“Differences between American

English and British received

pronunciation”
Presenter: Nguyen Huu Minh
What is British received pronunciation?

British Received Pronunciation (RP) is an accent of

Standard British English that was originally
associated with the educated social group in
southern England. It is also known as the “Queen’s
English”, “Oxford English”, or “BBC English”.
 What is British received pronunciation?

Accent

Educated Southern
social
group England
What is British received pronunciation?
American English pronunciation
Differences between American English and
British received pronunciation:

1 4
French stress Affixes

2 Verbs ending 5 Phonological

in -ate differences

3 Miscellaneous
stress
1
French stress

For many loanwords from French,

American English has final-
syllable stress, while British English
stresses an earlier syllable.
Words AmE pronunciation BrE pronunciation
Ballet /bæˈleɪ/ /ˈbæleɪ/
Vaccine /vækˈsiːn/ /ˈvæksiːn/
Caffeine /kæˈfiːn/ /ˈkæfiːn/
2 Verbs ending
in -ate

Most 2-syllable verbs ending in -

ate have first-syllable stress in
American English and second-
syllable stress in British English.

Words AmE pronunciation BrE pronunciation

Dictate /ˈdɪkteɪt/ /dɪkˈteɪt/
Frustrate /ˈfrʌstreɪt/ /frʌˈstreɪt/
Migrate /ˈmaɪɡreɪt/ /maɪˈɡreɪt/
3 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
Words AmE pronunciation BrE pronunciation
Complex (n) /ˈkɒmpleks/ /ˈkɒmpleks/
Complex (adj) /kəmˈpleks/ /ˈkɒmpleks/
4
Affixes

Where the syllable preceding the suffixes -ary, -ery, -

ory, -mony or -ative is unstressed, American English
pronounces the penultimate syllable with a full vowel
sound. British English reduces the vowel to a /ʃwɑː/ or
even elides it completely.

Words AmE pronunciation BrE pronunciation

Military /ˈmɪləteri/ /ˈmɪlətri/
Testimony /ˈtestɪməʊni/ /ˈtestɪməni/
4
Affixes

Words ending in unstressed -ile derived from Latin

adjectives ending -ilis are mostly pronounced with a
full vowel in British English /aɪl/ but a reduced vowel
or syllabic L in American English /əl/.

Words AmE pronunciation BrE pronunciation

Fertile /ˈfɜːrtl/ /ˈfɜːtaɪl/
Sterile /ˈsterəl/ /ˈsteraɪl/
5 Phonological
differences

The phoneme /r/ is only pronounced in RP when it is

immediately followed by a vowel sound. Where AmE
pronounces /r/ before a consonant and at the end of
an utterance.
Words AmE pronunciation BrE pronunciation
Bore /bɔːr/ /bɔː(r)/
Bird /bɜːrd/ /bɜːd/
5 Phonological
differences

RP having the back unrounded open vowel /ɑː/ in

many words where AmE has a front open unrounded
vowel /æ/

Words AmE pronunciation BrE pronunciation

Aunt /ænt/ /ɑːnt/
Chance /tʃæns/ /tʃɑːns/
5 Phonological
differences

RP has three open back vowels, where AmE has only

two or even one. AmE speakers use /ɑ/ for both the
RP /ɒ/ (spot) and /ɑː/ (spa)

"Long o" and "short o" before intervocalic /r/ have

merged in AmE. Thus "moral" and "oral" rhyme in AmE
(/ˈ(m)ɔrəl/), while in RP they do not rhyme, being
pronounced /ˈmɒrəl/ and /ˈɔːrəl/, respectively.
Fun Quiz
1
Question 1

British received pronunciation is also known as the …….

A. The King English

B. The Queen English

C. The best English

D. The worst English

2
Question 2

British received pronunciation was originally used in …….

A. The King English

B. The Queen English

C. Northern England

D. Southern England
3
Question 3

For many French loanwords, American English

stresses in ……
A. The last syllable

B. The first syllable

C. The second syllable

D. The weakest English

3
Question 3

What is the right pronunciation of “fertile” in

American English.
A. /ˈfɜːtaɪl/

B. /ˈfɜːrtl/