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Social Structure of the United Kingdom 
In Britain, people are often able to make instant and unconscious judgements 
about a stranger’s class affiliation on the basis of his or her accent. Both the 
words and pronunciation of many individuals reflect that person’s social 
position. It is agreed that in England, the phonetic factors assume a 
predominating role which they do not generally have in North America. 
Any regional accent would not be considered upper-class and the more 
localizable the accent, the more it will described as a "broad" accent. Broad 
accents reflect: 
 regionally, the highest degree of local distinctiveness 
 socially, the lowest social class 
 linguistically, the maximal degree of difference from RP. 
A 1972 survey carried out by National Opinion Polls in England provides an 
example of how significantly speech differences are associated with social 
class differences. The following question was asked: 
"Which of the these [eleven specified factors] would you say are most 
important in being able to tell which class a person is?" Respondents were 
randomly chosen from the British public. The factor that scored the highest 
was "the way they speak" followed by "where they live." At the bottom of the 
list was "the amount of money they have." All this is evidence that then, and 
to some degree even now, "speech is regarded as more indicative of social 
class than occupation, education and income." 
 
Accents are often characterized by British speakers themselves as either 
"posh" or "common" accents. Most speakers of British English would recognize 
these labels and create a fairly accurate image of the sound of these far ends 
of the spectrum. Conservative or U-"Received Pronunciation" representing the 
"posh" end and a less broad version of Cockney representing the "common" 
accent. 
 
 
The significance of accents and their cultural and social associations is well 
represented in films and on television in Britain. The critically acclaimed 1964 
file My Fair Lady based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1912 play, Pygmalion is 
often referenced in linguistic discussions as a wonderful example of how 
social class and accent were, and are still, inextricably linked in Britain. Over 
the past years, numerous television series have also provided viewers with a 
glimpse of the lives and accents of the Cockney population of London. The 
Cockney English section talks more about the current, very popular long 
running television series EastEnders. 
After reading the above, watch: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYHTsmvdthc (EastEnders) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFLlW0HQL_g&feature=related (My Fair 
Lady) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxmXaVL60Zg&feature=related (My 
Fair Lady)