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There are some notable differences between British and American pronunciation, including differences in vowel and consonant sounds, stress patterns, and intonation. In this page, you will discover the most common distinctions of British and American pronunciation
Word stress
Word stress
In British English, the stress is often on the first syllable of words like "address" and "finance", while in American English, the stress is often on the second syllable.
Sounds
In this unit, we will explore the key differences between the sounds of American and British English, and how they impact communication and understanding between speakers of both varieties.
In British we use back rounded open sound /ɒ/
SHOP /ʃɒp/
LOST /lɒst/
WANT /wɒnt/
In American we don’t round the lips - /ɑ/
SHOP /ʃɑp/
LOST /lɑst/
WANT /wɑnt/
“John wants a stop watch.”
The British thinking sound /əː/ is pronounced with the tongue raised.
The British thinking sound /əː/ is pronounced with the tongue raised.
HEARD /həːd/
FIRST /fəːst/
WORST /wəːst/
This sound is pronounced with a /r/ quality
in American.
HEARD /hərd/
FIRST /fərst/
WORST /wərst/
“The early bird murders the worm.”
In British English we can hear sound /ɪə/ in words like
In British English we can hear sound /ɪə/ in words like
STEER /stɪə/
STEER /stɪə/
CLEAR /klɪə/
CLEAR /klɪə/
CHEER /tʃɪə/
CHEER /tʃɪə/
Although rhis sound is pronounced /ɪr/ in American
Although rhis sound is pronounced /ɪr/ in American
STEER /stɪr/
STEER /stɪr/
CLEAR /klɪr/
CLEAR /klɪr/
CHEER /tʃɪr/
CHEER /tʃɪr/
“I fear the deer’s near here.”
In British English /əʊ/ starts in the centre of the mouth:
In British English /əʊ/ starts in the centre of the mouth:
GO /gəʊ/
GO /gəʊ/
NO /nəʊ/
NO /nəʊ/
SHOW /ʃəʊ/
SHOW /ʃəʊ/
In American it starts to the back /oʊ/:
In American it starts to the back /oʊ/:
GO /goʊ/
GO /goʊ/
NO /noʊ/
NO /noʊ/
SHOW /ʃoʊ/
SHOW /ʃoʊ/
“Don’t throw stones over the road.”
/ː/ Vowel Length
/ː/ Vowel Length
There is a greater difference in British English between the length of vowel sounds, with some being pronounced significantly longer than their American counterparts. Some of this is owing to the additional pronunciation of ‘r’ in many American vowel sounds as seen above. Most phonemic charts reflect this by showing five or six English vowel sounds with two triangular dots, whereas most charts do not offer this for American.
"Green sheep feed each week, deep beneath the street, with their feet feeling the beat."
Sound /t/ in British
Sound /t/ in British
English
English
Though in regional British accents, most famously cockney, this would be a glottal stop in standard British this would be pronounced as a normal /t/:
WATER /wɔːtə/
FIGHTER /ˈfaɪtə/
GOT IT /ɡɒt ɪt/
Sound /t/ in American Englilsh
Sound /t/ in American Englilsh
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 /wɔːdə/
FIGHTER /ˈfaɪdə/
GOT IT /ɡɒd ɪt /
“My daughter bought a motorbike.”
In British the /r/ sound is pronounced with the flatter and further forward tongue
In American, the tongue curls back further, giving it a slightly muffled quality
“These red roses are for Rachel.”
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Links
The video used are taken from these YouTube channels:
Sounds American https://www.youtube.com/@SoundsAmerican/videos
Pronunciation with Emma https://www.youtube.com/@Pronunciationwithemma
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