Pronunciation

In terms of pronunciation, a very wide variety of accents exists within both countries, making it difficult to characterize what is truly “American” and what is truly “British”. The differences between the “American English” found in New England and that found in Texas are very considerable, as are those found between England’s southern and northern counties, not to mention the significant and very distinct varieties of Welsh, Scottish, and Irish English, all found in the British Isles. However, a description in the most general terms will reveal the following observations about the sounds that distinguish British from American English. (The audio links play each example with American pronunciation first and British pronunciation second.)

Vowels

Not surprisingly, it is the vowels, with their typically word-central position and inherent instability, where the most immediate differences between American and British English are to be found. One example is the vowel /a/ in words like “can”, “bad”, and “ham”. The typical American pronunciation of these words has a “flatter” vowel sound than their British equivalent. The difference becomes much greater in words where the same letter is pronounced in British English with a much more open quality, as in the negative “can’t”. This vowel occurs particularly before an “n+consonant” combination, as in “aunt” and “answer”, and when it immediately precedes the voiceless fricatives represented by /f/, /s/, and /0/, as in “half”, “past”, and “path”. (Listen to these words here: CAN, BAD, HAM, CAN'T, AUNT, ANSWER, HALF, PAST, PATH)

This British sound is not far in quality from the American pronunciation of the vowel /o/ in words like “not” and “cot”. In Britain, this vowel is pronounced with more rounded lips and a slightly more lowered tongue position. The result of this is that the American pronunciation of a word such as “impossible” sounds to an Englishman more like the British word “impassable”. Furthermore, whereas the distinction between word pairs such as “not”/“nought” and “cot”/“caught” has largely been lost in the States, in Britain the two are still pronounced differently. (Listen to these words here:NOT, COT, IMPOSSIBLE, IMPASSABLE, NOUGHT, CAUGHT)

In the case of the long vowel /u:/, it is common for British speakers to precede it (in stressed syllables) with the sound /j/ (referred to as yod insertion) after such consonants as /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, and /z/: “student” sounds like “stoodent” in the States, but like “styudent” in Britain, and a “new suit” is typically pronounced /nu: su:t/ in the States but /nju: sju:t/ in Britain. As a result of the absence of the /j/ sound in the States, the distinction between words such as “do” and “due” is often lost. (Listen to these words here: STUDENT, NEW SUIT, DO, DUE)

There are also differences in the length of vowels found in non-monosyllabic words. American pronunciation often favors a long vowel where the British equivalent is short: “patriot”, “vitamin”, “anti-Soviet”, etc. On the other hand, British English typically favors a long vowel in the suffix “-ile”, as in “missile”, “docile”, and “fertile”, whereas the American version is normally short. In yet other cases, both varieties may use long vowels, but of different quality: the words “iodine” and “quinine” rhyme with “mine” in America but with “mean” in Britain. (Listen to these words here: PATRIOT, VITAMIN, ANTI-SOVIET, MISSILE, DOCILE, FERTILE, IODINE, QUININE)

Consonants

American and British consonants do not, on the whole, differ as much as their vowels do, but there are nevertheless a number of significant differences. Perhaps the most noticeable instance is the rhotic nature of American English. That is to say, Americans typically pronounce a postvocalic /r/ where British speakers leave it silent: in the words “river” and “robber”, Americans pronounce both the intial and final /r/ sounds, whereas British speakers pronounce only the first, ending both words with a shwa. (Listen to these words here: RIVER, ROBBER)

Another difference is the pronunciation of the sound /t/. In British English, this sound is always distinct from /d/. In American English, however, when the sound /t/ occurs intervocalically, it changes to an alveolar flap, approximating (to British ears) to the sound /d/. The words “writing” and “latter” are both quite distinct in Britain from “riding” and “ladder”, but in American English the difference is very slight. (Listen to these words here: WRITING, LATTER, RIDING, LADDER)

Other patterns

Another aspect of difference is that of word stress patterns . Americans tend to favor emphasizing words on the initial syllable, while, in British English, these words are typically stressed on a non-initial syllable : “Address/addrEss”, “CONtroversy/contrOversy”, and “TElevision/televIsion”. However, it is becoming more common in Britain, too, to find these words stressed on the initial syllable. (Listen to these words here: ADDRESS, CONTROVERSY, TELEVISION)

Miscellaneous

Beyond such patterns as those outlined above, there are numerous miscellaneous differences, such as the following:

• schedule
• lieutenant
• vase
• route
• herb
• leisure
• lever
• buoy
• thorough
• z