off your regency English at the party and let me know how it goes in the comments.6:01
- Now, maybe get some nice clothes.6:06
- You look terrible.6:10
British English Pronunciation Practice with a Regency Dialect Coach
This lecture from Learn English with Papa Teach Me turns a pronunciation lesson into a costume drama. A host introduces himself as "your dialect coach Lord Statham" and coaches a student through the vowels and manners needed to pass at the Queen's Ball, so every rule is tied to a scene instead of sitting in a list.
The recording is rated B1 and moves at 174 words per minute, faster than 39 percent of the catalogue, which keeps you alert without outrunning a B1 ear. Across 113 lines it is a steady stretch of english shadowing practice for anyone learning received pronunciation rather than an American accent. It also works as english listening practice, since a full B1 lecture at this pace is longer than most sentence level drills.
The Language in This Lecture: Vowels, Glottal Teas and Two Ways to Ask
The coach is explicit about the sounds he wants changed. On the open vowel he says, "That means pronouncing the ah sound in words like these in the Southern style." and drills it with "Fast, laugh, castle." three short words that all carry the same long ah.
- "Fast, laugh, castle." the drill for the Southern ah, repeated once so you can copy the vowel exactly
- "Glottal teas are for the lower classes, and tonight you are not part of the lower classes." the reason to say every t clearly instead of swallowing it
- "I want to eat the last cookie." rebuilt first as "I wish to eat the last cookie." and then softened to "I should like to eat the last cookie."
- "Might I have the last cookie?" the polite request form that replaces a plain request for something
How to Shadow This Regency English Pronunciation Lesson
The lecture teaches in pairs, a plain sentence followed by its Regency version, so work through it the same way instead of skipping to the end. Treat the request forms as one thread and the pronunciation drills as another, since they need different kinds of listening.
- Start on the vowel drill. Shadow "Fast, laugh, castle." the coach himself asks for repetition here, "Repeat with me, please, we do not have all day."
- Move to "Water, not water." and repeat it until the second t is clear, that is the whole point of the drill.
- Say the request ladder in order, "I want to eat the last cookie." then "I wish to eat the last cookie." then "I should like to eat the last cookie." and notice how each version gets more polite without getting longer.
- Close with "Might I have the last cookie?" and "It has come to my attention." two patterns worth keeping past the ball scene, useful for improving your english accent and for speaking practice beyond this lesson.
