Queen146;s English getting more common: Study

8220;Similarly, she would have spoken of the 8216;citay8217; and 8216;dutay8217;, rather than 8216;citee8217; and 8216;dutee8217;, and 8216;hame8217; rather than 8216;home8217;. In the 1950s she would have been 8216;lorst8217;, but by the 1970s this became 8216;lost.8221;8217;

8220;Queen8217;s English8221; is a well-known phrase commonly used to describe posh or 8220;Received Pronounciation.8221; The Queen used to speak in Upper Received Pronunciation, but has now slipped towards the Standard Received Pronunciation, the report said.

Harrington said the queen is unique in having a good quality archive of recordings for every year since 1952, in similar formal settings. 8220;It means that we can monitor sound changes without having to worry about the influence of speaking styles,8221; he said.

The changes in her speech, he said, were probably not a conscious attempt to come closer to her subjects. 8220;One of the principal changes that has happened in the English community is that the accent now sounds slightly less aristocratic than it did 50 years ago. This is to do with the fact that 50 years ago there was a much more demarcated class structure.