English Queen English What Is It?

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nurin Monday 25th of April 2005 11:06:34 AM
Queen English - does anyone know about the polite english called 'Queen English'? it has the most polite way to address people instead of "i" and "you" and other remarks..

thanks..

Ulven Monday 25th of April 2005 02:56:11 PM
- I think The Queen's English simply means that you're taught England's pronunciation. Yes, the words one learns will be less slang, but it is still modern. Not like "thou shalt...", "doeth thy" or any other old language. People in European countries often have a slight English accent, because the London accent is used to teach people. I've met a Dutch person who sounds like he's from England. But, as to whether or not there's much more politeness? I don't really know. It's just less slang, I think. There's no difference in regard to whether you'll understand each other or not. It's more to do wit accent and maybe as you say, more proper/polite words are used than American based English education.
Maybe someone else knows in more detail what Queen's English means. I don't notice people being more polite because it, though. If the person's rude, they're rude. :)lol regardless of whether an old school Londion lady taught them or an American cowboy did.:D

afrodisiac_05 Monday 25th of April 2005 07:28:25 PM
- hey,
"Queens English" simply means "well bred" English. It isn't the London accent, as that has it's own phonetics. Queens english is simply watered down Victorian English, with out the words that were distinct to that era. It concentrates on the correct pronunciation, a lack of slang or colloquialisms, but also using an extended vocabulary. And reverting to archaic ways of sentence arrangment. As regards to being polite, these days we think of queens english as far more "civil" but one can be as polite or as rude as they wish.

nurin Monday 25th of April 2005 10:00:22 PM
- thanks for the replies.. i do agree on the polite and rude things u both mentioned.. a person can call another person "mister" or "sir" but if he or she raises his or her voice while talking to the person face to face, it still can be considered as rude.. but just by using "hey you" is much more worse, i think..

i'm interested on the extended vocabulary, though.. someone care to elaborate?

CharonPlu Monday 25th of April 2005 11:26:40 PM
- Just so we're all clear, it's the [b]Queen's[/b] (with an apostrophe) English. :) [i]Queens[/i] refers to more than one queen; [i]queen's[/i] refers to something belonging to the queen.

To illustrate this, I found a funny tid-bit as follows:

The Queen's English vs. Queens English

Taken from "Metropolitan Diary" by Ron Alexander
NY TIMES Wednesday, December 3, 1997; page B3

Dear Diary:
An illustration of translation difficulties between the Queen's English and Queens English.

THE SCENE: 51st Street/Lexington Avenue subway station, a recent evening rush hour. The escalator down to the E/F platform is broken, causing a huge backup into the corridor from the platform.

The crowd, about 10 people across, stretches to about 150 people.

THE PLAYERS: A young British couple and a New York City police officer.

BRITISH GENT, gazing incredulously and gesturing towards [the] line: "Is this the queue?"

OFFICER: "The Q? No, it's the E/F. For the Q, you got to go to Rockefeller Center."

*[i]note:[/i] a queue refers to a line-up.
*[i]note:[/i] E/F and Q refer to specific train lines/routes.

Rion Friday 24th of June 2005 03:51:18 AM
- ;) What's a line-up? Is it like a line-out in Rugby? :)

The Queen's English is simply English spoken as many Americans seem to imagine it's spoken on a day-to-day basis, i.e. correctly and with a posh accent. It's generally thought of as 'correct' English, although some people these days tend to disparage it. It doesn't include any archaisms like 'thou art, dost thou, thy touch doth set my heart a-tremble,' etc. In fact, you'd be more likely to find a Yorkshireman who addresses you as 'thou' than some posh gent in a fancy house. (And if [i]anyone[/i] ever says 'thy touch doth set my heart a-tremble' to you, then I advise you to run. Fast.)

The Queen's English also doesn't mean saying 'we' when you mean 'I'. That's the Royal 'We'. Like when HM says 'We are very pleased to be here,' and there's only one of her. (And the D of E isn't around) So.....what I think I'm trying to say is that the Queen's English isn't a more formal version of English as such, more of a different accent, and like Ulven said, no slang or colloquialisms. Although certainly not everyone in England speaks the Queen's English, as was insinuated. Ever heard a cockney talking about apples and pears, etc? Or...all the hundreds of other regional accents that I can't be arsed to name?

I hope that made sense. :)

nurin Friday 24th of June 2005 09:10:11 AM
- wow.. thanks for the explanations.. so there's only one english like the one we are using here right?

Rion Sunday 26th of June 2005 12:32:40 AM
- Yup. I mean, there's archaic English, and there's obviously differences between how British, American, Australian, Canadian and South African people (etc.) speak it. But essentially, there's only one English. ;)

tony123456 Wednesday 04th of January 2006 10:04:24 AM
- Well, I like the way the British speak it! I think that's why British people always sound so smart with their "posh" and "proper" speaking.I love it!:D:)Where can "one (I already started:D) go to learn this form of English? If there is even a place...

Cliven Wednesday 04th of January 2006 11:46:17 PM
- For the record:
Hardly anyone in the UK uses the pronoun "one".
Hardly any young people in the UK speak RP (Queen's English).

Tha can allus tell a yorkshireman, but tha canna tell im much ;)

tony123456 Thursday 05th of January 2006 05:01:20 AM
- Interesting...What was your sentence about the yorkshireman?:D

Phrasebase Archive
	nurin	Monday 25th of April 2005 11:06:34 AM
	Queen English - does anyone know about the polite english called 'Queen English'? it has the most polite way to address people instead of "i" and "you" and other remarks.. thanks..
	Ulven	Monday 25th of April 2005 02:56:11 PM
	- I think The Queen's English simply means that you're taught England's pronunciation. Yes, the words one learns will be less slang, but it is still modern. Not like "thou shalt...", "doeth thy" or any other old language. People in European countries often have a slight English accent, because the London accent is used to teach people. I've met a Dutch person who sounds like he's from England. But, as to whether or not there's much more politeness? I don't really know. It's just less slang, I think. There's no difference in regard to whether you'll understand each other or not. It's more to do wit accent and maybe as you say, more proper/polite words are used than American based English education. Maybe someone else knows in more detail what Queen's English means. I don't notice people being more polite because it, though. If the person's rude, they're rude. :)lol regardless of whether an old school Londion lady taught them or an American cowboy did.:D
	afrodisiac_05	Monday 25th of April 2005 07:28:25 PM
	- hey, "Queens English" simply means "well bred" English. It isn't the London accent, as that has it's own phonetics. Queens english is simply watered down Victorian English, with out the words that were distinct to that era. It concentrates on the correct pronunciation, a lack of slang or colloquialisms, but also using an extended vocabulary. And reverting to archaic ways of sentence arrangment. As regards to being polite, these days we think of queens english as far more "civil" but one can be as polite or as rude as they wish.
	nurin	Monday 25th of April 2005 10:00:22 PM
	- thanks for the replies.. i do agree on the polite and rude things u both mentioned.. a person can call another person "mister" or "sir" but if he or she raises his or her voice while talking to the person face to face, it still can be considered as rude.. but just by using "hey you" is much more worse, i think.. i'm interested on the extended vocabulary, though.. someone care to elaborate?
	CharonPlu	Monday 25th of April 2005 11:26:40 PM
	- Just so we're all clear, it's the [b]Queen's[/b] (with an apostrophe) English. :) [i]Queens[/i] refers to more than one queen; [i]queen's[/i] refers to something belonging to the queen. To illustrate this, I found a funny tid-bit as follows: The Queen's English vs. Queens English Taken from "Metropolitan Diary" by Ron Alexander NY TIMES Wednesday, December 3, 1997; page B3 Dear Diary: An illustration of translation difficulties between the Queen's English and Queens English. THE SCENE: 51st Street/Lexington Avenue subway station, a recent evening rush hour. The escalator down to the E/F platform is broken, causing a huge backup into the corridor from the platform. The crowd, about 10 people across, stretches to about 150 people. THE PLAYERS: A young British couple and a New York City police officer. BRITISH GENT, gazing incredulously and gesturing towards [the] line: "Is this the queue?" OFFICER: "The Q? No, it's the E/F. For the Q, you got to go to Rockefeller Center." [i]note:[/i] a queue refers to a line-up. [i]note:[/i] E/F and Q refer to specific train lines/routes.
	Rion	Friday 24th of June 2005 03:51:18 AM
	- ;) What's a line-up? Is it like a line-out in Rugby? :) The Queen's English is simply English spoken as many Americans seem to imagine it's spoken on a day-to-day basis, i.e. correctly and with a posh accent. It's generally thought of as 'correct' English, although some people these days tend to disparage it. It doesn't include any archaisms like 'thou art, dost thou, thy touch doth set my heart a-tremble,' etc. In fact, you'd be more likely to find a Yorkshireman who addresses you as 'thou' than some posh gent in a fancy house. (And if [i]anyone[/i] ever says 'thy touch doth set my heart a-tremble' to you, then I advise you to run. Fast.) The Queen's English also doesn't mean saying 'we' when you mean 'I'. That's the Royal 'We'. Like when HM says 'We are very pleased to be here,' and there's only one of her. (And the D of E isn't around) So.....what I think I'm trying to say is that the Queen's English isn't a more formal version of English as such, more of a different accent, and like Ulven said, no slang or colloquialisms. Although certainly not everyone in England speaks the Queen's English, as was insinuated. Ever heard a cockney talking about apples and pears, etc? Or...all the hundreds of other regional accents that I can't be arsed to name? I hope that made sense. :)
	nurin	Friday 24th of June 2005 09:10:11 AM
	- wow.. thanks for the explanations.. so there's only one english like the one we are using here right?
	Rion	Sunday 26th of June 2005 12:32:40 AM
	- Yup. I mean, there's archaic English, and there's obviously differences between how British, American, Australian, Canadian and South African people (etc.) speak it. But essentially, there's only one English. ;)
	tony123456	Wednesday 04th of January 2006 10:04:24 AM
	- Well, I like the way the British speak it! I think that's why British people always sound so smart with their "posh" and "proper" speaking.I love it!:D:)Where can "one (I already started:D) go to learn this form of English? If there is even a place...
	Cliven	Wednesday 04th of January 2006 11:46:17 PM
	- For the record: Hardly anyone in the UK uses the pronoun "one". Hardly any young people in the UK speak RP (Queen's English). Tha can allus tell a yorkshireman, but tha canna tell im much ;)
	tony123456	Thursday 05th of January 2006 05:01:20 AM
	- Interesting...What was your sentence about the yorkshireman?:D