British English and American English: Phonetic differences

The famous Irish linguist and playwright George Bernard Shaw said: “England and America are two countries separated by a common language”. This quote still rings true today and various differences between British and American English remain. Native speakers of both varieties have relatively few problems understanding one another, but there are several points at which British and American diverge.

Introduction………………………………………………………………………...3
Some basic differences between British English and American English ..………..5
1. Pronunciation Differences between British English and American English …...5
1.1. American pronunciation ………………………………………………………5
1.2. British pronunciation ………………………………………………………….5
2. Classification of main differences between British English and American English ……………………………………………………………………………..6
2.1. Differences in vowel pronunciation …………………………………………..6
2.1.1. The vowels of English ……………………………………………………....7
2.1.2. Change of diphthong [əʊ] to [oʊ] …………………………………………..8
2.1.3. Change of vowel [ɒ] ………………………………………………………...8
2.1.4. Change from [ju:] to [u:] …………………………………………………..10
2.1.5. Change of [æ] ……………………………………………………………...11
2.1.6. Minor changes ……………………………………………………………..12
2.1.6.1 Change of [I] and [aI] …………………………………………………….12
2.1.6.2 Changes of [i:] and [e] ……………………………………………………13
2.2. Differences in consonant pronunciation ……………………………………..13
2.2.1. Classifying the consonants sounds of English according to the manner and place of articulation ………………………………………………………………13
2.2.2. Pronunciation of letter t ……………………………………………………15
2.3. Rhotic accent ………………………………………………………………...16
2.4. Stress …………………………………………………………………………18
2.4.1. Change of stress ……………………………………………………………18
2.4.2. French loanwords ………………………………………………………….18
2.4.3. Ending –ate ………………………………………………………………...19
2.4.4. Suffixes -ary, -ory, -berry, and –mony …………………………………….20
2.5. Differences in articulation …………………………………………………...20
2.6. Intonation …………………………………………………………………….21
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………..22
Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………...24