PUBLIC SCHOOL ENGLISH

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PUBLIC SCHOOL ENGLISH. The English language as used in the public (in fact private) boarding- and day-schools of Britain, and especially England, the foremost of which are Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow, Rugby, Charterhouse, and Shrewsbury (‘the Seven Public Schools’). The variety is distinguished primarily by the so-called public school accent (known technically as RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION) and to some extent by public school slang, which tends to vary from school to school. See PUBLIC SCHOOL PRONUNCIATION, RECEIVED STANDARD AND MODIFIED STANDARD.

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PUBLIC SCHOOL ENGLISH

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