Phonological Comparison of british and american english
Michael Stoltzfus (5305010219)
Ajarn Jason Clark, IAE 331
September 21, 2011
Phonological Comparison of British and American English
It is commonly known among English speakers that there are some significant differences between British English and American English. In this paper I will compare these two varieties of English and discuss the systematic phonological differences between them. There are many other ways in which British and American English are different; such as, vocabulary, grammar, function etc. However, here we will only focus on pronunciation and stress. All phonetic symbols used here for transcriptions are IPA symbols.
First of all we need to be clear on what is meant by British English and American English. There are many varieties in pronunciation within both the United Kingdom and the United States, however, I will compare only the two varieties with which I am most familiar for the purposes of this paper. Therefore, when I mention British English (BrE) I am referring to the variety known as RP or BBC English and when I mention American English (AmE) I am referring to the variety known as the northern midlands dialect which is spoken in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the Ohio Plains region. This dialect has been referred to as General American (Boeree). It is also worth noting that these two varieties of English are ‘reference varieties’ meaning that other varieties are often compared to them. When someone is learning English as a foreign language it is usually one of these varieties that will be used as the standard (Melchers & Shaw 79).
I will begin with one of the most well-known differences between BrE and AmE. AmE is rhotic while BrE is non-rhotic. Non-rhotic means that the phoneme /r/ is never pronounced unless it is immediately followed by a vowel. Therefore, BrE will pronounce farm as /fa:m/ and herd as /hɜ:d/. AmE,on the other hand,will pronounce those words /fa:rm/and /hərd/ respectively. In cases where /r/ is
Ajarn Jason Clark, IAE 331
September 21, 2011
Phonological Comparison of British and American English
It is commonly known among English speakers that there are some significant differences between British English and American English. In this paper I will compare these two varieties of English and discuss the systematic phonological differences between them. There are many other ways in which British and American English are different; such as, vocabulary, grammar, function etc. However, here we will only focus on pronunciation and stress. All phonetic symbols used here for transcriptions are IPA symbols.
First of all we need to be clear on what is meant by British English and American English. There are many varieties in pronunciation within both the United Kingdom and the United States, however, I will compare only the two varieties with which I am most familiar for the purposes of this paper. Therefore, when I mention British English (BrE) I am referring to the variety known as RP or BBC English and when I mention American English (AmE) I am referring to the variety known as the northern midlands dialect which is spoken in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the Ohio Plains region. This dialect has been referred to as General American (Boeree). It is also worth noting that these two varieties of English are ‘reference varieties’ meaning that other varieties are often compared to them. When someone is learning English as a foreign language it is usually one of these varieties that will be used as the standard (Melchers & Shaw 79).
I will begin with one of the most well-known differences between BrE and AmE. AmE is rhotic while BrE is non-rhotic. Non-rhotic means that the phoneme /r/ is never pronounced unless it is immediately followed by a vowel. Therefore, BrE will pronounce farm as /fa:m/ and herd as /hɜ:d/. AmE,on the other hand,will pronounce those words /fa:rm/and /hərd/ respectively. In cases where /r/ is
References: Boeree, Dr. C. George. “Dialects of English.” 2004. Web. 3 September 2011. Melchers, Gunnel and Philip Shaw. World Englishes. London, UK: Arnold, a member of the Hodder Headline Group. 2003. Print. Roach, Peter. English Phonetics and Phonology. Third Edition. Cambridge University Press. 2001. Print. Wikipedia contributors. “Differences Between General American and Received Pronunciation.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 6 September 2011. Web. 8 September. 2011. Wikipedia contributors. “American and British English Pronunciation Differences.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 6 September 2011. Web. 8 September. 2011.