Phonetic and Phonological

Differences between British

and American English
The word ‘expect‘ is pronounced as
/зkspз’k/?

WC is British English for toilet?

And Pa:sley for parsley?

BRITISH ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
- British and American English are two different varieties of
English language.

- Significant differences between American and British English are in:

Vocabulary – different words are used for the same idea or the same
words have different meanings.

Grammar – include differences in syntax and morphology

Pronunciation – the words are spelled the same but pronounced
differently
Spelling – the words have similar pronunciation but different
spelling
There are also Spelling differences between American and British
English.
- or vs. – our
American - color, honor
British - colour, honour
- ll vs. – l
American - fulfill, skillful
British - fulfil, skilful
- ck or –k vs. – que
American - check
British - checque
- ze vs. – se
American - analyze, criticize
British - analyse, criticise
Other
American - jewelry, draft, program
British - jewellery, draught, programme
Pronunciation is not based on spelling.

AE is considered to be a norm of
English in the US.
Basic Pronunciation Differences:
The Standard American Pronunciation
and British Received Pronunciation (RP)
of the following words are different.
Local dialectal pronunciations vary.
1. Barter, larder, centre/center, etc.- Americans curl their
tongues to pronounce the “r” sound in these words.
British RP speakers do not; they pronounce a schwa
instead (i.e. bahtuh, lahduh, sentuh).

One of the basic differences between the British accent and

the American accent is the treatment of /r/. British English is
non-rhotic, i.e. the /r/ sound is not uttered. Examples are
these: parsley, herb, party, leader, water, etc. The American
accent is rhotic (/r/ is pronounced when found in spelling).

- For British accent, potential uses of /r/ in such positions,

especially in the word-final position, are indicated by
a superscript /r/. This occurs only in relation to the linking r.
2. Class, grass, path, etc.- British speakers use the
a:/ sound (i.e. clahs, grahs, pahth). Americans use the
short /ae/ sound.

3. Opulent, body, etc.- British RP speakers pronounce the

“o” sound in these words with their lips rounded and the
sound coming from the back of their mouth.

The American pronunciation of these words sounds like

“ahpyulunt” and ”bahdee”.

4. Pity, party, etc.- British RP speakers pronounce the “t”

sound in these words (i.e. pitee, pahtee). Americans
pronounce a “d” sound (i.e. pidee, pardee).
 - In AE, /t/ and /d/ both have a very light voiced
pronunciation /d/ between vowels, so words like writer
and rider sound the same. In BE, /t/ remains unvoiced
between vowels so words writer and rider are
pronounced differently.

5. Due, tuna, renew, news, etc.- All British speakers

pronounce /yoo/ in these words (i.e. /dʒu/ and /’ /’t∫unUh/.

The majority of (but not all) American speakers pronounce

“u” in these words (i.e. /du’/, /tu’nUh/, /rεnu’/, and /nu’s/
6. Words borrowed from French are
often stressed differently, especially if
their pronunciation ends with “o”
vowel sound.

The final vowel is usually stressed in AE

but not in BE.
(e.g. ballet - AE /bæ´lei/ - BE /´bælei/)
 Contrasting British American
Pronunciation of Words English English

1. apricot /’aprIcot/ /ə’prikat/

2. herb /’hз:b / /ə’rb/
3. leisure /‘leʒər/ /li’ʒər/
4. tomato /‘tU ma:to/ /tUme’to/
5. vase /’va:z/ /ve’z/
8. Americans have a tendency to reduce words by
omitting letters.

8.1. The words “facts” for example sounds in AE

the same as “fax” — the “t” is not spoken.
More examples of words ending in /t/ yet that sound
is not spoken: connect, construct, perfect, transact,
subject, protect, convict, retrospect, expect, perfect,
subject, prompt, respect, conduct, product, strictly,
Recollect, etc. (Have you ever heard anyone of us saying ‘Recollect Father’ with a
final clear /t/ sound /?

8.2. Also, the words “can” and “can’t” sound very

much alike in AE while in standard British English