In the USA and the UK there are of course many internal accents and even dialects. However, there are some standard differences between American pronunciation and British pronunciation. It can be good to know the difference and when each is used. Which variety do you prefer?
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US long vowels/dipthongs v UK short vowels
One of the key differences between US and UK pronunciation is that vowels in America are often lengthened, sometimes with an added “i” making them a diphthong. By comparison the vowels are usually shorter in UK pronunciation. This is summed up in the classic song comparing US and UK English “You say toMAYto and I say toMAto.”
Here are some typical examples of US long vowels/dipthongs v UK short vowels. Word stress is shown with capital letters.US long vowels/dipthongs v UK short vowels
Written Form
UK Pronunciation
US Pronunciation
Tomato
toMAto
toMAYto
Vase
VAS
VAYS
Amen
Amen
AYmen
Vitamin
VItamin
VAItamin
Patronise
PAtronise
PAYtronise
Zebra
ZEbra
ZEEbra
Semi
SEmi
seMAI
Leisure
LEzhure
LEEzhure
Produce
PROduce
PROHduce
Progress
PROgress
PROHgress
Project
PROject
PROHject
Yogurt
YOgurt
YOHgurt
Either
Eether Aither Neither
NEEther
NAIther
Of course being English there are some exceptions where the situation is reversed. Very occasionally UK English has a long vowel where US English has a short vowel. Here are some exceptions:
Written Form
UK Pronunciation
US Pronunciation
Missile
miSAIL
MISSil
Mobile
moBAIL
MObil
Agile
aGAIL
AGil
Fragile
fraGAIL
FRAGil
Evolution
EEvolution
Evolution
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US pronunciation is more phonetic than the UK version
The second area where the variants tend to differ is that an American pronunciation might be closer to the phonetic form and in that sense easier to read and more logical.
Some examples would be:
US pronunciation more phonetic than UK version
Written Form
UK Pronunciation
US Pronunciation
Clique
CLEEK
CLIK
Niche
NEESH
NITCH
Lieutenant
LefTENant
LooTENant
Buoy
BOY
BUI
Schedule
SHEDule
SKEDule
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Stress differences between US and UK English
A third area with very notable differences is stress. An American and a Brit would stress the word in very different places. Generally speaking, Americans tend to stress towards the beginning of the word and Brits toward the end – but of course with exceptions.
Some of the most common differences would be:
Stress differences
Written Form
UK Pronunciation
US Pronunciation
Controversy
ConTROVersy
CONtroversy
Address
adDRESS
ADdress
Mayonaise
mayoNAISE
MAYonaise
Adult
aDULT
Adult
Defence/defense
deFENCE
DEEfense
Fiance
fiANsay
fianSAY
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adVERTisement
ADvertaisment
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Just plain different!
The last category could be called just plain different. There are some words that are just very different on either side of the Atlantic. These are the words that tend to cause the most confusion. Classic examples would be:
Just plain different pronunciation
Written Form
UK Pronunciation
US Pronunciation
Route
ROOT
RAUT
Herb
HERB
ERB
Wrath
ROTH
RATH
“Z”
ZED
ZEE
As you can see there are many notable differences but also clear patterns to the differences between American and UK pronunciation. It is also possible that someone may use both variants even in the same sentence. This is particularly common in the UK where American variants are starting to have a real influence. Many Brits use both “Shedule”and “Skedule” and “Eether” and “Aither”. Pronunciation is up to you – what variant would you like?
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