THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Differences inpronunciation betweenAmerican English (AmE) andBritish English (BrE) can be divided into:
- differences inaccent (i.e.phoneme inventory and realisation). Accents vary widely within AmE and within BrE, so the features considered here are mainly differences betweenGeneral American (GAm) and BritishReceived Pronunciation (RP); for information about other accents seeregional accents of English speakers.
- differences in the pronunciation of individual words in thelexicon (i.e. phoneme distribution). Here, there is more consistency within the speech of the British Isles, Australia, and many Commonwealth countries on one side, and North American speech on the other. However, there are still variations: e.g.Australian English, which mostly follows BrE, uses the AmE pronunciation of vitamin. In this article, transcriptions use RP to represent BrE and GAm and to represent AmE.
In the following discussion
- superscript A2 after a word indicates the BrE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in AmE
- superscript B2 after a word indicates the AmE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in BrE
Accent
- See also:Phonological history of the English language, sectionsAfter American/British split, up to the 20th century (c. AD 1725–1900) andAfter 1900.
- GAm isrhotic while RP is non-rhotic; that is, the letter r is only pronounced in RP when it is immediately followed by a vowel. Where GAm has[ɹ] before a consonant, RP either has nothing (if the preceding vowel is [ɔː] or [ɑː], as in bore and bar) or has aschwa instead (the resulting sequences arecentring diphthongs ortriphthongs). Similarly, where GAm hasr-coloured vowels ([ɚ] or [ɝ], as in cupboard or bird), RP has plain vowels [ə] or [ɜː]. However many British accents, especially inScotland andthe West Country, are rhotic, and some American accents, such as the traditionalBoston accent, are non-rhotic.
- The "intrusive R" of many RP speakers (in such sequences as "the idea-r-of it") is absent in GAm; this is a consequence of the rhotic/non-rhotic distinction.
- GAm hasfewer vowel distinctions before intervocalic[ɹ] than RP; for many GAm speakers, unlike RP, merry, marry and Mary are homophones; mirror rhymes with nearer, and furry rhymes with hurry. However, some eastern American accents, such as theBoston accent, have the same distinctions as in RP.
- For some RP speakers (upper class), unlike in GAm, some or all of tire, tower, and tar are homophones; this reflects themerger of the relevant vowels; similarly thepour-poor merger is common in RP but not in GAm.
- RP has threeopenback vowels, where GAm has only two or even one. Most GAm speakers use the same vowel for RP "short O"[ɒ] as for RP "broad A"[ɑː] (thefather-bother merger); many also use the same vowel for these as for RP[ɔː] (thecot-caught merger).
- For Americans without the cot-caught merger, the lot-cloth split results in[ɔː] in some words which now have[ɒ] in RP; as reflected in theeye dialect spelling "dawg" for dog.
- Thetrap-bath split has resulted in RP having "broad A"[ɑː] where GAm has "short A"[æ], in most words where A is followed by either[n] followed by another consonant, or[s],[f], or [θ] (e.g. plant, pass, laugh, path). However, many British accents, such as mostNorthern English accents, agree with GAm in having short A in these words, although it is usually phonetically[a] rather than [æ].
- RP has a marked degree of contrast of length between "short" and "long" vowels (The long vowels being the diphthongs, and[iː],[uː],[ɜː],[ɔː],[ɑː]). In GAm this contrast is much less evident, and the IPA length symbol (ː) is often omitted. American phoneticians often prefer the characterizations"tense"/"lax" or"checked"/"free" rather than "short"/"long".
- The "long O" vowel (as in boat) is realised differently: GAm pure[oː] or diphthongized[oʊ]; RP central first element[əʊ]. However there is considerable variation in this vowel on both sides of the Atlantic.
- The distinction between unstressed/ɪ/ and /ə/ (e.g. roses vs Rosa's) isoften lost in GAm. In RP it is retained, in part because it helps avoid nonrhotic homophones; e.g. batted vsbattered as['bætɪd] vs ['bætəd]. It is, however, lost in Australian English, which is also non-rhotic.
- Where GAm has[iː] in an unstressed syllable at the end of amorpheme,conservative RP has[ɪ], not having undergone happY tensing. This distinction is retained in inflected forms (e.g. candied and candid arehomophones in RP, but not in GAm).
- In GAm,flapping is common: when either a/t/ or a /d/ occurs between asonorant phoneme and an unstressedvowel phoneme, it is realized as analveolar-flapallophone [ɾ]. This sounds like a/d/ to RP speakers, although many GAm speakers distinguish the two phonemes by aspirating/t/ in this environment, especially after[ɪ] or[eɪ] (thus bitter and rated are distinguishable from bidder and raided), or by lengthening the vowel preceding anunderlying/d/.[ɾ] is an allophone of/r/ in conservative RP, which is hence caricatured in America as a "veddy British" accent.
- Yod-dropping occurs in GAm after allalveolar consonants, including[t], [d], [θ], [s], [z], [n], [l]; i.e. historic[juː] (from spellings u, ue, eu, ew), is pronounced [uː] in a stressed syllable. In contrast, RP speakers:
- always retain[j] after [n]: e.g. new is RP[njuː], GAm [nuː];
- retain orcoalesce it after[t], [d]: e.g. due is RP[djuː] or [dʒuː], GAm [duː];
- retain or drop it after[θ], [l]: e.g. allude is RP[ə'ljuːd] or (as GAm)[ə'luːd].
- retain, coalesce or drop it after[s], [z]: e.g. assume is RP[ə'sjuːm] or [ə'ʃuːm], or (as GAm)[ə'suːm];
- In some words where[j] has been coalesced in GAm, it may be retained in RP: e.g. issue is RP['ɪsjuː] or (as GAm)['ɪʃuː]
Stress
French stress
For manyloanwords from French where AmE has final-syllable stress, BrE stresses an earlier syllable. Such words include:
- BrE first-syllable stress: adultA2,B2,balletA2, baton, beret, bidet, blasé, brevetA2, brochureB2, buffet, caféA2,chagrin, chaletA2, chauffeurB2,chiffon, cliché, coupé, croissant,debrisB2, debut, décor, detailA2, détenteB2, flambé, frappé, garageB2, gateau, gourmetA2, lamé, montageA2, parquet, pastel, pâté, précis, sachet, salon, soupçon, vaccine; matinée, negligée,nonchalant, nondescript; also some French names, including BernardB2, Calais, Degas, Dijon, Dumas, Francoise, ManetA2, Maurice, MonetA2, Pauline, Renault, RenéB2, Renoir, Rimbaud, DelacroixB2.
- BrE second-syllable stress: attaché, consommé,décolleté, déclassé, De Beauvoir, Debussy, démodé, denouement, distingué, Dubonnet, escargot, fiancé(e), retroussé
A few French words have other stress differences:
- AmE first-syllable, BrE last-syllable: addressA2 (postal), m(o)ustacheA2; cigaretteA2,limousineB2, magazineB2,
- AmE first-syllable, BrE second-syllable: exposéB2,liaisonA2,macramé, Renaissance
- AmE second-syllable, BrE last-syllable: New Orleans
-ate and -atory
Most 2-syllable verbs ending -ate have first-syllable stress in AmE and second-syllable stress in BrE. This includescastrate, donateA2, mandateB2,prostrate, pulsate, rotate, serrateB2,spectate, striated, translateA2,vacate, vibrate; in the case of cremate, narrate, placate, the first vowel is in addition reduced to /ə/ in BrE. (Examples where AmE and BrE match include debate,elate, relate.) Derived nouns in -ator may retain the distinction, but those in -ation do not. Most longer -ate verbs are pronounced the same in AmE and BrE, but a few have first-syllable stress in BrE and second-syllable stress in AmE: elongate, infiltrateA2,remonstrate, tergiversate. The ending -atory is similarly different: in BrE primary stress moves from the root word to the first syllable of the suffix, while in AmE the stress of the root is unchanged, with a secondary stress in the second syllable of the suffix. Thus, from regulate/'ɹɛgjʊleɪt/ comes regulatory with AmE/'ɹɛgjʊlɪˌtɔɹi/ and BrE /ˌɹɛgjʊ'leɪtəɹiː/. An exception to this is laboratory: AmE /'læbɹɪˌtɔɹi/ and BrE /lə'bɒɹət(ə)ɹiː/.
Miscellaneous stress
There are a number of cases where same-spelled noun, verb and/or adjective have uniform stress in one dialect but distinct stress in the other (e.g. alternate, prospect): seeinitial-stress-derived noun.
The following table lists words where the only difference between AmE and BrE is in stress (possibly with a consequent reduction of the unstressed vowel). Words with other points of difference are listed in a later table.
Adjective Stress
In almost all dialects of English, when an adjective precedes a noun, stress is placed either on the adjective or on both words equally. A good example of this is the phrase 'Polar Bear', where the word 'polar' - the adjective in this case - is generally stressed. However, it should be noted that adjective stress is often context dependant. Take the following sentence, for example:
I saw a Polar Bear today.
Should the speaker wish to emphasize the fact that it was apolar bear that they saw (rather than a bear in general), they will stress the word 'polar'. If, however, the speaker wishes to refer to the Polar Bear as one entity, equal stress can be given to both words. It is the difference between a 'Polar Bear' and a 'Polar Bear' that governs the stress in this case.
Having said that, it is often true that in any name constituting two words ('Polar Bear', 'Jumbo Jet', 'Cheese Pizza' etc), the first word - arguably the adjective - will be stressed, regardless.
Affixes
-ary -ery -ory -bury, -berry, -mony
Where the syllable preceding -ary,-ery or -ory is stressed, AmE and BrE alike pronounce all these endings /əɹi(ː)/. Where the preceding syllable is unstressed, however, AmE has a full vowel rather than schwa:/ɛɹi/ for-ary and -ery and/ɔɹi/ for-ory. BrE retains the reduced vowel/əɹiː/, or evenelides it completely to/ɹiː/. (The elision is avoided in carefully enunciated speech, especially with endings -rary,-rery,-rory.) So military is AmE/'mɪlɪtɛɹiː/ and BrE /'mɪlɪtəɹiː/ or/'mɪlɪtɹiː/.
Note that stress differences occur with ending -atory (explained above) and a few others like capillary (includedabove). A few words have the full vowel in AmE in the ending even though the preceding syllable is stressed: library, primaryA2,rosemary. Pronouncing library as/'laɪbɛɹi/ rather than /'laɪbɹɛɹi/ is highly stigmatized in AmE, whereas in BrE,/'laɪbɹiː/ is common in rapid or casual speech.
Formerly the BrE-AmE distinction for adjectives carried over to correspondingadverbs ending -arily, -erily or -orily. However, nowadays most BrE speakers adopt the AmE practice of shifting the stress to the antepenultimate syllable: militarily is thus/ˌmɪlɪ'tɛɹɪliː/ rather than /'mɪlɪtɹɪliː/.
Theplacename component -bury (e.g. Canterbury) has a similar difference after a stressed syllable: AmE /bɛɹi/ and BrE/bɹɪː/ or/bəɹɪː/. The ending -mony after a stressed syllable is AmE/moʊni/ but BrE /mənɪː/. The word -berry in compounds has a slightly different distinction: in BrE, it is reduced (/bəɹiː/ or /bɹiː/) after a stressed syllable, and may be full/bɛɹiː/ after an unstressed syllable; in AmE it is usually full in all cases. Thus, strawberry is BrE/'strɔːbəɹiː/ but AmE /'strɔbɛɹi/, while whortleberry is BrE/'wɔːtlbɛɹiː/ and similarly AmE /'wɔɹtlbɛɹi/.
-ile
Words ending in unstressed -ile derived fromLatin adjectives ending -ilis are mostly pronounced with a full vowel (/aɪl/) in BrE but a reduced vowel/ɪl/ orsyllabic /l/ in AmE (e.g. fertile rhymes with fur tile in BrE but with turtle in AmE). This difference applies:
- generally to agile, docile, facile,fertile, fissile, fragile, futile,infertile, missile, nubile, octile,puerile, rutile, servile, stabile,sterile, tactile, tensile, virile,volatile;
- usually to ductile, hostile, (im)mobile (adjective), projectile, textile, utile,versatile;
- not usually to decile, domicile, infantile, juvenile, labile, mercantile,pensile, reptile, senile;
- not to crocodile, exile, gentile,percentile, reconcile; nor to compounds of monosyllables (e.g. turnstile from stile).
Related endings -ility, -ilize, -iliary are pronounced the same in AmE as BrE. The name Savile is pronounced with (/ɪl/) in both BrE and AmE. Mobile (sculpture), camomile and febrile are sometimes pronounced with /il/ in AmE and /aɪl/) in BrE. Imbecile has/aɪl/ or/iːl/ in BrE and often /ɪl/ in AmE.
-ine
The suffix -ine, when unstressed, is pronounced sometimes /aɪn/ (e.g. feline), sometimes/i(ː)n/ (e.g. morphine) and sometimes/ɪn/ (e.g.medicine). Some words have variable pronunciation within BrE, or within AmE, or between BrE and AmE. Generally, AmE is more likely to favour/in/ or/ɪn/, and BrE to favour /aɪn/: e.g. adamantineA2, carbine,crystallineA2, labyrinthine, philistine, serpentineA2, turbineA2. However, sometimes AmE has/aɪn/ where BrE has /iːn/; e.g. iodineB2, strychnineA2.
Weak forms
Somefunction words have aweak form in AmE, with a reduced vowel used when the word is unstressed, but always use the full vowel in RP. These include:or [ɚ];you [jə];your [jɚ].
On the other hand, thetitles Saint and Sir before a person's name have "weak forms" in BrE but not AmE: before vowels,[snt] and[səɹ]; before consonants,[sn] and[sə].
Miscellaneous pronunciation differences
These tables list words pronounced differently but spelled the same. See also the table ofwords with different pronunciation reflected in the spelling.
Single differences
Words with multiple points of difference of pronunciation are in the table after this one. Accent-based differences are ignored. For example, Moscow is RP/'mɒskəʊ/ and GAm /'mɑskaʊ/, but only the /əʊ/-/aʊ/ difference is highlighted here, since the/ɒ/-/ɑ/ difference is predictable from the accent. Also, tiara is listed with AmE/æ/; themarry-merry-Mary merger changes this vowel for many Americans. Some AmE types are listed as/ɒ/ where GAm merges to /ɑ/ .
Multiple differences
The slashes normally used to encloseIPA phonemic transcriptions have been omitted from the following table to improve legibility.
See also
- List of words of disputed pronunciation
References
- Wells, John C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. 2nd ed.Longman.ISBN 0-582-36468-X.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_pronunciation_differences"
Categories: American and British English differences |English phonology
FAQs
What are the difference between British English and American English answer? ›
The most significant differences between British and American English are in their pronunciations, their vocabularies, and their spelling. There are grammatical differences, too, but these are less important and harder to describe, so we will pass over them for today.
What is the difference between American and British pronunciation? ›The most obvious difference is the British tendency to use high falling intonation, hitting the main stress high and dropping down. Whereas in American rising tones are more common, so you go up from the main stress. This use of rising intonation on statements is sometimes referred to as 'Upspeak'.
What's the biggest difference between American and British pronunciation? ›The biggest difference between British English and American English is, undoubtedly, the accent. The reason why these two variations sound so different is known as rhotacism, the change of a particular consonant into a rhotic consonant. In this case, the consonant is “r”.
What are the 3 major differences between British English and American English? ›There are three primary differences between American and British English that you should be aware of: accent (the pronunciation of the words and letters), spelling and word choice.
What words are different in British and American English? ›...
American and British Vocabulary and Word Choice.
| American English | British English |
|---|---|
| attorney | barrister, solicitor |
| cookie | biscuit |
| hood | bonnet |
| trunk | boot |
British English is 'correct' where it is spoken, and American or Australian English is correct in those areas of the world. While it might not seem clean and neat to have so many 'correct' versions of a language, that's just the way it is. Of course, all of these versions of English are perfectly interchangeable.
Why does American and British English sound different? ›(However, there is some British slang that Americans don't realize they use.) An important reason why American English and British English sound different is rhotacism, the change of a particular sound in a language.
Why is there a difference between American and British English? ›American spelling was invented as a form of protest
Webster wanted American spelling to not only be more straightforward but different from UK spelling, as a way of America showing its independence from the former British rule.
Eventually, the American colonies gained independence from Great Britain and became the United States. As the US continued to grow and integrate different world cultures, the American people developed linguistic differences from their British counterparts. Phrases that already existed in British English changed.
What words can Americans not pronounce? ›- affidavit [af-i-dey-vit]
- almond [ah-muh nd, am-uh nd]
- beget [bih-get]
- cache [kash]
- caramel [kar-uh-muh l, -mel, kahr-muh l]
- coupon [koo-pon, kyoo-]
- croissant [French krwah-sahn; English kruh-sahnt]
- epitome [ih-pit-uh-mee]
What is difference between British English and American English PDF? ›
British English has a slight tendency to vagueness and ponderous diction. American English (at its best) tends to be more direct and vivid. American English tends to be more slangy than British English. Both American and British English are keen on euphemisms.
What is the main difference between Old English and modern English pronunciation? ›The main grammatical differences between Old English and Middle then Modern English are: the language is highly inflected; not only verbs but also nouns, adjectives and pronouns are inflected. there is grammatical gender with nouns and adjectives.
How do the British pronounce words? ›...
Words that are pronounced differently in the UK and in the US.
| Word | UK pronunciation | US pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | PRIV-uh-see | PRAI-vuh-see |
| Neither | NIGH-thuh | NEE-thuh |
- Chips: Fries. ...
- Crisps: Chips. ...
- Pudding: The dessert course. ...
- Biscuit: Cookie.
- Lolly: Popsicle.
- The Local: The friendly neighborhood pub that not even the smallest villages are without. ...
- Cuppa: A cup of tea. ...
- Rashers: Slices of cured ham.
Option 1: the American accent
The most popular English accent of them all. Spread around the world by American cinema, music, television and more than 350 million North Americans (including Canadians, eh), this is the easiest accent for most people to understand, whether native speakers or non-native speakers.
...
These Are The Most Attractive English Accents In The World:
British spelling is closest to the Middle English form of the word, where as the American spelling is closest to its Latin ancestor. Mom and Mommy are old-English words, words that are stilled used in Birmingham and most parts of the West Midlands.
Why did American lose British accent? ›The first is isolation; early colonists had only sporadic contact with the mother country. The second is exposure to other languages, and the colonists came into contact with Native American languages, mariners' Indian English pidgin and other settlers, who spoke Dutch, Swedish, French and Spanish.
When did America lose their British accent? ›Most scholars have roughly located “split off” point between American and British English as the mid-18th-Century. There are some clear exceptions.
Is American English harder than British? ›Generally, It doesn't matter whether you learn British English or American English. Learn whichever you feel and like. Of course, if you intend to move to the North America or Canada, it is best to study and get used to the American accent and vice versa.
What is the difference between British and American people? ›
The British tend to be more fatalistic or pragmatic, while Americans are more optimistic, and perhaps in some ways, considered entitled. British humor tends to be more dry, witty, sarcastic or high-brow, which simply means intellectual. American humor, on the other hand, tends to be a little more slapstick.
What is the difference between English and British? ›English refers only to people and things that are from England specifically. Thus, to be English is not to be Scottish, Welsh nor Northern Irish. British, on the other hand, refers to anything from Great Britain, meaning anyone who lives in Scotland, Wales or England are considered British.
How do you say Z in America? ›Saying the Alphabet 🔈
We say all the letters of the alphabet the same in British English and American English except for Z. In British English we say Zed. In American English we say Zee.
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
It's a technical word referring to the lung disease more commonly known as silicosis. Despite being in the dictionary, the word was originally made up by the president of the National Puzzlers' League.
- 1 Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (forty-five letters): ...
- 2 Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (thirty letters): ...
- 3 Floccinaucinihilipilification (twenty-nine letters): ...
- 4 Antidisestablishmentarianism (twenty-eight letters):
Hence, 1220 can be read as “One Thousand Two Hundred Twenty” in English.
How do Americans say years? ›Years are normally divided into two parts; the first two digits and the last two digits. 1984 is divided into 19 and 84 so you would say nineteen eighty-four.
How do you say 875 in English? ›We can write 875 in words as Eight hundred seventy-five. If you bought 875 candles to light for a festival, then you can say, “I bought Eight hundred seventy-five candles for the festival”.
Why English is pronounced differently? ›English spellings and pronunciation are so strange because the language is really a mix of lots of different languages. In fact, English is made up of words taken from Latin, Greek, French and German, as well as little bits and pieces of other local languages like Celtic and Gaelic.
When did English pronunciation change? ›The Great Vowel Shift was a series of changes in the pronunciation of the English language that took place primarily between 1400 and 1700, beginning in southern England and today having influenced effectively all dialects of English.
What are the 2 main differences between Early Modern English and Late Modern English? ›
1800 - Present) The dates may be rather arbitrary, but the main distinction between Early Modern and Late Modern English (or just Modern English as it is sometimes referred to) lies in its vocabulary - pronunciation, grammar and spelling remained largely unchanged.
Why there is difference between American English and British English? ›In terms of speech, the differences between American and British English actually took place after the first settlers arrived in America. These groups of people spoke using what was called rhotic speech, where the 'r' sounds of words are pronounced.
What is the difference between American and British system? ›Another difference between the American vs British curriculum systems is that students are relocated at the secondary level in the USA. This means subjects like math and science are taught sequentially, one after another. In the British curriculum, subjects are conducted simultaneously.
Why is American and British English so different? ›Eventually, the American colonies gained independence from Great Britain and became the United States. As the US continued to grow and integrate different world cultures, the American people developed linguistic differences from their British counterparts. Phrases that already existed in British English changed.
Is American or British easier? ›Option 1: the American accent
The most popular English accent of them all. Spread around the world by American cinema, music, television and more than 350 million North Americans (including Canadians, eh), this is the easiest accent for most people to understand, whether native speakers or non-native speakers.
Although the British accent is harder to understand than the American accent , but still it has some royal flavour with glamorous essence . It is always suggested that both the accents are good and beautiful .
Can British and American understand each other? ›Can Americans and folks from the UK understand each other totally when they speak? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Here's the thing: there's no one “American” or “British” accent, and accent makes a huge difference in spoken language comprehension.
What is British English called? ›The term British English refers to the varieties of the English language spoken and written in Great Britain (or, more narrowly defined, in England). Also called UK English, English English, and Anglo-English — though these terms are not applied consistently by linguists (or by anyone else for that matter).
Which is more popular American or British English? ›As a result, English is the mother tongue of around 500 million people around the world. About 75 million speak British English, 370 million speak American English, and 30 million speak Australian and New Zealand English. It is clear that American English has numerical superiority.
Which American accent is closest to British? ›While the accent of the American South might be difficult to comprehend for many students of the English language, its original form was actually much closer to British English, albeit with a playful inflection.