28 Aug British vs American English Words And Their Pronunciation
American vs UK pronunciation — what are the differences?
You’ve probably noticed that British and American English accents can sound quite different. Let’s look at the differences between British and American English pronunciation and American versus English vocabulary.
Difference 1) The pronunciation of the letter R
Rhoticity – the General American accent is a rhotic accent while Modern Received Pronunciation, RP, a neutral, non-regional British accent, is a non-rhotic accent. This means that in Received Pronunciation, the letter R is only pronounced when a vowel speech sound follows. In General American accents, the R is pronounced regardless of whether a pronounced vowel follows.
Example: My daughter bought a motorcycle
Difference 2) The trap-bath split in British English pronunciation
The so-called trap bath split has led to RP having the vowel /ɑː/ in many words where General American has retained the front open unrounded vowel /æ/. In RP, /ɑː/ in this context often appears before: /f/, /θ/, /s/, /nt/, /ntʃ/, and /ns/,
Example: laugh, path, pass, can’t, Granchester, answer
Difference 3) The cot-caught distinction in British English pronunciation
General American has the cot-caught merger, meaning that “cot” and “caught” sound the same. However, in RP, these two words sound distinct.
<cot> /kɒt/ and <caught> /kɔːt/
Difference 4) Pronouncing the “oh” sound in American English versus British English
The /oʊ/ that we normally only see before dark l in RP is found throughout General American. In RP, /əʊ/ starts in a more neutral mouth shape.
Example: soap, Rome, poached
Difference 5) The pronunciation of the letter L in USA pronunciation versus UK pronunciation
In Received Pronunciation, the letter L is pronounced with the back of the mouth relaxed when a vowel comes immediately after and with the back of the tongue engaged, raising toward the soft palate (“g” position) when there is no vowel immediately after. In General American, the letter L is always pronounced with the back of the tongue engaged at the same time as the tongue tip.
Example: lemon
Difference 6) The pronunciation of t in American English versus British English
In General American, /t/ and /d/ are often realised as flapped consonants, [ɾ], whereas in RP, these are alveolar plosives.
Example: <butter> /ˈbʌtə/, <buddy> /ˈbʌdi/.
Difference 7) Yod dropping in American English
Yod-dropping appears at the onset of syllables that carry the stress in General American. For example in <assume> /əˈsuːm/ and <stupid> /ˈstuːpɪd/. In RP, these would be pronounced /əˈsjuːm/ and /ˈstjuːpɪd/, with a /j/ (y). Assimilation may also occur in such words in Modern RP. For example, /ˈstjuːpɪd/ may be articulated as [ˈstʃuːpɪd].
Difference 8) Been versus bin
In Modern RP, we can pronounce <been> as /biːn/, but this it typically not the case in General American (GenAm).
Difference 9) Marry, merry, Mary
In RP, <marry> /ˈmæri/, <merry> /ˈmeri/, and <Mary> /ˈmeəri/all sound distinct. However, in GenAm, they merge.
Difference 10) Word stress differences between American vs British English
Word stress can differ between the two accents, especially in words that come from French: (GenAm) brochure, (RP) brochure, (GenAm) moustache (RP) moustache, (GenAm) ballet, (RP) ballet, (GenAm) address (RP) address.
English v American words — our words differ as well as our pronunciation
When it comes to American vs English pronunciation, there are also a number of differences in our vocabularies, of course. From sidewalk to pavement, pants to trousers, and the infamous fanny pack versus bum bag, we really do speak quite differently from one side of the pond to another.
British versus American English is a key topic in English pronunciation training
Many of our clients learn American pronunciation in international school but prefer the sound of British English. Have you learned American English but always wanted to learn Received Pronunciation? Our British accent lessons are for you! Find out more about what British accent training or British elocution training involves by browsing our courses page or enrolling below.
As well as RP and General American, the English-speaking world is made up of a range of different accents. Britain itself has so many regional accents. All of these are equally valid and wonderful! When learning a second language, it’s often a good idea to choose an accent model and stick with it. Many second language speakers choose Modern RP as an accent model. Many others choose GenAm. It all comes down to preference.