American and British English pronunciation differences.docx

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1、American and British English pronunciation differencesDifferences inpronunciationbetweenAmerican English(AmE) andBritish English(BrE) can be divided into: differences inaccent(i.e.phonemeinventoryandrealisation). Seedifferences between General American and Received Pronunciationfor the standard acce

2、nts in the United States and Britain; for information about other accents seeregional accents of English speakers. differences in the pronunciation of individual words in thelexicon(i.e. phonemedistribution). In this article, transcriptions use Received Pronunciation (RP) to represent BrE and Genera

3、l American (GAm) and to represent AmE.In the following discussion superscriptA2after a word indicates that the BrE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in AmE. superscriptB2after a word indicates that the AmE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in BrE. superscriptA1after a word in

4、dicates that the pronunciation given as BrE is also the most common variant in AmE. superscriptB1after a word indicates that the pronunciation given as AmE is also the most common variant in BrE.Contentshide 1Stresso 1.1French stresso 1.2Verbs ending inateo 1.3Miscellaneous stress 2Affixeso 2.1-ary,

5、-ery,-ory,-mony,-bury,-berryo 2.2-ileo 2.3-ine 3Weak forms 4Miscellaneous pronunciation differenceso 4.1Single differenceso 4.2Multiple differences 5Notes 6ReferencesStresseditSubscriptaorbmeans that the relevant unstressed vowel is alsoreduced to/or/in AmE or BrE, respectively.French stresseditFor

6、manyloanwordsfrom French where AmE has kept the original French final-syllable stress, BrE stresses an earlier syllable. French loanwors that differs in stress only are listed below.BrEAmEwords with relevant syllable stressed in each dialect1stlastballetA2,1barragea,nb 12batona,3bereta,4bideta,5blas

7、,6brevetabA2,7brochurebB2*nb 2,8buffeta,nb 39cafA2citation needed,10caffeineA2,11canardaB2,12chagrina,13chaletA2,14chauffeurAB2,15chiffon,16clichB2citation needed,17coup,18croissanta,19debrisaB2citation needednb 4,20debut,21dcor,22detailaA2,23dtenteB1,24flamb,nb 525frapp,26gargea,B2citation needed,n

8、b 627gateau,28gourmetA2,29lam,30montageA2citation needed,B2,31parquet,32pastelb,33pastilleb,34pt,nb 735prcis,36sachet,37salona,38soupon,39vaccine,40matine,41nglige,42nonchalantb,43nondescript.44Also some French names, including:CalaisA2,45Degasa*,46Dijon,47Dumas,48Francoise,citation neededManet,49Ma

9、urice,citation neededMonet,nb 8Pauline,citation neededRenaulta,50RenB2,citation neededRimbaud.nb 9512ndlastattacha,52consomma,53dcollet,54dclass,citation neededdmod,55denouement,56distingu,57escargot*a,58expos,59fianc(e)A2,60retrouss.61Also some French names, including:De Beauvoir,citation neededDeb

10、ussyb,62Dubonneta.63last1staddress (noun)bA1,64cigaretteA2,65limousineAB2,66magazineB2citation needed,67mayonnaise,68partisanaB2*nb 1069last2ndNew OrleansA2.citation needed2nd1stliaisonabA2*nb 11,70macram,citation needed2nd1st/lastRenaissanceab.711st/2nd2nd/lastescalopeab.72Verbs ending inateeditMos

11、t 2-syllable verbs ending-atehave first-syllable stress in AmE and second-syllable stress in BrE. This includescastrate,73crematebA2,74dictateA2,75donateA2,76locateA2,77migrate,78narratebAB2,79placateb,80prostrate,81pulsate,82rotate,83serrateAB2,citation neededspectate,84striate,85translateA1,86vaca

12、teb*A2,87vibrateA2.88Examples where AmE and BrE match includecreate,debate,equate,elate,negate; andmandateandprobatewith first-syllable stress. Derived nouns in-atorretains the distinction, but those in-ationdo not. Also,migratoryB189andvibratoryB190sometimes retain the distinction.Most longer-ateve

13、rbs are pronounced the same in AmE and BrE, but a few have first-syllable stress in BrE and second-syllable stress in AmE:elongate,a91infiltrateA2,92remonstrateabA2,93tergiversateaA2.nb 1294For some derived adjectives ending-atorystress-shifting to-at-occurs in BrE. Among these cases arecelebratorya

14、A2citation needed95(BrE:/slbretri/),participatoryaB2citation needed,96regulatoryaB1,97compensatorya.98AmE stresses the same syllable as the corresponding-ateverb (exceptcompensatory, where AmE stresses the second syllable99). A further-atorydifference islaboratory: AmE/lbrtri/and BrE/lbrtri/.100Misc

15、ellaneous stresseditThere 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): seeinitial-stress-derived noun.The following table lists words not brought up in the discussion so far where th

16、e main difference between AmE and BrE is in stress. Usually it also follows areductionof the unstressed vowel. Words marked with subscriptAorBare exceptions to this, and thus retains a full wovel in the (relatively) unstressed syllable of AmE or BrE. A subsequentasterisk,*, means that the full vowel

17、 isusuallyretained; a preceding*means that the full vowel issometimesretained.Words with other points of difference are listed ina later table.BrEAmEwords with relevant syllable stressed in each dialect1st2ndadultBAB2,101aristocratA2citation needed,B2,102basaltB,103cannotBA2,B2*,104caseinABA2,105com

18、munalA2*,B2,106formidableB2,citation neededharassAB2,107Kathleen,citation neededkilometre/kilometerAB2108omegaA,109paprikaA*A2citation needed,B2,110patina,111stalactite,112stalagmite,113SuezA2*,114subaltern,115thanksgivingABA2citation needed,B2,116transferenceA1172nd1stancillaryB,118anginaA2,citatio

19、n neededAugustineBA2,119capillary,120catenary,121controversyB1,122corollary,123defence/defenseA(sport),124fritillary,125guffawA2,citation neededhospitableBAB2,126ice creamABA2citation needed,B2citation needed,127LofotenB2,citation neededmarshmallowAB(AmE (1)/mrmelo/AmE (2) & BrE/mlo/)128medullaryBA2

20、,129miscellany (AmE/msleni/130papaB2,131patronal,132predicative,133pretence/pretenseAA2,134princess*AAB2,135saxophonistBB2,136spreadeagled/spread-eagledAB,137weekendABB21381st3rdobsoleteAB,139opportuneAB,140submarineABAB21412nd3rdadvertisement,142submarinerA21433rd1stcockatooAB,144margarineB,145Pyre

21、neesAB1463rd2ndarytenoidA2,147obscurantismABA2,148oregano149Affixesedit-ary,-ery,-ory,-mony,-bury,-berryeditWhere the syllable preceding thesuffixes-ary,-ery,-oryormonyis unstressed, AmE pronounces theantepenultimatesyllable with a full vowel sound:/ri/for-aryand-ery,/ri/for-oryand/moni/for-mony. Br

22、E reduces the vowel to aschwaor evenelidesit completely:/ri/or/ri/, and/mni/. Somilitaryis AmE/mltri/and BrEEnglish pronunciation:/mltri/or/mltri/,150inventoryis AmE/nvntri/and BrE/nvntri/,151andtestimonyis AmE/testmoni/and BrE/testmni/.152(The elision is avoided in carefully enunciated speech, espe

23、cially with endings-rary,-rery,-rory.citation needed)Where the syllable preceding-ary,-ery,-oryormonyis stressed however, AmE also usually reduces the vowel:/ri/,/mni/. Exceptions includelibrary,153primaryA2,154rosemary.155(Pronouncinglibraryas/labri/rather than/labrri/is highly stigmatized in AmE,c

24、itation neededwhereas in BrE,/labri/is common in rapid or casual speech.)The suffix-berryis pronounced by similar rules, except that in BrE it may be full (/bri/) after an unstressed syllable, while in AmE it is usually full in all cases. Thus we havestrawberry: BrE/strbri/, AmE/strbri/, andwhortleb

25、erry: BrE/AmEEnglish pronunciation:/w(r)tlbri/.Theplacenamecomponent-bury(e.g.Canterbury) has a similar difference: AmE has a full vowel:/bri/wher BrE has a reduced or none at all:/bri/.Note that stress differences between the dialects occur with some words ending in-atory(listedabove) and a few oth

26、ers likecapillary(included in#Miscellaneous stressabove).Formerly the BrEAmE distinction for adjectives carried over to correspondingadverbsending-arily,-erilyor-orily. However, nowadays most BrE speakers adopt the AmE practice of shifting the stress to the antepenultimate syllable:militarilyis thus

27、 generally/mltrli/rather than/mltrli/.-ileeditWords ending in unstressed-ilederived fromLatinadjectives ending-ilisare mostly pronounced with a full vowel in BrE (/al/) but a reduced vowel orsyllabicL in AmE (/l/) (e.g.fertilerhymes withfur tilein BrE but withfurtlein AmE).AmE will (unlike BrE, exce

28、pt when indicated withB2orB1) have a reduced last vowel: generallyinagile,156docile(BrE/dsal/, AmE/dsl/),157facile,158(in)fertile,159fissile,160fragile,161futile,162missile,163octile,citation neededpuerile,164stabile(adjective),165sterile,166tactile,167tensile,168versatile,169virile,170volatile;171

29、usuallyindecile,172ductile,173febrile(AmE also/fbrl/,174hostile,175juvenile,176(im)mobile(adjective),177mobile(phone),178nubile,179projectileB2,180reptile,181servile,182textile,183utile;184 sometimesindomicileB2(AmE also/do/,185infantile,186labileB1,187mercantileA0,188pensile,189percentile,190senile

30、(AmE also/snal/);191 neverincrocodile,exile,gentile,reconcile; nor to compounds of monosyllables (e.g.turnstilefromstile).In some words the pronunciation/il/also comes into play: BrE/al/, AmE/il/:camomileA1,192mercantileA2,193mobile, (decoration)194stabile(noun).195 BrE/il/, AmE/l/or/l/:imbecile.196

31、 BrE/l/, AmE/il/:rutile(BrE, AmE also/al/).197Related endings-ility,-ilize,-iliaryare pronounced the same in AmE as BrE.-ineeditThe 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

32、 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/.BrE/an/, AmE (1)/in/(2)/an/:carbine,198philistine,199serpentine.200BrE/an/, AmE (1)/in/(2)/n/:adamantineA3.201BrE/an/, AmE/n/:turbineAB2.202BrE/an/, AmE (1)/n/(2)/an/(3)/in/:cr

33、ystalline,203labyrinthine.204BrE (1)/in/, AmE (1)/an/(2)/n/:iodineA3B23,205strychnineA3.nb 13206Weak formseditManyfunction wordscan have aweak formwith a reduced vocal used when the word is unstressed, but the full vowel is usually used in formal settings. For examplecould/kd/, weak form/kd/.207In A

34、mE there are weak forms that are not present in BrE (except in some dialects). These include:or/,your/j/, andin/n/.On the other hand, thetitlesSaintandSirbefore a persons name have weak forms in BrE but not AmE: before vowels,sntandsr; before consonants,sncitation neededands.Miscellaneous pronunciat

35、ion differenceseditThese tables list words pronounced differently but spelled the same. See also the table ofwords with different pronunciation reflected in the spelling.Single differenceseditWords with multiple points of difference of pronunciation are in thetable after this one.Accent-based differ

36、ences are ignored. For example,Moscowis RP/msk/and GAm/mska/, but only the/o/-/a/difference is highlighted here, since both the/-/difference and the RP use of/rather than/o/are predictable from the accent. Also,tiarais listed with AmE/; themarrymerryMary mergerchanges this vowel for many Americans.

37、Some AmE types are listed as/where GAm merges to/.A2means that American speakers may use either pronunciation;B2means British speakers may use either pronunciation.BrEAmEWords/Excludingtrapbath splitwords: banana,208khakiA2,209morale,210NevadaA2,211PakistaniA2,212scenarioA2,213sopranoA2,214tiaraA2,2

38、15/A in the anglicised pronunciation of many foreign names and loanwords, e.g:CaracasB2,216chiantiA2,217gulag,218kebab,219Las (placenames, e.g.Las Vegas220),MafiaA2,221MombasaA2,222pasta,223PicassoA2,224rallentando,225SlovakA2,226Sri LankaA2,227Vivaldi,228wigwam,229/e/amenA2, charadeB2, cicada, gala

39、A2, promenadeA2, pro rata, tomato, stratumB2/e/basilA2(plant), compatriot, expatriate, patriotB2, patronise, phalanx, plait, repatriate,Sabine, satrapA2/e/apricotA2, comrade, dahliaA2, data, digitalis, patentAB2, statusA1230/i/aesthete, anaesthetize,breveA2,catenaryA2,Daedalus, devolutionAB2,ecumeni

40、calB2,epochA2,evolutionAB2, febrileA2,Hephaestus,hygienic,KenyaB2,leverA2,methane,OedipusA2,(o)estrogen,(o)estrus, p(a)edophile, penalizeA2, predecessorA2,pyrethrinA2, senileA2,/i/CecilAB2, crematoriumA2, cretin, depot, inherentAB2, leisureA2, reconnoit(re/er)A2, zebraB2, zenithAB2/o/Aeroflot, cogna

41、c, compost,Rosh Hashanah, homosexualB2,Interpol,Lod,pogrom,polkaB2, produce (noun), sconeAB2, shone, sojourn, trollB2,yogurt/o/codify, goffer,ogleA2, process (noun), processor, progress (noun), projectB2(noun), slothAB2, wontA2, wroth/a/advertisement, dynasty, housewifery,idyll, livelongA2, long-liv

42、edA2, privacyB2, simultaneous, vicariousA2, vitamin. See also-ine./a/butylB2, divergeA2, minorityAB2, primer (schoolbook). See also-ine./hovelAB2, hover. Also thestrong formsof thesefunction words:anybodyA2(likewiseevery-,some-, andno-),becauseAB2(andclippingcos/cause),ofA2, fromA2, wasA2, whatA2/ac

43、complice, accomplish, colanderB2, constableB2,Lombardy, monetaryA2, -mongerA2/e/ateB2, mleA2,chaise longue/e/againB2, nonpareilA2/a/i/eitherAB2, neitherAB2, Pleiades. See also-ine./i/a/albino, migraineB2. Also the prefixes anti-A2, multi-A2, semi-A2in loose compounds (e.g. inanti-establishment, but not inantibody). See also-ine./i/e/eta, beta, quayA2, theta, zeta, heinousB2/e/i/deityAB2, HeleneA2, IsraelA2, Haggai231/twatB2/wrath/quarkAB2,UtahAB2/(r)/r/quarkAB2,/