31.07.2014

There is one aspect of American English that confuses many non-native speakers, and that is pronunciation.

If you have mastered American English pronunciation for any period of time, then you know why pronunciation can be such a difficult skill to master, especially when English is a second language.

For example, a learner's native language likely has a completely different pattern of intonation, rhythm, and tense system than American English. Another problem is that some sounds in American English may not have any exact equivalents in the learner's native language.

This article contains 10 helpful tips designed to help English language learners master American English pronunciation.

1. Learn the sounds of English

Each language has its own special set of sounds.

It would seem like there are so many sounds in different languages, but the fact is that between sounds that seem similar there are often subtle differences that can make them sound completely different to the listener.

For example, the short "uh" sound in American English is very different from the "U" sound in Japanese because of the difference in how the sound is formed in the mouth. That's why it's important to know how to pronounce all the consonant and vowel sounds in American English.

2. Learn schwa (neutral vowel sound)

Schwa is a unique sound that takes the place of almost all unstressed vowel sounds in American English.

Simply put, it sounds like a very weak "uh" and is found in almost every phrase spoken in American English. Schwa may be a small, weak sound, but it is very important because it is the hallmark of American English pronunciation.

Now practice!

3. Distinguish between L and R sounds

In some languages, R and L are interchangeable, and in others, one or both sounds do not exist at all.

Unfortunately, both R and L sounds are very common in American English and not knowing how to pronounce one or both sounds properly can lead to a lot of errors in your pronunciation.

4. Use a dictionary

If you're unsure about how a certain word or sound is pronounced in American English, don't be ashamed, just look it up in a dictionary and remember the correct pronunciation.

Luckily, if you have constant access to the Internet, you can easily look up any word in an audio dictionary and listen to its correct pronunciation.

5. Make a list of words

There are probably quite a few English words that baffle you with their pronunciation. A good solution is to make a list of words in English that may confuse you, as well as problem words or sounds that you have particular difficulty with.

Once you've determined which words and sounds give you the most trouble when speaking English, try watching educational videos to practice those words and sounds.

There are quite a few free textbooks available at AccentOnSpeaking.com.

7. Record yourself

You will never make any progress in your American English pronunciation if you don't know exactly what stage you are at and how good your speaking skills are. That's why it's important to record your voice in English so that you can listen to the recordings later and compare how you pronounce certain words with how a native speaker pronounces the same words.

8. Speak in phrases and sentences

Just because you know roughly how to pronounce every word in English doesn't mean you'll be able to accurately pronounce that word correctly when you have to use it in a real conversation. This is especially true if you do not use the word in real phrases and sentences, but learn it separately.

This is why you should practice American English pronunciation using actual phrases and sentences rather than individual words. Remember that words are meant to be used in conjunction with other words, not on their own. No one speaks in separate words - everyone speaks in phrases.

9. Focus on one sound for each practice session.

Try to master the sounds gradually. Practicing one sound with concentration, understanding how it is formed by the organ of speech, is much better than briefly looking at all the sounds of American English without dwelling on any of them in detail.

10. Practice and practice again!

There are no shortcuts here. If you want to be able to consistently pronounce words correctly in American English, you need your speech organ to develop muscle memory for speaking American pronunciation.

This is the only way you can achieve results. Constant practice and repetition are the key to success. Fortunately, once your speech apparatus understands how to pronounce English words, you will never lose this skill.

As we have already said, the differences between British and American English can be quite significant, and therefore it is best to simply memorize “dubious” words.
However, if we talk about phonetic differences, it turns out that there are also differences within British and American English - for example, depending on regional accents and dialects, you can determine which state or county your interlocutor is from.
Today we will focus on the most significant differences in pronunciation between British and American English. Enjoy!

• In many varieties of American English, most vowel sounds are nasal (pronounced through the mouth and nose simultaneously). This is not as common in the UK.
• British English has one more vowel sound than American English. This is a rounded short sound [ɔ], found in words such as “cot, dog, got, gone, god, off, stop, lost”, etc. In the American version, these words are pronounced or with the sound [ɑ:], as the first vowel in the word “father”, or with the sound [ɔː] as in the word “caught”.
• Many words written with "a + consonant" (for example, "fast, grass, dance, after") have different pronunciations: in British English they are pronounced with the sound, and in American English they are pronounced with the sound [æ].
• The vowel in the words “go, home, open” is pronounced [əu] in British English and in American English.
• In British English, the “r” sound is only pronounced before vowels. In American English, “r” is pronounced in all positions in a word. Therefore, words such as “car, turn, offer”, etc. are pronounced completely differently in American and British English.
• In many varieties of American English, the sounds “t” and “d” have a very slight voiced pronunciation [d] between the two vowels, so, for example, the words “writer” and “rider” may sound the same in American. In British English these are completely two different pronunciations - ["raɪtə] and ["raɪdə].
• Many words that are pronounced with in the American version have a pronunciation in the British. For example: duty – AmE ["duːtɪ] – BrE ["djuːtɪ]; student – ​​AmE ["stuːdənt] – BrE ["stjuːdənt]; new – AmE – BrE, etc.
• Words ending in unstressed “-ile” (“fertile, missile, reptile, senile”) are pronounced s in British English and some are pronounced with [l] in American English. For example, fertile – AmE ["fɜːtl] – BrE ["fɜːtaɪl].
• Some long words ending in “-ery”, “-ary”, “-ory” are pronounced differently: in British English they do not form a separate syllable, in American English they are one syllable longer. For example, secretary – AmE ["sekrəterɪ] – BrE ["sekrətrɪ]; monastery – AmE ["mɔnəsterɪ] – BrE ["mɔnəstrɪ]; inventory – AmE ["ɪnvənterɪ] – BrE ["ɪnvəntrɪ].

These are the main differences in pronunciation between British and American English. Knowing these differences will help you determine whether a native speaker is from America or the UK when watching movies or listening to podcasts.

Problem	Possible reason	What can you do	Why is this training suitable?
I'm embarrassed to talk	No practice, language barrier	8-day VICTORY	The training allows you to learn a large amount of information in a short time, expand your vocabulary, practice using new words, expressions and rules, overcome the language barrier, learn to solve communicative problems in English
Small vocabulary		8-day intensive VICTORY training with “immersion” into the language environment, 16-day PROGRESS	A computer program makes it possible to fill the student’s passive knowledge; classroom classes help to activate the necessary knowledge. The training develops the skill of expressing thoughts using available means (small vocabulary), as well as the ability to understand the interlocutor, clarify what the interlocutor said
At work I need to conduct business correspondence in English, but I can’t	There is no practice of communicating, writing and reading in English	8-day conversational training VICTORY with “immersion” in the language environment, 16-day English training in the evenings PROGRESS	The trainings practically do not practice reading and writing skills - only minimally, when students read assignments or new words in a folder. It’s the same with writing - only during grammar tasks, students write a translation from Russian into English. communication practice is developed during the training and is one of the key goals of the training (if not the most key) - students have the opportunity to practice communication on a variety of topics with different partners (according to the number of people in the group). Such a change of partners does not make it possible to adapt to any one variant of pronunciation (as in individual lessons), as well as to the topics that are discussed, since there is a constant alternation of topics (due to the program, and due to the work of the trainer, and due to the fact that different partners have different topics for conversation during free communication)
Need to communicate with people at work in English	There is no practice of communicating and reading in English	8-day conversational training VICTORY with “immersion” in the language environment, 16-day English training in the evenings PROGRESS, 5-day training	For low levels, trainings make it possible to significantly reduce the learning speed. The prescribed program does not allow students and teachers to “go astray” and dwell for a long time on some, sometimes secondary, topic. This can also cause negativity (see difficulties), however, to quickly achieve results, this approach works great (however, we may end up with a student who speaks well, but without grammar, that is, individual lessons are needed for in order to clean up errors). The trainings provide an opportunity to practice new knowledge in situations close to real ones with different participants, which is good preparation before going to work where you need to use English frequently. The 5-day training provides a lot of business vocabulary and useful clichés, and also helps develop communication skills necessary in the modern business environment

Today I want to tell you about the features of American pronunciation English sound /r/.

The most important thing you must remember is - American sound /r/ always pronounced clearly . This is very important because in British English the /r/ sound is usually not pronounced. Watch the video to compare the pronunciation of English words in the American and British versions (Examples of words in the video: ca r,hea r d,lea r n, fou r).

This is what happens in American English

When letter "r" is at the end of a word or before a consonant, then sound /r/- is always pronounced.

Practical exercises

Listen and repeat after the presenter (see video.)

lea r n	fou r	Robe r t
Ge r man	doo r s	Parke r

Thei r compute r isn't wo r king.

I gave him r fou r othe r pictu r es.

He r fou r th bi r thday is on Thu r sday.

You probably noticed that American sound /r/ Very Not look like Russian sound /r/. When you pronounce the Russian sound, the tip of your tongue is on the upper alveoli behind the front teeth. To pronounce the English sound /r/, the tip of the tongue should be closer to the throat.

Those who complain about the difficulty of learning German don’t even know how lucky they are - because they only have to learn one language. Of course, there are different dialects in German-speaking countries, but someone who has learned standard literary German (Hochdeutsch) will have no problems and will be easily understood by residents of Germany, Austria or Switzerland.

The difficulty for those learning English is that there is no standard in this language. There are two options to learn: British English and American (even if you don’t take into account Australian, Indian, South African dialects, etc.). Despite their mutual cross-cultural influences, it seems that the vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation of British and American English are becoming increasingly different every year.

To stick to one option and, more importantly, to be understood correctly, you need to know which words differ in meaning and pronunciation in America and Great Britain. This is important not only for simple communication, but also in order to avoid awkward situations.

For example, if a woman from London says to a New Yorker: “I have left my child's dummy in the pram and his nappy in the boot,” she will only get a puzzled look in response. If a New Yorker tells her: “ You have nice pants,” she could easily consider this an insult.

In Britain, a baby's pacifier is called a dummy, in America - a pacifier, diapers in the first case - nappies, in the second - diapers. The British call a pram a pram, while the Americans call it a baby carriage. What is boot for the British is trunk for the Americans. In America the word pants means trousers, while in Britain it means underwear (underpants).

Below are examples of the main differences between the two languages, as well as some exercises.

Differences in spelling

With regard to the spelling of British English (BrE) and American (AmE), it can be said that Americans adhere to a more economical and phonetic spelling. Unpronounceable letters are skipped, and words are written closer to their sound. The most obvious example is the absence of the letter u in American words such as color, neighbor, honor, etc.

Compare also the words traveling, jewelry and program with their British equivalents - travelling, jewelery and program. However, this rule does not always apply. You might think that in America it's spelled skilful and in Britain it's spelled skillful, but it's actually the other way around!

Exercise 1

Which of the following words are written in American English and which are written in British English? Can you give a second spelling?

Sample: AmE - mustache:BrE— mustache

• airplane, check, theater, tire, defense, woolen, pajamas, gaol

Differences in pronunciation

Of course, both countries have their own regional pronunciations, but the following words are pronounced differently by most Americans and Britons. The differences are mainly in the sound of vowels or stress.

Exercise 2

Can you indicate how an American would pronounce the following words and how a British person would pronounce them?

• vase, route, ballet, address (noun), ate, buoy, tomato, advertisement, garage, leisure

Differences in vocabulary

The percentage of words that are used in only one country is very small, but the problem for English learners is that these words are among the most commonly used. Many words are used only by Americans but most Britons understand them, but others can be difficult.

For example, the British know that Americans call biscuits cookies, and flat - apartment, but not many people know what alumnus (college or university graduate) or fender (dirt guard over a car wheel) are. In turn, Americans know that a yard in Britain is called a garden, and a truck is called a lorry, but the words plimsolls (sneakers) or off-licence (liquor store) that are familiar to the British will not tell them anything.

Exercise 3

From the list below, select pairs of words that have the same meaning and classify them as American or British English.

Sample: AmE - cookie = BrE - biscuit

closet	queue	vacation	fall	bonnet	sweets
thumb tack	lift	bill	caravan	flashlight	subway
postman	baggage	movie	drapes	underground	luggage
hood	elevator	cupboard	mailman	torch	check
line	curtains	film	candy	gas	autumn
petrol	drawing pin	holiday	trailer

Differences in grammar

The grammar of British and American English is almost the same, but there are some interesting variations, for example in some verb forms. In AE, the past tense of the verb fit is fit; in BrE - fitted. Americans say I "ve gotten to know her well; the British - I"ve got to know her well. BrE often uses the Present Perfect where AmE would rather use the Past Simple.

For example, when using the words just or already, the British are most likely to say I "ve just seen him or I"ve already done it, and the Americans - I just saw him or I already did it.

Another example is that Americans are much more likely to agree collective nouns with the verb. In standard AmE it is correct to say The team is playing well this season, while in BrE it is acceptable to say: The team are playing well. The same applies to words such as government, committee, etc. In American - The government is..., in British - The government are...

Exercise 4

The following sentences are typically American. How would a Brit say them?

• Do you have any siblings?
• It is important that she be told.
• The jury has not yet reached its decision.
• Go fetch your book.
• He dove into the water.
• You must come visit me real soon.

Use of words

There are countless interesting nuances between AmE and BrE that relate to the use of words. AmE has a useful preposition through, which means “through, inclusive.” For example, The exhibition is showing March through June. Its equivalent in BrE is from March to June, but this can be understood in two ways.

Will the exhibition last until the beginning of June or until the end? To avoid misunderstandings, it is better to say, for example: The exhibition is showing from March to the end of June.

Another example: for Americans, the number billion contains 9 zeros (billion). For most Brits there are 12 zeros (a trillion). As for zero itself, in AmE the word zero is more common, while in BrE it is nought. Americans are more likely to pronounce the number 453 as four hundred fifty three, while the British almost always pronounce it as four hundred and fifty three. And this is only a small part!

Exercise 5

For whom are the following sentences more typical - an American or a British person?

• I"ll try and visit you on the weekend.
• Please write me when you arrive.
• Call me as soon as you get there.
• Most everyone has a telephone and a refrigerator these days.
• If you make a mistake, you"ll just have to do it over.
• He was born 3/27/1981.
• The soccer team won two to nothing (2-0).
• She arrived at twenty of two.
• The secretary said, "Mr. Clinton will see you soon."

Conclusion

It is quite obvious that for non-native speakers it will be very difficult to separate these two dialects. The best thing to do in this case is to purchase a good reference book. We can recommend two books on this topic:

• Practical English Usage, M. Swan (1995), Oxford University Press
• The Right Word at the Right Time (A guide to the English language and how to use it) (1985) Readers Digest

Answers

Exercise 1 - Writing

• airplane - aeroplane
• check - check
• theater - theater
• defense - defense
• woollen - woollen
• tire - tire
• pajamas - pajamas
• jail-gaol*

* Now in Britain the word jail is also more common, but gaol is also quite acceptable (they are pronounced the same).

Exercise 2 - Pronunciation

In most cases, Americans and British accents are the same. For example, everyone says pencil and relax, cinema and consider, but the following words are stressed differently:

• ballet - BrE - ballet - AmE
• address - BrE - address * - AmE
• garage – BrE – garage – AmE
• advertisement – ​​BrE – advertisement – ​​AmE

There are words that differ in the sound of the stressed vowel. It is difficult to illustrate them without resorting to phonetic symbols, which not everyone is familiar with. Therefore, they are presented in comparison with common words containing the same sound.

• vase: as in cars (BrE) - as in face (AmE)
• route: like shoot (BrE) - like shout * (AmE)
• buoy: like toy (BrE) - like the French name Louis (AmE)
• ate: like let (BrE) — like late (AmE)
• tomato: like tomarto (BrE) - tomayto * (AmE)
• leisure: as in pleasure (BrE) - first vowel as in she (AmE)

* Some Americans pronounce these words the same way as the British.

Exercise 3 - Vocabulary

• closet - cupboard
• vacation - holiday
• fall - autumn
• thumb tack - drawing pin
• flashlight - torch
• subway - underground
• baggage - luggage
• movie-film
• drapes - curtains
• elevator - lift
• hood - bonnet
• mailman-postman
• check - bill *
• line - queue
• candy - sweets
• gas - petrol
• trailer - caravan

* In England, bill is the bill you ask the waiter in a restaurant. In America it is called a check, while a bill is a banknote.

Exercise 4 - Grammar

• AmE - Do you have any siblings?
• BrE — Have you got any brothers or sisters?
• AmE — It is important that she be told. *
• BrE — It is important that she is told.
• AmE — The jury has not yet reached its decision.
• BrE - The jury have not yet reached their decision.
• AmE - Go get your book.
• BrE - Go and fetch your book.
• AmE - He dove into the water.
• BrE - He dived into the water.
• AmE — You must come visit me real soon.
• BrE — You must come and visit me really soon.

* AmE uses the subjunctive form much more often than BrE.

• Tutorial

Very often, the study of English is carried out using British textbooks, and as a result, the student can only speak and hear refined British “Royal English”, which, in fact, is not used by anyone. Yes, yes, even the queen herself. But the lion's share of business and almost the entire entertainment sector (cinema, music, games) are associated with America and American English. This is where students most often have difficulties: nothing is clear, only “r” and “something in the nose” are heard, Americans seem to “swallow” endings or even whole words.

It's actually not that scary. There are pronunciation features in every variant of the English language. Today on the Puzzle English blog we’ll look at how Americans are so different from the British.

America, like Britain, has its own accents. The American standard is called General American, and then variations begin. All of them, for the most part, concern vowels, but there are also dialectisms and poorly intelligible dialects, where speakers really “swallow” most of the words (for example, rednecks: to understand them, you really have to try hard. For example, Larry King tries to talk like a redneck). The main problem with Americans' listening comprehension is unintelligibility. The number one rule of good delivery is to articulate, open your mouth and pronounce sounds clearly. Americans don't like this very much, so their conversational speech sounds crumpled to a beginner. But let's say you're just starting to learn American English and want to understand the main differences between it and standard British.

Sound R

This is probably the first thing you notice about American English. The r sound is pronounced much more often than in British English. For example, words like car, park or prefer will be pronounced with a clear r. General American has a simple rule: if the letter r is written, then it must be pronounced.

Pronunciation of the letter “a” in different words

Do you think Americans are nasal? Most likely, this impression is produced by the sound æ before the nasal sound n, for example, in the words can’t, man, can. Americans really pull out this sound a little and take it “into the nose”, which is why it seems that they are nasal. Both Britons and Americans can pronounce the letter 'A' as [æ] or as [ɑ], although the rules will vary. In one study, sociolinguist Peter Trudgill noted that in words where the letter 'a' is followed by the sounds [f], [θ], [s], , , , , (for example, laugh, path, grass, plant, dance, branch, demand, sample), Americans will say [æ], and the British (from the south, where the standard originated and exists) - [ɑ].

In words like father, bard, calm the British will pronounce the letter 'a' as a long [ɑ], while Americans will have a much shorter sound, more like [ʌ]

Neutral sound [ə]

This sound is the most common in American English. It's funny, but this can be explained... by origin. In Britain, your pronunciation will immediately tell your interlocutor what class you belong to and where you come from. For a long time, “non-prestigious” accents were ridiculed.

Americans, as we know, stand up for equality and tolerance, so they don’t judge people so harshly based on their accent. American English readily got rid of the contrived British rules (remember the first major difference - the sound r, because the British standard dictates not to pronounce the sound in some cases, although it is present in the word. Many linguists argue that this rule is artificial, and was created by aristocrats to distance yourself from ordinary people as much as possible). Vowels in American English are not pronounced as clearly as in Britain, hence the reduction, that is, the reduction of these vowels to a neutral short sound [ə]. There is even a comic name for America - Murica (the first unstressed vowel is practically inaudible, being a neutral sound).

The most striking examples of sound neutralization include words that are built according to the “vowel + r + syllable” model, for example:

[æ] as in marry [ɛ] as in merry [ə]
as in Mary [ɛ] in merry [ə]
[ʌ] in hurry [ə] in furry
[ɜ:] in furry [ə] in furry

Sound [ɒ] and diphthong [əu]

The British clearly round the sound [ɒ], which makes it look like a short “o”, for example, in the words dog, hot, what. Americans pronounce the sound more relaxed, which is why many students confuse it with the sound “a”. But with the diphthong [əu] everything is different: the British do not pronounce it at all, but the Americans say a clear, sonorous “ou”. This difference (and the difference of several other sounds) is clearly demonstrated by speakers in this video.

Sound [t]

This sound is the most difficult for students. And all because British and American English have their own rules for pronunciation. If it seems to you that Americans “swallow” sounds and words, most likely we are talking about [t].

In many regions of America, the rule is this: if the letter t does not appear at the beginning of a word, then it will be pronounced either almost like a [d] or not at all. Yes, words the latter And butter can easily be heard as ladder And budder, and the words interview And international turn into "innerview" And "innernational". Sometimes it's confusing, especially if the word ends with t and it's not there. Agree, between the words feet And fee there is a difference. And if Americans omit the t, they may appear to be saying the same word. Only practice will help here.

Sound [j]

In British English, the sound [j] exists in combination with a vowel or the sound u: -, for example in the words news, student, suit. In Standard American the [j] sound is usually dropped, so these words might sound like noose, stoodent And soot. Well, yes, a large city (and state), which we all know from the inscription “I love NYC” is pronounced like Noo-York.

Different stress in words

A word may be written the same in both languages, but pronounced differently. You just need to remember such words. But don't worry, if you pronounce them incorrectly, you will be perfectly understood. It’s just impossible to include such words in any list, there are too many of them. The best advice is to listen as much as possible to get used to the pronunciation of a particular word with the accents you need. For example, an incomplete list of words with different accents depending on the language variant.

Differences in intonation (Upspeak)

One of the American trends that hurts the ears of the British is the manner of not lowering the intonation at the end of a statement, but raising it, which is why all sentences sound like a question to the British. Some studies have shown that both New Zealand and the west coast of America can be considered the birthplace of upspeak.

The tendency to increase intonation gradually came to Britain, where it was met with hostility: they say that it is difficult for a person who constantly asks questions to be taken at his word. And in some ways the British are right. The rising tone in the British Standard is also used as an indicator of uncertainty, so if you are still confident in what you are saying, it is better to lower the intonation. In American English, upspeak is present, but more in a conversational setting than in a formal setting.

We have listed the main differences in pronunciation between American and British English. But don’t forget: American also has differences in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and even spelling. If it is important for you to learn this particular version of the language, pay attention to all these aspects.