India, Sept. 29 -- By Prof. K.C. Belliappa

When we speak of Standard English, the technical phrase that comes to one's mind is R.P., or Received Pronunciation. This term is credited to Daniel Jones and it refers to the standard accent of Standard English in Great Britain.

R.P. is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as the "standard accent of English as spoken in the South of England" or has also been argued to be spoken all over England.

Generally, R.P. is concerned with pronunciation, while Standard English is more to do with grammar, vocabulary and style. Interestingly, only 4 percent of the population in the UK speak English with a standard accent, that is, use R.P.

To strike a personal note, I have a problem with some of thos...