Contents Introduction Chapter Theoretical background of English pronunciation

Chapter 2. American pronunciation standard and regional types of pronunciation
2.1. American Pronunciation Standard
General American English Pronunciation (GAEP) is a kind of standard pronunciation found in American dictionaries such as the Merriam Webster. (On the next page you will see the main characteristics of this kind of pronunciation followed by some examples.) We should not confuse Standard American English Pronunciation with Standard American English. The latter is the name for the grammar and vocabulary of the written and spoken variety generally used in the fields of education, law and government.
GAEP is not the only kind of pronunciation found in the United States of America. There are several others but the two main kinds are: the New England accent and the Southern English accent.
The English started to colonize America in the early 1600s. They came from different areas of the UK and and were from different social classes. The Puritans settled in New England and other settlers in Virginia. Those who settled New England mostly came from the South East of England and the London area and were from the middle and lower classes. The settlers in Virginia were mostly from the upper classes. Both these groups were in touch with England and had non-rhotic accents.
The reason why American English is generally rhotic is that during the colonization period many parts of England were rhotic, for example, the South West -as we saw when we looked at Cornish English. Also many settlers came from Ireland and Scotland which are also rhotic.
In the USA three main types of cultivated speech are recognized: the Eastern type (is used in New England and New-York), the Southern type (in the South and South-East of the USA) and Western or General American (the type of educated American speech – it’s spoken in the Central Atlantic States).
GA pronunciation is known to be the pronunciation standard of the USA. There are some reasons for it. GA is the form of speech used by the radio and television. It is mostly used in scientific, cultural and business intercourse.

1. 
   There is no strict division of vowels into long and short in GA, though some American phoneticians suggest that certain GA vowels are tense and likely to be accompanied by relative length: [i:] in seat, [u:] in pool.
   
2. 
   Another very important feature is the pronunciation of [r] sound between a vowel and a consonant or between a vowel and a silence: turn [t3: r n], bird [b3: r d], star [sta:r]. It has been estimated that 2/3 of American population pronounce [r] and 1/3 omit (пропускать) it.
   
3. 
   One more peculiar feature of pronunciation of vowels in American English is their nasalization, when they are preceded or followed by a nasal consonant (e.g. m such words as take, small, name, etc.).
   
4. 
   GA front vowels are somewhat different from RP. Vowels [t), [I) are distributed differently in GA and RP. . In words like very, pity GA has [i:] rather than [I]. In word final position it is often even diphthongized. . Vowel [e] is more open in GA. It also may be diphthongized before [pI, [t], [k]: let [le)t].
   
5. 
   The three RP vowels [0], lee], [a:) correspond to only two vowels in GA - [a] and [eel. This combined with the articulatory differences between RP [01 and GA [a) and a difference in vowel distribution in many sets of words makes i.t very complicated.
   

For ex. dog, path, dance, half
2.2. Phonetic and regional features of American pronunciation
As a result of the colonial expansion of British imperialism, the English language spread from the British Isles to all the continents of the earth. As the colonies and dominions in the erstwhile British Empire gained their independence and attained nationhood, English became the national language of several countries – the USA, Australia, New Zealand, while in Canada and the Republic of South Africa it is the mother tongue of the greater part of the population.