К вопросу о современной языковой ситуации на Британских островах

Abstract

This article elicits a fact that regional and social variation of the English language can be represented as hierarchy in which RP, regional standards and dialects are situated from top to bottom. The description of the language situation on the British Isles persuades that usage of RP has social significance. The author comes to the conclusion that the language situation in Great Britain is characterized by diglossia which determines the functional differentiation of different types of British English pronunciation.