EP-10/20/21

Phonetic and Phonological Differences

between British and American English
Lesson 1

British English and American English

➔ Two different varieties of English language.
➔ Significant differences between American and British English are in:
1. Vocabulary- different words that are used for the same idea or the same words
have different meanings.
2. Grammar- include differences in syntax and morphology.
3. Pronunciation- the words are spelled the same but pronounced differently.
4. 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).
a. 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 parsley, herb, party, leader,
water, etc. The American accent is rhotic (/r/ is pronounced when found
in spelling).
b. For the 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.
a. 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).
a. 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/.
a. 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 an “o” vowel sound.
a. The final vowel is usually stressed in AE but not in BE. (e.g. ballet - AE
/bæ´lei/ - BE /´bælei/)
7. Refer to the chart
 8. Americans have a tendency to reduce words by omitting letters.
a. 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 are 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?)
b. Also, the words “can” and “can’t” sound very much alike in AE while in
standard British English you can clearly make out a difference.
Additional Information
Difference in Vocabulary
Answers from the Exercise

1. Incorrect, interchange
2. Correct, no r
3. Incorrect, d sound
4. Correct, t is gone
5. Correct, t is not spoken
6. Incorrect, to-ma-do
7. Correct, r is gone
8. Correct, z sound (s is given a z sound ex. president = prezident)
9. Correct, use of the a sound
10. Correct, emphasis on t