1

Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

Speaker 5: A train driver who drank a bottle of whiskey while on duty has been jailed for 135 days.

Speaker 4. Russian scientists say theyve revived a plant that was preserved in the frozen ground of
Siberia for more than 30 thousand years.

Speaker 3: Experts are warning that new types of bacteria are becoming a problem in hospitals.

Speaker 2: Last month President Obama asked for 80 million dollars ...

Speaker 1: President Obama has announced that 34 thousand troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan
by the end of next summer.

Exercise 1. Listen to these five different speakers. Are they British or American?

Q: Do you know any pronunciation differences between BrE and AmE?

Both BrE and AmE have many different dialects/accents, but this discussion focuses on standard
pronunciation (the speech of educated speakers).
BrE Received Pronunciation RP (BBC, Oxford + Cambridge dictionaries, etc.)
AmE General American GA, Network English, Midwest accent (CNN, NPR, Webster dictionaries)

BrE and AmE are two different (but related) varieties of English.
Q: Can you think of any other varieties of English?

Pronunciation differences between British and American English

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

/ / sit
/i / meet
/ / look
/u / food
/ / dog
/ / door
/ / cut
/ / father, last
/ / about, tender
/ / turn
/e/ bed
/ / axe

/e / late
/a / my
/ / boy
/ / no
/a / how
/ / near
/e / pair
/ / sure

BrE vowel system

/ / sit
/i / meet
/ / look
/u / food
/ / dog
/ / door
/ / cut
/ / father, cop
/ / about
/ / tender
/ / turn
/e/ bed
/ / axe, last

/e / late
/a / my
/ / boy
/o / no
/a / how
/ r/ near
/er/ pair
/ r/ sure

AmE vowel system

Q: What are vowels?

Q: What is the difference between monophthongs and diphthongs (pure vowels and gliding vowels)?
Give examples of monophthongs and diphthongs.

VOWELS

The differences between BrE and AmE will be described in terms of 4 main categories: vowels,
consonants, stress, and non-systematic pronunciation differences.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

central

back

AmE

(b) / / foot

(c) /e/ debt

(d) / / add

(e) / / off

1.
BrE

2.
AmE

cost
1.

2.

damage
1.

is
2.

1.

shook
2.

1.

less
2.

Exercise 3. Each of the following words is pronounced twice. Indicate BrE and AmE pronunciation.

(a) / / if

Exercise 2. Listen to the vowels / /, /e/, / /, / / and / / pronounced first in BrE, then in AmE.

open

open-mid

close-mid

close

front

BrE

In BrE, vowels such as / /, /e/, / /, / / or / / are pure monophthongs they do not change in quality.
In AmE, these vowels tend to be diphthongized they slightly change their quality and some of them
are lengthened (/ / and / /).

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

AmE
/ f( )n/
/l k/
/r /
/fr m/
/ t m k/
/m /
/b d /
/kr s/
(i) bomb
(j) coffee
(k) common
(l) cough
(m) hotdog
(n) want
(o) hockey
(p) loss

BrE
/b m/
/k f /
/ k m n/
/k f/
/ h td /
/w nt/
/h k /
/l s/

AmE
/b m/
/k f /
/ k m n/
/k f/
/ h td /
/w nt/
/h k /
/l s/

BrE / / = AmE / / when followed by r in the spelling and in some other words.
Examples: car, harm, calm, palm, grandpa, etc.

BrE / / = AmE / / when followed by /n, s, f, v, , / (/ / in AmE is diphthongized).

Examples: dance, grass, half, bath, rather, etc.

(a) often
(b) lock
(c) wrong
(d) from
(e) atomic
(f) moth
(g) body
(h) cross

BrE
/ f( )n/
/l k/
/r /
/fr m/
/ t m k/
/m /
/b d /
/kr s/

Exercise 4. Fill in the correct vowel symbol and pronounce these words in BrE and AmE.

BrE / / = AmE / / in the words want, what, was, etc.

BrE / / = AmE / / when followed by /f, s, , , / (remember that / / in AmE is diphthongized).

Examples: soft, boss, cloth, song, dog, etc. Some AmE speakers use / / in this context.

BrE / / = AmE / / in words like cop, rock, not, etc. (/ / in AmE is not diphthongized).

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

AmE
/ r f/

BrE
AmE
(i) laugh
/l f/
/l f/
(j) spa
/sp /
/sp /
(k) answer
/ ns /
/ ns /
(l) bar
/b /
/b /
(m) last
/l st/
/l st/
(n) parking
/ p k / / p k /
(o) glass
/ l s/
/ l s/
(p) blah-blah / bl bl / / bl bl /

(a) /
(b) /k
(c) /m
(d) /h
(e) /
(f) / p

k/
p/
k/
t/
d/
s bl/

British English
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________

American English
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________

Exercise 6. Which words do the following transcriptions represent in BrE and AmE?

(a) graph
(b) gaga
/
/
/
/
(c) target
/t
t/
/t
t/
(d) cant
/k nt/
/k nt/
(e) grandma / r (n)m / / r (n)m /
(f) staff
/st f/
/st f/
(g) argue
/
ju /
/
ju /
(h) apart
/ p t/
/ p t/

BrE
/ r f/

Exercise 5. Fill in the correct symbol and pronounce these words in BrE and AmE.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

AmE
/ r t d/
/d t/
/ h r ke n/
/ d kt /
/ k r nt/
/ b n/
/d l /
/ v n/
(i) ever
(j) serve
(k) bucket
(l) forget
(m) scurry
(n) earth
(o) danger
(p) stomach

BrE
AmE
/ ev /
/ ev /
/s v/
/s v/
/ b k t/
/ b k t/
/f et/
/f et/
/ sk r /
/ sk r /
/
/
/
/
/ de nd / / de nd /
/ st m k/ / st m k/

BrE / / = AmE /o / in words like go, close, no, etc.

BrE / /, /e /, / / = AmE / r/, /er/, / r/ in words like fear, bear, tour, etc.
BrE /a / = AmE / / in words like civilization, organization, etc. (-ization)
BrE word-final /a l/ = AmE /( )l/ in some 2-syllable words ending in -ile: fragile, missile, mobile, etc.

(a) Richard
(b) dirt
(c) hurricane
(d) doctor
(e) current
(f) urban
(g) dollar
(h) oven

BrE
/ r t d/
/d t/
/ h r kn/
/ d kt /
/ k r nt/
/ b n/
/d l /
/ v n/

Exercise 7. Fill in the correct vowel symbol and pronounce these words in BrE and AmE.

BrE / / = AmE / / in words like up, blood, front, etc.

BrE / / = AmE / / in words like worry, hurry, curry, etc.
For example BrE / w r / = AmE / w r /, BrE / h r / = AmE / h r /, etc.

BrE / / = AmE / / in words like burn, return, urgent, etc.

BrE / / = AmE / / when there is no r letter in the spelling: above, sofa, testament, omit, etc.
BrE / / = AmE / / when the letter r is in the spelling, e.g. teacher, honour, permit, etc.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

BrE
BrE
BrE
BrE

(a) slow

(b) year

(c) civilization

(d) hostile

AmE

AmE

AmE

AmE

(h) coast

(g) share

(f) airline

(e) fragile

BrE

BrE

BrE

BrE

AmE

AmE

AmE

AmE

Exercise 8. Listen to the following words. Are they pronounced in BrE or AmE? Circle the correct
answer.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

CONSONANTS

Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

AmE retroflex

AmE bunched

BrE sequences /tju /, /dju /, /nju /, etc. = AmE /t(j)u /, /d(j)u /, /n(j)u /, in words like tune, duty, new, etc.

BrE unstressed /nt / or /nt / = AmE /n(t) / or /n(t) / in words like plenty, winter, etc.

BrE unstressed intervocalic /t/ = AmE / t / (flapped /t/ a voiced sound between /d/ and / /) in words
like eighty, later, get out, etc.

BrE postalveolar

The consonant /r/ has a different quality in BrE and AmE.

In BrE (RP), the letter r is pronounced only when followed by a vowel (in pronunciation), e.g. rat,
far away, unreasonable, etc.
In AmE (GA), the letter r is always pronounced, and it can function either as a vowel or a consonant,
e.g. teacher, forget, hear, ride, etc.

Q: What is a consonant? Give some examples.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

(i) ability
(j) dentist
(k) Tuesday
(l) matter
(m) centre
(n) metal
(o) neutral
(p) party

STRESS

AmE
/
m/
/ twen /
/d u /
/
kl/
/ n n nl/
/ rez d u /
/k m pju /
/ en /

BrE
/ bl /
/ den st/
/ t u zd(e) /
/m
/
/ sen /
/ me l/
/ n u tr l/
/p
/

AmE
/ bl /
/ den st/
/ t u zd(e) /
/m
/
/ sen /
/ me l/
/ n u tr l/
/p
/

military:
blackberry:
lavatory:
testimony:

BrE / m l tr / AmE / m l ter /

BrE / bl kb( )r / AmE / bl k ber /
BrE / l v tr / AmE / l v t r /
BrE / test m n / AmE / test mo n /

In BrE, the word-final sequences -ary, -berry, -ory, and -mony are unstressed, in AmE they have
secondary stress:

(a) atom
(b) twenty
(c) due
(d) article
(e) international
(f) residue
(g) computer
(h) enter

BrE
/
m/
/ twen /
/d u /
/
kl/
/ n n nl/
/ rez d u /
/k m pju /
/ en /

Exercise 9. Fill in the correct consonant symbol and pronounce these words in BrE and AmE.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

10
Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

(a) ceremony
(b) ballet
(c) dictionary
(d) locate
(e) magazine
(f) category
(g) peanut butter
(h) migrate
(i) strawberry

BrE
AmE
/ ser m n / / ser m n /
/ b le /
/ b le /
/dk
r /
/dk
r /
/ l ke t /
/ lo ke t /
/m
zi n / / m
zi n /
/k t r / /k t
r /
/ pi n t b t / / pi n t b t /
/ ma re t /
/ ma re t /
/ str b( )r / / str ber /

Exercise 10. Fill in the missing symbols and place stress (primary or secondary) correctly on these words.

caf:
BrE / k fe / AmE /k fe /, /k fe /
weekend: BrE / wi k end/ AmE / wi kend/
ice-cream: BrE / a s kri m/ AmE / a skri m /

Some words (simple or compound) have a different stress pattern in BrE and AmE:

dictate: BrE /d k te t/ AmE / d kte t/

donate: BrE /d ne t/ AmE / do ne t/

2-syllable verbs ending in -ate have stress on the first syllable in AmE, but on the second in BrE.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
(l)

leisure
either
glacier
laboratory
moustache
schedule
tomato
figure
record (n.)
zebra
progress
Moscow

/ le /
/ i /
/ l s /
/ l br t r /
/ m st /
/ edju l/
/t me to /
/f /
/ rek d/
/ zebr /
/ pr res/
/ m ska /

/ li /
/a /
/ le /
/l b r tr /
/m st /
/ sked u l/
/t m t /
/ f j /
/ rek d/
/ zi br /
/ pr res/
/ m sk /

Exercise 11. Pronounce these words. Determine which pronunciation is British and which is American.

Q: How many differences can you identify in the BrE and AmE pronunciation of the word advertisement?

advertisement: BrE / d v t sm nt/ AmE / dv ta zm nt/

depot:
BrE / dep / AmE / di po /
vase:
BrE /v z/ AmE /ve s/

There is a number of words which cannot be transformed from BrE to AmE by means of simple
systematic rules. Here are some examples.

NON-SYSTEMATIC PRONUNCIATION DIFFERENCES

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

/
/

t/
t /

/f / /f /
/f r/ /f /

/fr m/ /fr m/ / f
/fr m/ /fr m/ / f

n st n/
/ v/ / v/
n st n/ / v/ / v/

/l st/
/l st/

/ skt/
/ skt/

/f / /f /
/f r/ /f /

/et /
/et /

/ d l z/
/ d l z/

/ eksp ts/
/ eksp ts/

/ w n /
/ w rn /
/nju /
/nu /

/ v/ / v/
/ v/ / v/

/b k t r /
/b k t r /

/ // /
/ r/ / /

/ pr bl m/ / h sp tlz/
/ pr bl m/ / h sp tlz/

/s m /
/ s m /

Speaker 5: British
A train driver who drank a bottle of whiskey while on duty has been jailed for 135 days.
BrE
/ dra v / / b tl/ / v/ / v/ / n/ / dju t / /h z/ /(h) z/ /bi( )n/ /f / /f /
AmE / dra v / / b tl/ / v/ / v/ / n/ / du t / /h z/ /(h) z/ /b n/
/f r/ /f /

/
/

t/
t /

Speaker 4: American
Russian scientists say theyve revived a plant that was preserved in the frozen ground of Siberia for more than 30
thousand years.
BrE
/pl nt/ /w z/ /w z/ /pr z vd/
/f / /f /
/m /
/ t/
/j z/
AmE /pl nt/ /w z/ /w z/ /pr z vd/ /f r/ /f / /m r/ / t / /j rz/

BrE
AmE

Speaker 3: British
Experts are warning that new types of bacteria are becoming a problem in hospitals.

BrE
AmE

Speaker 2: American
Last month President Obama asked for 80 million dollars ...

BrE
AmE

Speaker 1: British
President Obama has announced that 34 thousand troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of next summer.

Key to Exercise 1.

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.

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Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

WELLS, J. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd edition. Pearson Longman.

JONES D. (2011). English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th edition. Edited by P. Roach, J. Setter, and J. Esling. Cambridge
University Press

Specialized pronunciation dictionaries:

Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners

Recommended general-purpose dictionaries:

BAILEY, R.W. and GRLACH, M. (eds.) (1982). English as a World Language. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
BRONSTEIN, A. J. (1960). The Pronunciation of American English. An Introduction to Phonetics. New York: Appleton-CenturyCrofts, Inc.
CALVERT, D.R. (1986). Descriptive Phonetics, 2nd edition. New York: Thieme, Inc.
GIMSON, A. C. & CRUTTENDEN, A. (1994). Gimsons Pronunciation of English (5th edn.). London: Edward Arnold.
IPA (1999). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
LADEFOGED, P. & JOHNSON, K. (2011). A Course in Phonetics, 6th edition. Boston: Wadsworth.
LADEFOGED, P. & MADDIESON, I. (1996). The Sounds of the Worlds Languages. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
LAVER, J. (1994). Principles of Phonetics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
PAVLK, R. (2003). A Theoretical Introduction to English Phonetics and Phonology. Bratislava: Retaas.
PULLUM, G. K. & LADUSAW, W. A. (1996). Phonetic Symbol Guide, 2nd edition. Chicago London: The University of Chicago
Press.
ROACH, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology, 4th edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
STEVENS, K. N. (1998). Acoustic Phonetics. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
TIFFANY, W. R. & CARRELL, J. (1977). Phonetics. Theory and Application, 2nd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
TOTTIE, G. (2002). An Introduction to American English. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
TRUDGILL, P. & HANNAH, J. (1985). International English: A Guide to Varieties of Standard English, 2nd edition. London:
Edward Arnold.

Recommended literature:

PhDr. Radoslav Pavlk, PhD.