We speak like Americans: features of the American pronunciation
Very often, the study of the English language is conducted according to the British textbooks, and as a result the student is able to speak and hear only refined British “royal English”, which, in fact, is not used by anyone. Yes, even the queen herself. But the lion's share of business and almost the entire sphere of entertainment (cinema, music, games) are associated with America and American English. Here, students often have difficulties with it: nothing is clear, only the “p” and “something in the nose” are heard, the Americans seem to “swallow” the endings or even whole words.
In fact, everything is not so scary. Features of pronunciation are in each version of the English language. Today on the Puzzle English blog, we’ll see how Americans are so different from the British.
In America, as in Britain, there are its accents. The American standard is called General American , and then the variations begin. All of them, for the most part, relate to vowels, but there are also dialectisms, and few discriminating dialects, where the speakers really “swallow” most of the words (for example, rednecks: to understand them, you really have to try hard. For example, Larry King trying to talk like redneck ). The main problem of understanding Americans by ear is promiscuity. Rule number one of well-established speech is to articulate, open your mouth and clearly pronounce sounds. Americans are not very fond of it, so their spoken language is crumpled for a beginner. But suppose you are just starting to get acquainted with American English, and you need to understand the main differences between it and standard British.
This is almost the first thing you notice in American English. The sound r is pronounced much more often than in British English. For example, words like car, park or prefer will be pronounced with a clear r. In General American there is a simple rule: if the letter r is written, then it must be pronounced.
It seems to you that the Americans nasal? Most likely, such an impression is made by the sound æ before the nasal sound n, for example, in the words can't, man, can. Americans really pull this sound a little and take it “in the nose”, that's why it seems that they nasal. And the British, Americans can pronounce the letter 'A' as [æ] or as [ɑ], however, the rules will differ. In one study, the sociolinguist Peter Tragill noted that in words where the letters [f], [θ], [s], [nt], [ns], [ntʃ], [nd], [mp] go after the letter 'a'. ] (for example, laugh, path, grass, plant, dance, branch, demand, sample ), the Americans will say [æ], and the British (from the south, where the standard originated and exists) - [ɑ].
In words such as father, bard, calm, the British will pronounce the letter 'a' for a long time [ɑ], while the Americans will have a much shorter sound and will rather resemble [ʌ]
This sound is most common in American English. It's funny, but you can explain it ... by origin. In Britain, the pronunciation will immediately tell the interlocutor which class you belong to and where you are from. For a long time, "non-prestigious" accents were ridiculed.
Americans, as we know, are fighting for equality and tolerance, so the emphasis is not strictly judged. 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 make a sound in some cases, although it is present in the word. Many linguists argue that this rule is artificial, and it was created by aristocrats to as far as possible from ordinary people). 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 almost not audible, being a neutral sound).
The most vivid examples of the neutralization of sounds can be called words that are based on the model “vowel + r + syllable”, for example:
[æ] like in marry [ɛ] in merry [ə]
[ei] like in Mary [ɛ] in merry [ə]
[ʌ] in hurry [ə] in furry
[ɜ:] in furry [ə] in furry
About this you can read more here .
The British clearly echo the sound [ɒ], which makes it look like a short “o”, for example, in the words dog, hot, what. Americans, however, pronounce the sound more relaxed, because of what many students by ear confuse it with the sound "a." But with diphthong [əu], everything is different: the British do not denigrate it at all, and the Americans say a clear sonorous "oh." This difference (and the difference of a few more sounds) is well shown by the media in this video .
This sound is given to students the hardest. That's because British and American English have their own rules for pronouncing it. If it seems to you that Americans "swallow" sounds and words, most likely, it is about [t].
In many regions of America, the rule is: if the letter t is not at the beginning of a word, then it will be pronounced either almost as [d] or not at all. Thus, the words latter and butter can easily be heard as ladder and budder , and the words interview and international turn into “innerview” and “innernational” . Sometimes it is confusing, especially if the word ends in t, but it is not there. Agree, there is a difference between the words feet and fee . And if Americans omit t, then one might get the impression that they are uttering the same word. Only practice will help here.
For example, in this video they will explain to you how to hear the difference between the words feet and fee if the sound [t] is omitted.
Unlike the Americans, the British still prefer not to replace the sound [t] with the sound [d] or even lower it. But they have a feature more interesting: guttural bow. In American English you will not meet her. The bow is not at all typical of English; rather, it can be found in Danish. But the British still in many dialects are not averse to lowering the pure sound [t] and replacing it with the sound [ʔ]. The most interesting is that there are no rules when it is necessary and not necessary to omit the pure [t]. But if you know how to pronounce the word bottle as [bɒʔl], then your speech is considered more “lively”. About that such guttural bow and how to master it, entertainingly tell here .
In British English, sound [j] exists in combination with a vowel or sound u: - [ju:], for example, in the words news , student , suit . In standard American sound, [j] is usually omitted, so these words may sound like noose , stoodent, and soot . Well, yes, a large city (and the state), which we all know from the words “I love NYC” is pronounced Noo-York .
The word can be written in both variants of the language in the same way, but pronounced differently. Such words must be simply remembered. But do not worry, if you pronounce them incorrectly, they will understand you perfectly. But it is 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 word with the stress you need. For example, there is an incomplete list of words with different accents depending on the language variant.
One of the American trends that cuts the ears of the British is the manner of not lowering the intonation at the end of a statement, but raising it, because of which all proposals sound to the British as a question. Some studies have shown that both New Zealand and the west coast of America can be considered the birthplace of upspeak.
The tendency to raise intonation gradually came to Britain, where it was met with hostility: it’s hard for a person who constantly asks questions to take his word. And in some ways the British are right. The upward tone in the British Standard is used, among other things, as an indicator of uncertainty, so if you are still sure of what you are saying, it is better to lower the intonation. In American English, upspeak is present, but more colloquially than in a formal setting.
We have listed the main differences in pronunciation between American and British English. But do not forget: American has differences also in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and even spelling. If it is important for you to learn this particular variant of the language, pay attention to all these aspects.
Readers of the blog give a coupon for 500 rubles for the purchase of a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly newsletters about English grammar and vocabulary.
And for unlimited and perpetual access to all features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount does not apply).
In fact, everything is not so scary. Features of pronunciation are in each version of the English language. Today on the Puzzle English blog, we’ll see how Americans are so different from the British.
In America, as in Britain, there are its accents. The American standard is called General American , and then the variations begin. All of them, for the most part, relate to vowels, but there are also dialectisms, and few discriminating dialects, where the speakers really “swallow” most of the words (for example, rednecks: to understand them, you really have to try hard. For example, Larry King trying to talk like redneck ). The main problem of understanding Americans by ear is promiscuity. Rule number one of well-established speech is to articulate, open your mouth and clearly pronounce sounds. Americans are not very fond of it, so their spoken language is crumpled for a beginner. But suppose you are just starting to get acquainted with American English, and you need to understand the main differences between it and standard British.
Sound r
This is almost the first thing you notice in American English. The sound r is pronounced much more often than in British English. For example, words like car, park or prefer will be pronounced with a clear r. In General American there is a simple rule: if the letter r is written, then it must be pronounced.
Pronunciation of the letter “a” in different words
It seems to you that the Americans nasal? Most likely, such an impression is made by the sound æ before the nasal sound n, for example, in the words can't, man, can. Americans really pull this sound a little and take it “in the nose”, that's why it seems that they nasal. And the British, Americans can pronounce the letter 'A' as [æ] or as [ɑ], however, the rules will differ. In one study, the sociolinguist Peter Tragill noted that in words where the letters [f], [θ], [s], [nt], [ns], [ntʃ], [nd], [mp] go after the letter 'a'. ] (for example, laugh, path, grass, plant, dance, branch, demand, sample ), the Americans will say [æ], and the British (from the south, where the standard originated and exists) - [ɑ].
In words such as father, bard, calm, the British will pronounce the letter 'a' for a long time [ɑ], while the Americans will have a much shorter sound and will rather resemble [ʌ]
Neutral sound [ə]
This sound is most common in American English. It's funny, but you can explain it ... by origin. In Britain, the pronunciation will immediately tell the interlocutor which class you belong to and where you are from. For a long time, "non-prestigious" accents were ridiculed.
Americans, as we know, are fighting for equality and tolerance, so the emphasis is not strictly judged. 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 make a sound in some cases, although it is present in the word. Many linguists argue that this rule is artificial, and it was created by aristocrats to as far as possible from ordinary people). 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 almost not audible, being a neutral sound).
The most vivid examples of the neutralization of sounds can be called words that are based on the model “vowel + r + syllable”, for example:
[æ] like in marry [ɛ] in merry [ə]
[ei] like in Mary [ɛ] in merry [ə]
[ʌ] in hurry [ə] in furry
[ɜ:] in furry [ə] in furry
About this you can read more here .
Sound [ɒ] and diphthong [əu]
The British clearly echo the sound [ɒ], which makes it look like a short “o”, for example, in the words dog, hot, what. Americans, however, pronounce the sound more relaxed, because of what many students by ear confuse it with the sound "a." But with diphthong [əu], everything is different: the British do not denigrate it at all, and the Americans say a clear sonorous "oh." This difference (and the difference of a few more sounds) is well shown by the media in this video .
Sound [t]
This sound is given to students the hardest. That's because British and American English have their own rules for pronouncing it. If it seems to you that Americans "swallow" sounds and words, most likely, it is about [t].
In many regions of America, the rule is: if the letter t is not at the beginning of a word, then it will be pronounced either almost as [d] or not at all. Thus, the words latter and butter can easily be heard as ladder and budder , and the words interview and international turn into “innerview” and “innernational” . Sometimes it is confusing, especially if the word ends in t, but it is not there. Agree, there is a difference between the words feet and fee . And if Americans omit t, then one might get the impression that they are uttering the same word. Only practice will help here.
For example, in this video they will explain to you how to hear the difference between the words feet and fee if the sound [t] is omitted.
Unlike the Americans, the British still prefer not to replace the sound [t] with the sound [d] or even lower it. But they have a feature more interesting: guttural bow. In American English you will not meet her. The bow is not at all typical of English; rather, it can be found in Danish. But the British still in many dialects are not averse to lowering the pure sound [t] and replacing it with the sound [ʔ]. The most interesting is that there are no rules when it is necessary and not necessary to omit the pure [t]. But if you know how to pronounce the word bottle as [bɒʔl], then your speech is considered more “lively”. About that such guttural bow and how to master it, entertainingly tell here .
Sound [j]
In British English, sound [j] exists in combination with a vowel or sound u: - [ju:], for example, in the words news , student , suit . In standard American sound, [j] is usually omitted, so these words may sound like noose , stoodent, and soot . Well, yes, a large city (and the state), which we all know from the words “I love NYC” is pronounced Noo-York .
Different stress in words
The word can be written in both variants of the language in the same way, but pronounced differently. Such words must be simply remembered. But do not worry, if you pronounce them incorrectly, they will understand you perfectly. But it is 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 word with the stress you need. For example, there is an incomplete list of words with different accents depending on the language variant.
Differences in intonation (Upspeak)
One of the American trends that cuts the ears of the British is the manner of not lowering the intonation at the end of a statement, but raising it, because of which all proposals sound to the British as a question. Some studies have shown that both New Zealand and the west coast of America can be considered the birthplace of upspeak.
The tendency to raise intonation gradually came to Britain, where it was met with hostility: it’s hard for a person who constantly asks questions to take his word. And in some ways the British are right. The upward tone in the British Standard is used, among other things, as an indicator of uncertainty, so if you are still sure of what you are saying, it is better to lower the intonation. In American English, upspeak is present, but more colloquially than in a formal setting.
We have listed the main differences in pronunciation between American and British English. But do not forget: American has differences also in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and even spelling. If it is important for you to learn this particular variant of the language, pay attention to all these aspects.
And if you want to pump up English in a complex, come to us
Readers of the blog give a coupon for 500 rubles for the purchase of a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly newsletters about English grammar and vocabulary.
And for unlimited and perpetual access to all features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount does not apply).
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/410553/