American and British English pronunciation differences

American and British English differences

Vocabulary

List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom List of British words not widely used in the United States List of words having different meanings in British and American English: AL List of words having different meanings in British and American English: MZ

Pronunciation Accent Vocabulary Orthography American and British English spelling differences Computing British and American keyboards Fiction List of works with different titles in the UK and US

Differences in pronunciation between American English (AmE) and British English (BrE) can be divided into:

differences in accent (i.e. phoneme inventory and realisation). See differences between General American and Received Pronunciation for the standard accents in the United States and Britain; for information about other accents see regional accents of English speakers.

differences in the pronunciation of individual words in the lexicon (i.e. phoneme distribution). In this article, transcriptions use Received Pronunciation (RP) to represent BrE and General American (GAm) and to represent AmE.

In the following discussion

superscript A2 after a word indicates the BrE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in AmE superscript B2 after a word indicates the AmE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in BrE.

Stress
French stress
For many loanwords from French where AmE has final-syllable stress, BrE stresses an earlier syllable. Such words include:

BrE first-syllable stress: adultA2,B2, balletA2, baton, beret, bidet, blas, brevetA2, brochureB2, buffet, cafA2, canardB2, chagrin, chaletA2, chauffeurA2,B2, chiffon, clichB2, coup, croissant, debrisB2, debut, dcor, detailA2, dtenteB2, flamb, frapp, garageB2, gateau, gourmetA2, lam, montageA2, parquet, pastel, pastille, pt, prcis, sachet, salon, soupon, vaccine; matine, nglige, nonchalant, nondescript; also some French names, including BernardB2, Calais, Degas, Dijon, Dumas, Francoise, ManetA2, Maurice, MonetA2, Pauline, Renault, RenB2, Renoir, Rimbaud, DelacroixB2. BrE second-syllable stress: attach, consomm, dcollet, dclass, De Beauvoir, Debussy, dmod, denouement, distingu, Dubonnet, escargot, expos, fianc(e), retrouss

A few French words have other stress differences:

AmE first-syllable, BrE last-syllable: addressA2 (postal), moustacheA2; cigaretteA2, limousineB2, magazineB2, AmE first-syllable, BrE second-syllable: liaisonA2, macram, Renaissance (AmE also final-syllable stress) AmE second-syllable, BrE last-syllable: New Orleans

-ate and -atory

Most 2-syllable verbs ending -ate have first-syllable stress in AmE and second-syllable stress in BrE. This includes castrate, dictateA2, donateA2, locateA2, mandateB2, migrate, placate, prostrate, pulsate, rotate, serrateB2, spectate, striated, translateA2, vacate, vibrate; in the case of cremate, narrate, placate, the first vowel is in addition reduced to // in BrE. Examples where AmE and BrE match include create, debate, equate, elate, negate, orate, relate with second-syllable stress; and mandate and probate with firstsyllable stress. Derived nouns in -ator may retain the distinction, but those in -ation do not. Also, migratoryA2 and vibratory retain the distinction.

Most longer -ate verbs are pronounced the same in AmE and BrE, but a few have firstsyllable stress in BrE and second-syllable stress in AmE: elongate, infiltrateA2, remonstrate, tergiversate. However, some derived adjectives ending -atory have a difference, as stress shifting to -at- can occur in BrE with the final vowel sound being omitted, in this case, the 'o'. Among these cases are regulatoryB2, celebratoryA2, participatoryB2, where AmE stresses the same syllable as the corresponding -ate verb; and compensatory, where AmE stresses the second syllable. A further -atory difference is laboratory: AmE /lbrtri/ and BrE /lbrt()ri/.

Miscellaneous stress
There are a number of cases where same-spelled noun, verb and/or adjective have uniform stress in one dialect but distinct stress in the other (e.g. alternate, prospect): see initial-stress-derived noun. The following table lists words where the only difference between AmE and BrE is in stress (possibly with a consequent reduction of the unstressed vowel). Words with other points of difference are listed in a later table. BrE AmE words with relevant syllable stressed in each dialect 1st 2nd caffeine, cannotA2, casein, Kathleen, SuezA2, communal, escalopeB2, harass, omega, paprikaB2, patina, subaltern, stalactite, stalagmite, ThanksgivingB2, transference, aristocratA2,B2, kilometre/kilometerB2 defense (sport), guffawA2, ice creamA2,B2, guru, mama, papa, pretense, princessA2,B2, weekendB2, Canton, anginaA2, Augustine, Bushido, Ghanaian, LofotenB2, marshmallow, patronal, spread-eagle, controversy, formidableB2, hospitableB2, miscellany, predicative, saxophonistB2, submariner, ancillary, capillary, catenary, corollary, fritillary, medullary ParmesanB2, partisan, premature, opportune, carburet(t)or margarine, PyreneesB2, cockatoo advertisement arytenoidA2, oregano, obscurantist

2nd 1st

1st 3rd

3rd 1st

2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd

Affixes
-ary -ery -ory -bury, -berry, -mony

Where the syllable preceding -ary,-ery or -ory is stressed, AmE pronounce all these endings /ri/, while BrE pronounce these endings without the vowel sound, similar to that of atory, where the 'o' isn't pronounced. Where the preceding syllable is unstressed, however, AmE has a full vowel rather than schwa: /ri/ for -ary and -ery and /ri/ for ory. BrE retains the reduced vowel /ri/, or even elides it completely to /ri/. (The elision is avoided in carefully enunciated speech, especially with endings -rary,-rery,rory.) So military is AmE /mltri/ and BrE /mltri/ or /mltri/. Note that stress differences occur with ending -atory (explained above) and a few others like capillary (included above). A few words have the full vowel in AmE in the ending even though the preceding syllable is stressed: library, primaryA2, rosemary. Pronouncing library as /labri/ rather than /labrri/ is highly stigmatized in AmE, whereas in BrE, /labri/ is common in rapid or casual speech. Formerly the BrE-AmE distinction for adjectives carried over to corresponding adverbs ending -arily, -erily or -orily. However, nowadays most BrE speakers adopt the AmE practice of shifting the stress to the antepenultimate syllable: militarily is thus /mltrli/ rather than /mltrli/. The placename component -bury (e.g. Canterbury) has a similar difference after a stressed syllable: AmE /bri/ and BrE /br/ or /br/. The ending -mony after a stressed syllable is AmE /moni/ but BrE /mn/. The word -berry in compounds has a slightly different distinction: in BrE, it is reduced (/bri/ or /bri/) after a stressed syllable, and may be full /bri/ after an unstressed syllable; in AmE it is usually full in all cases. Thus, strawberry is BrE /strbri/ but AmE /strbri/, while whortleberry is BrE /wtlbri/ and similarly AmE /wrtlbri/.

-ile
Words ending in unstressed -ile derived from Latin adjectives ending -ilis are mostly pronounced with a full vowel (/al/) in BrE but a reduced vowel /l/ or syllabic /l/ in AmE (e.g. fertile rhymes with fur tile in BrE but with turtle in AmE). This difference applies:

generally to agile, docile, facile, fertile, fissile, fragile, futile, infertile, missile, nubile, octile, puerile, rutile, servile, stabile, sterile, tactile, tensile, virile, volatile; usually to ductile, hostile, (im)mobile (adjective), projectile, textile, utile, versatile; not usually to decile, domicile, infantile, juvenile, labile, mercantile, pensile, reptile, senile;

not to crocodile, exile, gentile, percentile, reconcile; nor to compounds of monosyllables (e.g. turnstile from stile).

Related endings -ility, -ilize, -iliary are pronounced the same in AmE as BrE. The name Savile is pronounced with (/l/) in both BrE and AmE. Mobile (sculpture), camomile and febrile are sometimes pronounced with /il/ in AmE and /al/ in BrE. Imbecile has /al/ or /il/ in BrE and often /l/ in AmE.

-ine
The suffix -ine, when unstressed, is pronounced sometimes /an/ (e.g. feline), sometimes /in/ (e.g. morphine) and sometimes /n/ (e.g. medicine). Some words have variable pronunciation within BrE, or within AmE, or between BrE and AmE. Generally, AmE is more likely to favour /in/ or /n/, and BrE to favour /an/: e.g. adamantineA2, carbine, crystallineA2, labyrinthine, philistine, serpentineA2, turbineA2. However, sometimes AmE has /an/ where BrE has /in/; e.g. iodineB2, strychnineA2.

Weak forms
Some function words can have a weak form in AmE, with a reduced vocal used when the word is unstressed, but the full vowel is usually used in formal settings. These include: or []; you [j]; your [j]; to [t]. On the other hand, the titles Saint and Sir before a person's name have "weak forms" in BrE but not AmE: before vowels, [snt] and [sr]; before consonants, [sn] and [s].

Miscellaneous pronunciation differences

These tables list words pronounced differently but spelled the same. See also the table of words with different pronunciation reflected in the spelling.

Single differences
Words with multiple points of difference of pronunciation are in the table after this one. Accent-based differences are ignored. For example, Moscow is RP /msk/ and GAm /mska/, but only the //-/a/ difference is highlighted here, since the //-// difference is predictable from the accent. Also, tiara is listed with AmE //; the marrymerry-Mary merger changes this vowel for many Americans. Some AmE types are listed as // where GAm merges to //.

BrE //

AmE //

/i/

//

/ / // // // / / /z/ // // // / /

/o/ // /i/ /e/ /a/ /s/ /e/ / / / / //

(sounded) (silent) /(r)/ /a/ /i/ / / /i/ /a/

Words annato, Bangladesh , Caracas, chiantiA2, Galapagos, GdaskA2, grappaA2, gulagA2, HanoiA2, JanA2 (male name, e.g. Jan Palach), KantA2, kebab, Las (placenames, e.g. Las Vegas), Mafia, mishmashA2, MombasaA2, Natasha, Nissan, Pablo, pasta, PicassoA2, ralentando, SanA2 (names outside USA; e.g. San Juan), SlovakA2, Sri LankaA2, Vivaldi, wigwamA2, YasserA2 (and A in many other foreign names and loanwords) aesthete, anaesthetize, breveA2, catenaryA2, Daedalus, devolutionA2,B2, ecumenicalB2, epochA2, evolutionA2,B2, febrileA2, Hephaestus, KenyaB2, leverA2, methane, OedipusA2, (o)estrus, penalizeA2, predecessorA2, pyrethrinA2, senileA2, hygienic Aeroflot, compost, homosexualB2, Interpol, Lod, pogrom, polkaB2, produce (noun), Rosh Hashanah, sconeA2,B2, shone, sojourn, trollB2, yoghurt (Excluding trap-bath split words) banana, javaA2, khakiA2, morale, NevadaA2, scenarioA2, sopranoA2, tiaraA2, Pakistani CecilA2,B2, crematoriumA2, cretin, depot, inherentA2,B2, leisureA2, medievalA2, reconnoitreA2, zebraB2, zenithA2,B2 compatriot, patriotB2, patronise, phalanx, plait, repatriate, Sabine, satrapA2, satyrA2, basilA2 (plant) dynasty, housewifery, idyll, livelongA2, long-livedA2, privacyB2, simultaneous, vicariousA2, vitamin. Also the suffix -ization. See also -ine. AussieA2, blouse, complaisantA2, crescent, diagnoseA2, erase, GlasgowA2, parse, valise, trans-A2,B2 (in some words) amenA2, charadeB2, cicada, galaA2, promenadeA2, pro rata, tomato, stratum codify, goffer, ogleA2, phonetician, processor, progress (noun), slothA2,B2, wont A2, wroth accomplice, accomplish, colanderB2, constableB2, Lombardy, monetaryA2, -mongerA2 hovelA2,B2, hover. Also the strong forms of these function words: anybodyA2 (likewise every-, some-, and no-), becauseA2,B2 (and clipping 'cos/'cause), ofA2, fromA2, wasA2, whatA2 Beethoven, chthonic, herbA2 (plant), KnossosB2, phthisicB2, salve, solder Berkeley, Berkshire, clerk, Derby, Hertford. (The only AmE
A2

word with <er> = [r] is sergeant). eitherA2,B2, neitherA2,B2, Pleiades. See also -ine. albino, migraineB2. Also the prefixes anti-A2, multi-A2, semi-A2 in loose compounds (e.g. in anti-establishment, but not in antibody). See also -ine.

/ / /i/ /a/ // /z/ /e/ (silent) / / / / / / /r/ /si/ /ti/ /u/ /u/ /(r)/ // / / /e/ /ju/ /(r)/ /zi/ // / / // // // // /a/

/ / /e/ / / /e/ /us/ //

Amazon, hexagon, octagon, paragon, pentagon, phenomenon, python eta, beta, quayA2, theta, zeta butylB2, diverge, minorityA2,B2, primer (schoolbook). See also -ine. ateB2 ("et" is nonstandard in America), mle, chaise longue Betelgeuse, chanteuse, chartreuseA2, masseuse apricotA2, dahlia, digitalis, patentA2,B2, comrade

(sounded) medicineB2. See also -ary -ery -ory -bury, -berry Amos, condom, Enoch / / // /o/ / / / / / / /ju/ // /r/ /o/ /e/ /i/ /w/ / / // / / // /t/ // /r/ // /e/ AsiaB2, PersiaB2, versionB2 borough, thorough, also place names such as Edinburgh (see also -ory and -mony) chirrupA2, stirrupA2, sirupA2, squirrel cassia, CassiusA2, hessian consortium couponA2, fuchsine, HoustonB2 boulevard, snooker, woofA2 (weaving) connoisseurA2, entrepreneurA2 fhnB2, MbiusB2 DraconianA2, hurricaneB2 deityA2,B2, Helene, IsraelB2 iguana, jaguar, Nicaragua record (noun), stridorA2,B2 Frasier, Parisian, Malaysia twatB2 wrath nougat UtahA2,B2 quarkA2,B2 femme fataleA2 Isaiah

/a/ // /di/ /d/ /e/ /e/ /(r)/ /(r)/ / / // // / / /(r)/ // // // / / /i/ /i/ /j/ /ju/ // /s/ / / /t/ /ts/ // // //

/u/ // /di/ /d/ / / /t/ /r/ /j/ // // / / // /r/ /t/ /a/ /u/ /i/ / / / t / /ju/ /u/ // /z/ /sk/ // /z/ / / /u/ //

nousA2 boothB2 cordiality suggestA2 template tourniquet MadagascarA2 figureA2 for the verb nonsense envelopeA2,B2 Kentucky trapeze errA2 Huguenot MoscowA2 broochA2 pi(t)taB2 beenB2 nicheA2,B2 milieu (Excluding words with predictable yod-dropping) barracuda, puma falconA2 asthma scheduleB2 AnthonyA2,B2 piazzaA2 kmmel BuddhaA2 brusque, hummus

/u/ /u/ // /z/ /zi/

/a/ /o/ /o/ / / / /

routeA2 cantaloup(e) covertA2,B2 Dionysius transientA2, nausea

Multiple differences
The slashes normally used to enclose IPA phonemic transcriptions have been omitted from the following table to improve legibility. Spelling barrage BrE IPA br. AmE IPA (1) br (2) br.d boehmite (1) bmat (1) bemat Notes The AmE pronunciations are for distinct senses (1) "sustained weapon-fire" vs (2) "dam, barrier" (Compare garage below.) The first pronunciations approximate German [] (spelled <> or <oe>) ; the second ones are anglicized.

(2) bmat (2) bomat

bouquet

buke

(1) boke (2) buke

boyar

(1) b. (2) bj

(1) bojr (2) b.j bu.i The U.S. pronunciation would be unrecognised in the UK. The British pronunciation occurs in America, more commonly for the verb than the noun, still more in derivatives buoyant, buoyancy.

buoy

cadre

(1) kd.(r) (1) kd.ri (2) kd.r (2) kd.ri (3) kd.re

(4) kd.re canton kntun (1) kntn (2) knton dilettante dltnti (1) dltnt (2) dltnt enquiry/inquiry kwa.()ri (1) .kw.ri difference is only in military sense "to quarter soldiers" BrE reflects the word's Italian origin; AmE approximates more to French.

BrE uses two spellings and one pronunciation. In AmE the word is (2) kwa.()ri usually spelled inquiry. (1) fb.ril (2) fb.rl The BrE pronunciation occurs in AmE The BrE plural is French fracas /frkz/; the AmE plural is anglicized fracases The AmE reflects French stress difference. The two BrE pronunciations may represent distinct meanings for some speakers; for example, "a subterranean garage for a car" (1) vs "a petrol garage" (2). (Compare barrage above.)

febrile

fib.ral

fracas

frk

(1) freks (2) frks

garage

(1) rd (2) r

r(d)

glacier

(1) lsi (2) lesi

ler

jalousie

(1) lzi (2) lzi

dlsi

lapsang souchong lasso lieutenant

lps su lsu

lps su

lso

The BrE pronunciation is common in AmE The 2nd British pronunciation is restricted to the Royal Navy. Standard Canadian pronunciation is the same as the British. Spelling litchi has pronunciation /lti/

(1) lftnnt lutnnt (2) ltnnt

lychee

lati

liti

Molire oblique penchant penult

ml.i. blik p pnlt

moljr blak pntnt (1) pinlt (2) pnlt AmE is as BrE except in military sense "advance at an angle" The AmE pronunciation is anglicized; the BrE is French.

premier

(1) prmj (2) prm

(1) primr (2) prmr (1) prmr (2) prmjr

premire

prm

provost

prvst

(1) provost (2) provst

The BrE pronunciation also occurs in AmE

quinine

kwnin

(1) kwanan (2) kwnan

resource

(1) rzs (2) rss

risrs

respite

rspat

(1) rspt (2) rspat

reveille slough

rvli sla

rvli slu sense "bog"; in metaphorical sense "gloom", the BrE pronunciation is common in AmE. Homograph "cast off skin" is /slf/ everywhere.

Tunisia

tjunzi

(1) tuni (2) tuni

untoward

n.twd[1] (1) ntrd (2) n.twrd

vase

vz

(1) ves

The BrE pronunciation also occurs in AmE

(2) vez z (the letter) zd zi The spelling of this letter as a word corresponds to the pronunciation: thus Commonwealth (including, usually, Canada) zed and U.S. (and, occasionally, Canada) zee.

Differences between General American and Received Pronunciation

American and British English differences
Vocabulary

List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom List of British words not widely used in the United States List of words having different meanings in British and American English: AL List of words having different meanings in British and American English: MZ

Pronunciation Accent Vocabulary Orthography American and British English spelling differences Computing British and American

keyboards

Fiction List of works with different titles in the UK and US

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One aspect of American and British English pronunciation differences is differences in accent. The General American (GAm) and the Southern British Received Pronunciation (RP) accents have some significant points of difference, described in this article. However, other regional accents in each country may show greater still differences, for which see regional accents of English speakers.

History
See also: Phonological history of the English language, sections After American/British split, up to the 20th century (c. AD 17251900) and After 1900.

Phonological differences

GAm is rhotic while RP is non-rhotic; that is, the phoneme /r/, or what was historically a phoneme /r/, is only pronounced in RP when it is immediately followed by a vowel sound. Where GAm pronounces /r/ before a consonant and at the end of an utterance, RP either has nothing (if the preceding vowel is // or //, as in bore and bar) or has a schwa instead (the resulting sequences are diphthongs or triphthongs). Similarly, where GAm has r-coloured vowels (// or //, as in cupboard or bird), RP has plain vowels // or //. However many British accents, especially in Scotland and the West Country, are rhotic, and there are a few non-rhotic accents in the United States, especially in urban working-class areas like New York, Boston, and a few conservative dialects of Southern American English (especially among older-speakers). Non-rhoticity is also very common among speakers of African-American Vernacular English, which is a dialect that influences a great portion of African-American speakers to varying degrees. The "intrusive R" of many RP speakers (in such sequences as "the idea-r-of it") is absent in GAm; this is a consequence of the rhotic/non-rhotic distinction. For some RP speakers (upper class), unlike in GAm, some or all of tire, tower, and tar are homophones; this reflects the merger of the relevant vowels; similarly the pour-poor merger is common in RP but not in GAm.

RP has three open back vowels, where GAm has only two or even one. Most GAm speakers use the same vowel for RP "short O" // as for RP "broad A" // (the father-bother merger); many also use the same vowel for these as for RP // (the cot-caught merger).

For Americans without the cot-caught merger, the lot-cloth split results in // in some words which now have // in RP; as reflected in the eye dialect spelling "dawg" for dog.

The trap-bath split has resulted in RP having "broad A" // where GAm has "short A" //, in most words where A is followed by either /n/ followed by another consonant, or /s/, /f/, or // (e.g. plant, pass, laugh, path). RP has a marked degree of contrast of length between "short" and "long" vowels (The long vowels being the diphthongs, and /i/, /u/, //, //, //). In GAm this contrast is much less evident, and the IPA length symbol () is often omitted.

The "long O" vowel (as in boat) is realised differently: GAm pure [o] or diphthongized [o]; RP central first element []. However there is considerable variation in this vowel on both sides of the Atlantic.

The distinction between unstressed // and // (e.g. roses vs Rosa's) is sometimes lost in GAm. In RP it is retained, in part because it helps avoid non-rhotic homophones; e.g. batted vs battered as /btd/ vs /btd/. It is, however, lost in Australian English (which is also non-rhotic) meaning both words are pronounced the same, unlike American or British English.

Where GAm has /i/ in an unstressed syllable at the end of a morpheme, conservative RP has //, not having undergone happY tensing. This distinction is retained in inflected forms (e.g. candied and candid are homophones in RP, but not in GAm).

In GAm, flapping is common: when either a /t/ or a /d/ occurs between a sonorant phoneme and an unstressed vowel phoneme, it is realized as an alveolar-flap allophone []. This sounds like a /d/ to RP speakers, although many GAm speakers distinguish the two phonemes by aspirating /t/ in this environment, especially after // or /e/ (thus bitter and rated are distinguishable from bidder and raided), or by lengthening the vowel preceding an underlying /d/. [] is an allophone of /r/ in conservative RP, which is hence caricatured in America as a "veddy British" accent. The degree of flapping varies considerably among speakers, and is often reduced in more formal settings. It does occur to an extent in nearly every speakers of American English, with "better" pronounced with a flap almost ubiquitously regardless of background. Pronouncing the t would be considered overly-formal. This does not mean it always completely merges with "bedder", as many speakers enunciate the d as to distinguish it slightly from the flapped t.

Yod-dropping occurs in GAm after all alveolar consonants, including /t/, /d/, //, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/; i.e. historic /ju/ (from spellings u, ue, eu, ew), is pronounced /u/ in a stressed syllable. In contrast, RP speakers:
o o

always retain /j/ after /n/: e.g. new is RP /nju/, GAm /nu/; retain or coalesce it after /t/, /d/: e.g. due is RP /dju/ or /du/, GAm /du/; retain or drop it after //, /l/: e.g. allude is RP /ljud/ or (as GAm) /lud/. retain, coalesce or drop it after /s/, /z/: e.g. assume is RP /sjum/ or /um/, or (as GAm) /sum/;

In some words where /j/ has been coalesced in GAm, it may be retained in RP: e.g. issue is RP /sju/ or (as GAm) /u/