Lecture 11

Phonological Differences between General

American and Received Pronunciation
Phonological Differences between General American and Received Pronunciation

Returning to the main differences between British English and American English, they
can be summarized as follows.
• The presence of rhotic accent.
• Differences in vowel pronunciation. The most relevant ones are change of diphthong
[əʊ], change of [ɒ], change of [æ], and change of [ju:].
• Differences in consonant pronunciation. This mainly involves the different
pronunciations of letter t.
• Change of stress. This comprises the change of stress in French loanwords, and certain
suffixes such as -ate and -atory.
• Differences in articulation. American English has a clear tendency to pronounce
unstressed syllables where British English does not show such a disposition.
Rhotic Accent
• The presence of the rhotic accent is one of the most noticeable differences
between British and American English. Except for New York City and the area of
Boston, American English is rhotic. British English is largely non-rhotic, save for
Scotland and Ireland. Rhotic accent refers to the manner letter r is pronounced
after a vowel within a syllable as in words such as hard, borne, or here.
Sometimes, it is also called post-vocalic [r], or r-coloring, a term highlighting the
timbre features of the sound. In English, rhotic accent is produced as a retroflex
approximant. The following words have rhotic accent: York, quarter, four, born,
door, water, later, hers, heard, hurt, university, were, birth, thirty, ear, nearly,
air, where.
Rhotic Accent
• Let us describe now how the rhotic accent, the retroflex approximant, is produced.
First, the tongue approaches the gum and the tip is then curled back towards the
roof of the mouth. This movement makes the tongue to be pulled back in the
mouth. This accounts for the retroflexion part of the consonant. Furthermore, the
tip of the tongue does not touch the gum at all, and thus no friction is caused. The
vocal tract remains open throughout. This justifies the term approximant; in other
sounds, like the stop [d], the tongue actually touches the gum. The phonetic
symbol for the retroflex approximant is [ɻ]. Apart from sound [ɻ], responsible for
the rhotic accent of American English, letter r can be pronounced in other two
ways.
Rhotic Accent
 As the alveolar approximant [ɹ].

• Sound [ɹ] appears at prevocalic positions in a syllable or syllable-clusters, as

in red[ɹed], camera[ˈkæməɹə], train[tɹeɪn], confrontation[ˈkɑ:nfɹənˈteɪʃn],
or program[ˈpɹoʊgɹæm].
 As the alveolar flap [ɾ].

• In American English, very often in colloquial registers, sound [ɹ] at intervocalic position with
the stress on the first vowel is substituted by [ɾ], as in parish[ˈpæɾɪʃ], or lurid[ˈlʊɾɪd];
however, notice that camera is pronounced as [ˈkæməɹə] because the vowel before letter r is
not stressed. This alveolar flap also appears substituting an [ɹ] at intervocalic position between
two words linked together in a sentence. For example, the sentence One beer is enough is
pronounced as [wʌnˈbiəɾɪzɪˈnʌf]; notice the change from [ɹ] (or [ɻ]) to [ɾ] in beer.
• The alveolar flap [ɾ] only occurs in American English, while the alveolar approximant [ɹ] is
Rhotic Accent
• For the sake of simplicity, we will use the symbol [r] for the three allophones (variants) of letter
r, and the rules drawn up below will make the context unambiguous. In most dictionaries, the
three sounds are also indicated by [r]. For example, in the Oxford English Dictionary we
find hard [hɑ:d] and hard [hɑ:rd], the former being the British version and the latter its American
counterpart.
• Returning to rhotic accent, it can be found associated with the following sounds:
 Long vowels [ɑ:], [ɔ:], and [ɜ:], as in hard [hɑ:rd], borne [hɔ:rn], and hurt [hɜ:rt], respectively.
 After the short sound schwa [ə] in the comparative endings, as in later [ˈleɪtər], or taller
[ˈtɔ:lər].
 Diphthongs ending by sound schwa [ɪə] and [eə], as in here [hɪər], and there [∂eər], respectively.
 The combination [jʊ], as in cure [kjʊr], or pure [pjʊr].
 After the short sound [ʊ], as in poor [pʊr], moor [mʊr], or boor [bʊr].
Rhotic Accent
• Furthermore, rhotic accent is produced according to the following circumstances.
 There is rhotic accent when a word is pronounced in isolation or at the end of a
prosodic break. For example, It was very hard.
 The rhotic accent is lost when the letter r does not belong to the same syllable.
Compare water [ˈwɔ:təɻ] and watery [ˈwɔ:təɹi].
 If within a prosodic unit the last syllable of a words ends by [ɻ] and the next word
begins by a vowel, then the rhotic consonant is substituted by [ɹ] or [ɾ],
depending on the particular accent. For example, the sentence That water is
cold is pronounced as [∂ætˈwɔ:təɹɪzˈkoʊld]; notice the change from [ɻ] to [ɹ]
in water.
Rhotic Accent
• Towards the end of 18th century the upper classes of Southern England started to
remove the rhotic accent as a way of marking class distinction. Gradually, the new
accent took off and middle classes adopted it as well. Scotland and Ireland, where
the population was mainly composed of lower working classes, did not take on the
change of accent, and at the present time both remains rhotic. In America there are
two notable exceptions, namely, New York and New England areas. It has been
hypothesized that those areas kept the non-rhotic accent because of their strong
links with the British.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation

• Change of Diphthong [əʊ] to [oʊ]

• The shift from the British diphthong [əʊ] to [oʊ] is also very distinguishing. The
shift consisted in the change of the mid central unrounded vowel [ə] to the close-
mid back rounded vowel [o] in the first vowel of the diphthong. This shift is
considered to be systematic. In Table 1 several examples of this shift are shown.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• Change of Vowel [ɒ]
• The Main Changes
• Letter o is pronounced in many different ways in English. Here we have a few
illustrative examples of such diversity: Hot [hɒt] in RP, but [hɑ:t] in GA; love
[lʌv]; corn [kɔ:n] in RP, but [kɔ:rn] in GA; continue [kənˈtɪnju:]; moon [mu:n]; coast
[kəʊst] in RP, but [koʊst] in GA; house [haʊs]. The so-called “short o”, which often
appears in a stressed syllable with one letter o such as in dog or model, underwent a
change in American English. In British English that sound is pronounced as an open
back rounded short sound [ɒ], as in hot [hɒt], or possible [ˈpɒsəbl]. In American
English it is pronounced either as an open back unrounded long sound [ɑ:], as in hot
[hɑ:t], or as an open-mid back rounded long vowel [ɔ:], as in dog [dɔ:g]. Note that
British English prefers a short sound as opposed to American English, which prefers
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• According to Wells, in the areas of Eastern New England, such as the Boston
accent, and New York City this change did not take place. This is coherent with
the same theory explaining why speakers of those areas are non-rhotic.
• This change is framed in the context of the many vowel transformations that
occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries. The change of vowel [ɒ] to vowels
[ɑ:] and [ɔ:] took place because of two phonological phenomena, namely, the
father-bother merger and the lot-cloth split. A split is when a once identical sound
happens to have a different pronunciation in some instances; usually both sounds
coexist.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• A merger is the opposite, two sound that had formerly been contrastive become
pronounced alike so they are no longer considered different. A split can be viewed
as the appearance of a new sound and a merger as the disappearance of an existing
sound.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• 1.The father-bother merger. This merger is responsible for the transformation of
[ɒ] into [ɑ:]. Vowel [ɑ] underwent two main changes: first, it was lengthened to
[ɒ:], and later it lost its roundedness becoming finally [ɑ:]. Roundedness is
perhaps the most distinctive difference between [ɒ] and [ɑ:] in daily speech rather
than vowel length. This change took off in all varieties of American English,
except for the areas of Eastern New England. The merger was quite generalized
and by the end of 19th century was completely consolidated. Examples illustrating
this merger are bother [bɑ:∂ər], doss [dɑ:s], top [tɑ:p], lot [lɑ:t], model
[mɑ:dl], problem [prɑ:bləm], rock [rɑ:k], slot [slɑ:t].
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• 1.The lot-cloth split. This split came about at the end of 17th century. The sound
[ɒ] was first lengthened to [ɒ:] and later raised to [ɔ:]. In principle, the split took
place before voiceless fricatives [f], [ɵ], [s], but later it was extended to velars like
[k], [g], and [ɳ]. Thus, in GA we find loft [lɔ:ft], cloth [klɔ:ɵ], lost
[lɔ:st], chocolate [ʧɔ:klət], dog [d ɔ:g], and long [lɔ:ɳ] are pronounced as [ɔ:],
whereas in RP they are systematically pronounced as [ɒ].
• There is a certain degree of overlap between both phenomena. For example, it is
possible to find words with two pronunciations such as loft ([lɔ:ft] and
[lɑ:ft]), chocolate([ʧɔ:klət] and [ʧɑ:klət]), or long ([lɔ:ɳ] and [lɑ:ɳ]). However, the
father-bother merger acted upon a larger number of words than the lot-cloth split
did.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation

• Changes to [oʊ] and [ʌ]

• The most frequent changes are from [ɒ] to [ɑ:] and [ɔ:]. However, in a very few
cases vowel [ɒ] is changed to [oʊ] and [ʌ]. Here we have a list with the main
examples.
 Change to [oʊ]: homosexual [ˈhoʊməˈsekʃuəl]; in RP compost is [ˈkɒmpɒst], but
in GA it is [ˈkɑ:mpoʊst]. Other words are: impost, pogrom (in the second
syllable), produce (as noun), provost, riposte, scone, shalom.
 Change to [ʌ]: hovel, hover.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• Change of [æ]
• Around the American Revolutionary War vowel [æ] started to undergo a change in
Southern English, the future seed of RP. This near-open front unrounded vowel [æ] is first
lengthened to [æ:] and later lowered to the open back unrounded vowel [ɑ:]. However, the
change did not take off in GA, bringing about a new difference between both accents.
• The change of vowel occurs under certain conditions, but it is deemed to be inconsistent,
as we will see in the examples below. Vowel [æ] becomes vowel [ɑ:] in RP when:
 Vowel [æ] is before sounds [s], [f], and [ɵ], as in pass, calf, and path.
 Vowel [æ] is followed by another consonant, especially in the cases such as [ns], [nt],
[nʧ], and [mpl], as in dance, can’t, ranch, and sample.
 The changes are not applied before other consonants, as in cat, pal, cab, and drag.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• Here we give some examples to illustrate the above rules as well as a few exceptions.
 Words pronounced with [æs] in GA but with [ɑ:s] in RP: brass, class, glass, grass, pass, mast, past,
master, plaster, clasp, grasp, gasp, mask, task, ask, basket. Exceptions: crass, gas, lass, mass,
astronaut, pastel.
 Words pronounced with [æf] in GA with [ɑ:f] in RP: calf, graph, giraffe, half, laugh, staff, after, craft,
daft, draft, laughter, raft, shaft.
 Words pronounced with [æɵ] in GA with [ɑ:ɵ] in RP: bath, lath, path. Exceptions: hath, maths, athlete,
decathlon.
 Words pronounced with [ænt] in GA with [ɑ:nt] in RP: aunt, plant, can’t, advantage. Exceptions: ant,
banter, scant, mantle.
 Words pronounced with [æmp] in GA with [ɑ:mp] in RP: sample, example. Exceptions: trample, ample.

• It has been conjectured that the more common a word is, the more likely the change from [æ] to [ɑ:] is to
occur.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• Change from [ju:] to [u:]
• Around the beginning of twentieth century several changes took place in the English
vowels. One of them was the so-called yod-dropping, the omission of sound [j] before
[u:]. The change is named after the Hebrew letter yod, which represents the sound [j].
Both RP and GA embraced the change, although GA extended the cases in which yod-
dropping was applied.
• Yod-dropping before [u:] takes place in RP and GA in the following cases.
 After the post-alveolar affricates [ʧ] and [ʤ], as in chew [ʧu:], juice [ʤu:s], and Jew
[ʤu:].
 After [r], as in rude [ru:d], prude [pru:d], shrewd [ ʃru:d], and extrude [ɪkˈstru:d].
 After clusters formed by a consonant followed by [l], as in blue [blu:], flu [flu:],
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• Apart from this common corpus of words, in GA as well as in many other varieties
of English we observe yod-dropping in further cases.
 After [s] and [z], as in suit [su:t], Zeus [zu:s], assume [əˈsu:m], and hirsute
[ˈhɜ:rsu:t].
 After [l], as in lut [lu:t], and pollute [pəˈlu:t].
 Especially in GA, after [t], [d], and [n], as in tune [tu:n], stew [stu:], student
[ˈstu:dənt], dew [du:], duty [ˈdu:tɪ], produce [prəˈdu:s], and new [nu:].
• Notice that spellings eu, ue, ui, ew, and u followed by consonant plus vowel
frequently correspond to sounds [ju:], or just [u:] if yod-dropping has taken effect.
The lists above provide instances of this observation.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• Minor Changes
• Other changes took place, but they were in most cases inconsistent and without a
clear phonological reason to happen.
•
• Change of [ɪ] and [aɪ]
• In some cases the pronunciation of lax vowel [ɪ] in RP becomes other vowels,
mainly diphthong [aɪ] and [ə] in the suffix -ization.
 For the change to [aɪ], here we have a few examples: dynasty, privacy,
simultaneously, vitamin.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
 In the suffix -ization, pronounced as [aɪˈzeɪʃn] in RP, the diphthong [aɪ] is
transformed into the unstressed and neutral vowel sound [ə], resulting in the
pronunciation [əˈzeɪʃn] in GA. Examples of this change are: authorization,
centralization, civilization, colonization, dramatization, fertilization,
globalization, hybridization, legalization, localization, mobilization,
modernization, neutralization, normalization, optimization, organization,
privatization, specialization, synchronization, urbanization, visualization.
Differences in Vowel Pronunciation
• Changes of [i:] and [e]
• Sometimes, swaps between vowels [i:] and [e] are also found. Here we have a few
instances.
 Change of [i:] in RP to [e] in GA: aesthetic, devolution, epoch, evolution,
febrile, predecessor.
 Change of [e] in RP to [i:] in GA: cretin, depot, leisure, medieval, zebra.
Differences in Consonant Pronunciation

• Pronunciation of Letter t
• In American English letter t is pronounced in six different ways:
 As an aspirated sound [th], when it is the first sound of a word, as in tempting
[ˈthemptɪɳ], or in an inner and stressed position, as in potential [pəˈthenʃl].
 As an de-aspirated sound [t], when the syllable does not carry the stress, as in the second
t in tempting [ˈthemptɪɳ], or after [s] as in stop [stɑ:p], or at the ends of syllables as in pet
[pet], or patsy [ˈpætsi].
 As a flapped sound [ɾ], the most distinguishing allophone, which consists of pronouncing
an alveolar flap instead of the plosive dental [t h] or de-aspirated [t]. This change occurs
when t is at an intervocalic position, the first vowel being stressed, as in water [ˈwɔ:tər].
This phenomenon also applies when words are linked together in a full prosodic unit, as
in the sentence What is this? [ˈwʌɾɪzˈ∂ɪz] when uttered it in colloquial register.
Differences in Consonant Pronunciation
 As a glottal stop [ʔ]. A glottal stop is a voiceless sound produced by the
obstruction of the airflow in the vocal tract. The glottis is the organ that actually
prevents the air from passing through the vocal tract. The glottal stop substitutes
the de-aspirated [t] sound at the end of words, as in put [puʔ] or report [rɪˈpɔ:rʔ],
and also in the presence of a stressed syllable followed by patterns [t+vowel+n]
or [tn], as in button[ˈbʌʔn], or continent[ˈkɑ:nʔɪnənt].
 As a glottalized stop [tʔ]. In a glottalized [tʔ] the stop [t] and the glottal stop [ʔ]
are produced at the same time. For its production, this allophone follows the same
rules as the glottal stop does. Example where this sound can be found are mutton
[ˈmʌtʔn], or curtain [ˈkɜ:rtʔn].
Differences in Consonant Pronunciation
 The sound [t] could be completely omitted in some circumstances. In the
presence of the pattern formed by a stressed vowel followed by [nt], sound [t] is
not pronounced in some varieties of GA. Thus, we can hear winter [ˈwɪnə]
or center[ˈsenər].
Both GA and RP have aspirated and de-aspirated [t] sounds, which, in a formal or
simply careful enunciation, are the only two sounds corresponding to stop [t]. In
colloquial and other registers, the other allophones may appear. In the RP the flap
[t] is never used, but instead it is pronounced as a de-aspirated [t] or as a glottalized
[t]. Glottal stops are common in both varieties of English and follow similar rules in
general. The omission of the sound [t] in RP can also be found.
Change of Stress

• So far major differences in pronunciation between British and American English

have been described in terms of change of vowels and consonants. The change of
stress, although not being as marked, also contributes to differentiate both accents.
We will examine three areas where worth mentioning differences are found,
namely, the French loanwords, the ending -ate, and the suffixes -ary, -ory, -berry,
and -mony.
Change of Stress
• French Loanwords
• In 1066 William of Normandy invaded England. That would mark the beginning of
Norman rule of the England, which would last for about four hundred years, until the
end of the Hundred Years War. In a first stage, the Norman took over the power and
decided to change the language of government as well as impose new institutions
inspired in the French ones. However, they let low- and middle-classes speak English.
In this period, loanwords come from the domains of political, social and diplomatic
activity. In a second stage, which could be dated at between 1250 and 1400, French
started to be used by the population. The reason was that many Normans had to
permanently settle in England as Normandy was bought by the French king in 1204,
and many Normans migrated to England. The number of loanwords proliferated as
the Normans -which now did include low- and middle-classes- brought new
experiences and ways to name objects. In a third stage, from 1400 on, most of the
Change of Stress
• Loanwords from French were adapted by American English in a different way
than there were by British English. Change of stress is the most noticeable
difference. In GA French loanwords have a final-syllable stress, while RP stresses
an earlier syllable. It seems that the American English phonology has respected
the fixed accent of the French language, which in most cases falls on the last
syllable. A few examples of this change of stress are the following.
Change of Stress
 First-syllable stress in RP but second-syllable stress in GA: adult, baton, beret,
bidet, blasé, brochure, buffet, café, chalet, chauffeur, cliché, coupé, debris, debut,
décor, detail, flambé, frappé, garage, parquet, pâté, précis, sachet, salon,
vaccine. With more than two syllables we have matinée, négligée,
nonchalant. (The word matinée has a certainly difficult pronunciation [ˈmætn
ˈeɪ].)
 Second-syllable stress in RP but last-syllable stress in GA: attaché,
consommé, décolleté, fiancé(e).
 Common words where GA has a first-syllable stress and RP has last-syllable
are address, cigarette, magazine.
Change of Stress

• Ending -ate
• Words ending in -ate, mostly verbs, have a different stress pattern in both accents
depending on the length of the word.
 Most 2-syllable verbs ending in -ate have first-syllable stress in GA and second-
syllable stress in RP. This includes dictate, donate, locate, migrate, placate,
pulsate, rotate. There are exceptions where both pronunciations agree, as
in abate, checkmate, duplicate, evacuate, graduate, imitate.
 Most longer -ate verbs are pronounced the same in GA and RP. There are a few
exceptions where in RP it has a first-syllable stress and in GA a second-syllable
stress, as in elongate, remonstrate, tergiversate.
Change of Stress

• Suffixes -ary, -ory, -berry, and -mony

• There are a few differences in pronunciation of suffixes -ary, -ory, -berry, and -
mony between both accents.
 Suffix -ary: In general, in GA suffixes -ary is pronounced as [eri], whereas in RP
the pronunciation is [əri]. Examples of this difference are contrary, corollary,
honorary, imaginary, sedentary. In some cases in RP, the sound schwa is even
elided, as in military [ˈmɪlɪtri] or momentary[ˈməʊməntri].
Change of Stress
 Suffix -ory: We will describe two rules along with some exceptions. If the
preceding syllable is unstressed, then RP still keeps the pronunciation [əri], but
GA prefers [ɔ:ri], as in accusatory, amatory, derogatory, exclamatory, laudatory,
mandatory, migratory, nugatory, premonitory, recriminatory, repudiatory. When
the preceding syllable is stressed in most cases RP drops the sound schwa and GA
keeps the sound [ɔ:], as in conservatory, pronounced [kənˈsɜ:vtri] in British
English and [kənˈsɜ:rvtɔ:ri] in American English. Other examples are inventory,
laboratory, lavatory, inflammatory, obligatory, oratory, predatory, repository,
signatory, suppository, territory, transitory. Exceptions to this last rule
are advisory, contradictory, compulsory, cursory, illusory, peremptory, rectory,
satisfactory, where both accents pronounce [əri].
Change of Stress
 Suffix -berry: In general, GA tends to pronounce the full suffix as [beri] and RP
tends to either substitute [e] by schwa, yielding [əri], or even elide the first vowel,
yielding simply [bri], especially in informal or quick speech.
 Suffix -mony: Suffix -mony after a stressed syllable is pronounced [moʊni] in GA
and [məni] in RP.
• Some of these suffixes corresponding to adjectives, which in turn can be converted
into adverbs by adding the suffix -ly. This change also implies a shift in stress in GA,
which is not generally found in RP. In GA the stress in adverbs falls on the
antepenultimate syllable, as in arbitrarily [ˈɑ:rbəˈtrerəli], contrarily [kən
ˈtrerɪli], momentarily [ˈmoʊmənˈterəli], or ordinarily [ˈɔ:rdnˈerəli]. When the word is
long, a secondary stress normally appears on the first syllable of the word.
• Other suffixes, such as -ery, essentially keep the same pronunciation in both accents.