English learners worldwide often follow either a British or American pronunciation model in their lessons. Today, we’ll be looking at the key differences between them. - English learners worldwide often follow either a British or American pronunciation model in their lessons. Today, we’ll be looking at the key differences between them.
Silent r Silent r - The most obvious difference between standard American (GA) and standard British (GB) is the omission of ‘r’ in GB: you only pronounce a written < r > if there is a vowel sound after it, so we don’t say it in PARK /pɑːk/, HORSE /hɔːs/ or FURTHER /ˈfɜːðə/. In American, though, we pronounce every written /r/ so /pɑrk/, /hɔrs/ & /ˈfɜrðər/.
Vowel Sounds - Vowel Sounds
- /a/ to /ɛ/
- The pronunciation and usage of /a/ is fairly similar in American and British; words like CAT and MAD are very similar. There is a group of words which change from /a/ to /ɛ/ in American. CARRY /kari/ is /kɛri/ EMBARRASS /ɪmˈbarɪs/ is /ɪmˈbɛrəs/ and HARRY /ˈhari/ is /ˈhɛri/. MARRY, MERRY and MARY would all be the same too in American English, but different in British: /ˈmari/, /ˈmɛri/ & /ˈmɛːri /
/əː/ to /ɜr/ /əː/ to /ɜr/ - The British thinking sound /əː/, found in words like HEARD /həːd/, FIRST /fəːst/ and WORST /wəːst/, is pronounced differently – with the tongue raised and a /r/ quality in American, /hərd/, /fərst/ & /wərst/. This sound nearly always has an ‘r’ in its spelling, but even when it doesn’t, American speakers say one, like in the word COLONEL /ˈkərnəl/, which is /ˈkəːnəl/ in British English.
/ɔː/ to /ɔr/ & /ɑ/ /ɔː/ to /ɔr/ & /ɑ/ - Long back rounded /ɔː/ as in SWORD /sɔːd/, FORCE /fɔːs/, THOUGHT /θɔːt/ & LAW /lɔː/ is pronounced in 2 ways in American. /ɔr/ for words with ‘r’ so SWORD /sɔrd/ & FORCE /fɔrs/, and /ɑ/ for words without /r/ so THOUGHT /θɑt/ & LAW /lɑ/. This means that for many American speakers, COT /kɑt/and CAUGHT /kɑt/ are the same, though COURT /kɔrt/ would be different. In British English CAUGHT /kɔːt/ and COURT would be the same, COT /kɒt/ would be different.
/ɑː/ to /ɑr/ & /a/ /ɑː/ to /ɑr/ & /a/ - Long back unrounded /ɑː/ like in CAR /kɑː/, START /stɑːt/, AFTER /ɑːftə/ & HALF /hɑːf/ is pronounced /ɑr/ in American if there’s an ‘r’ in the spelling so CAR /kɑr/ & START /stɑrt/. Most of those words that don’t have an ‘r’ in GB are pronounced /a/ in American so AFTER /ˈaftər/ & HALF /haf/.
/ɛː/ to /ɛr/ /ɛː/ to /ɛr/ - The long vowel /ɛː/ in HAIR /hɛː/, BEAR /bɛː/ & WHERE /wɛː/ is always spelt with an ‘r’ so it’s pronounced /ɛr/ in American English HAIR /hɛr/, BEAR /bɛr/, WHERE /wɛr/. This makes FAIRY /ˈfɛri/ and FERRY the same in American, but different in British /ˈfɛːri/ & /ˈfɛri/.
/ɪə/ to /ɪr/ /ɪə/ to /ɪr/ - British English /ɪə/ in words like STEER /stɪə/, CLEAR /klɪə/ & CHEER /tʃɪə/ is pronounced /ɪr/ in American so /stɪr/, /klɪr/ & /tʃɪr/.
/əʊ/ to /oʊ/ /əʊ/ to /oʊ/ - In standard GB English the diphthong /əʊ/ starts in the centre of the mouth GO, NO & SHOW, whereas in American it starts to the back /oʊ/: GO /goʊ/, NO /noʊ/, SHOW /ʃoʊ/.
Consonant Sounds - Consonant Sounds
- Consonant are similar in British and American pronunciation, but you will hear the following variations:
- /t/
- When /t/ appears after a stressed vowel and before a weak vowel, American speakers often make a voiced flap – a bit like a very fast /d/: WATER, FIGHTER, GOT IT. In Standard British this would be pronounced as a normal /t/ WATER, FIGHTER, GOT IT, though in regional British accents, most famously cockney, this would be a glottal stop: WATER, FIGHTER, GOT IT.
Yod (/j/) Dropping - In British English where /j/ appears after /t, d, n, l, s, z/ (the alveolar consonants) it is omitted in American: /t/ TUNE /tjuːn, tun/, /d/ DUTY /ˈdjuːti, ˈduti/, /n/ NEW /njuː, nu/, /l/ LEWD /ljuːd, lud/, /s/ SUIT /sjuːt, sut/ /z/ EXUDE /ɪgˈzjuːd, ɪgˈzud/. This is often referred to as ‘yod dropping’.
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