British English voice overs: what you need to know

British English, sometimes referred to as the Queen’s English, is the common language of the United Kingdom. It’s spoken by 59.4 million people or 98% of the population.

The UK includes Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. The UK also has 14 overseas territories, including Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and part of Antarctica.  It’s also home to 14 other indigenous languages, including Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic. And many immigrant languages, including Polish, Punjabi and Gujarati.

Language History

English has been shaped by the people who invaded Britain. Its early origins lie with Anglo-Saxon settlers who arrived in the  5th to 7th centuries AD. In the 8th and 9th centuries, the influence of conquering Vikings from Scandinavia led to much lexical borrowing and grammatical simplification. It’s typically the one-syllable words that are the oldest, such as dirt, berserk and cake. And after the Norman conquest in 10666, many Norman and French loanwords entered the language. In fact, 30% of English words have French origins.

Ever wondered why English spelling is so irregular? We’re still largely using the spelling of the Middle English period, even though the pronunciation of the words has changed. And the high level of loanwords adds up to a high level of spelling variation.

During the Renaissance era, loanwords skyrocketed again. This time from Latin and Ancient Greek, as well as other European languages, such as French, German and Dutch. Modern English came into being by the late 17th century – just in time to be exported to other countries through British colonization.

Close Relations

British English is an Anglo-Saxon language and a member of the Germanic family. It’s influenced by languages around the world, including those from the Commonwealth.

Accents and Voice Over Tips

Queen Elizabeth’s accent is known as received pronunciation. As the name suggests, it’s an accent that you study, rather than learn from your parents. Up until the 1960s, all broadcasters and many actors were required to adopt it. Since then, there has since been a swing to less formal tones and towards regional accents.

Slang and word usage varies from region to region. However, accents (as opposed to dialect) are mostly mutually intelligible. Surveys regularly show the Welsh and Scottish accents to be the most popular.

Words per minute

The average speaking rate for English is 150 words per minute. However, we would advise you to always consider the target audience and project purpose though. The younger the audience and the denser the text, the more your voice actor should slow down.