Differences concerning stress

The starting point of the American standard was the English language of the 17^th century. Now we speak of the national variant of English in the USA – American English. English and American people hate each other. “You know the Americans and the English are 2 different people separated by common language.

There are certain varieties of educated American speech. In the USA 3 main types of cultivated speech are recognized:

• The Eastern type
• The Southern type
• The Western type (General American)

General American pronunciation is known to be the pronunciation standard of the USA.

Reasons:

1) GA is the form of speech by radio and TV.

2) Mostly used in scientific, cultural and business intercourse

3) The prevailing form of speech and pronunciation

 

The peculiarities:

The differences mainly concern the pronunciation of individual consonants:

• The articulation of [r] is one of the most typical characteristic features

Right

River

Write

Crime

Sister

Rose

[r] is articulated differently from RP. The impression is one of greater retroflection. The tip of the tongue is curled back further than in RP.

• The differentiation of the light [l] doesn’t exist in GA. In all positions dark “l” is used

Look

• Intervocalic [t] consonant is most normally may be voiced. The result is neutralization of the distinction between voiceless [t] and voiced [d]

RP GA

Latter [lQtə] [lQdə]

Ladder [lQdə] [lQdə]

The vowel before a voiced consonant is a bit shorter.

 

• In some words [t] may be omit (dropped out)

Twenty – [tweni]

Little – [lil]

Winter – [winə] and winner – [winə] sound identically.

• Some American speakers make a clear distinction between “wh” and “w”

In RP:

Where – ware

Which – witch

In GA:

Where – [hw]

Which – [hw]

• The consonant [j] is usually weakened or even omitted altogether between a consonant and vowel [u:]

RP GA

Suit [sju:t] [su:t]

Knew [nju:] [nu:]

News [nju:s] [nu:z]

Student [stju:dent] [stu:dent]

• The sound [S] is vocalized into [Z] in final unstressed syllable ending with “-ion”, “-ia”

Excursion

Version

Asia

exception: depression and information

• Like in RP [h] has an independent phonetic value. The American English pronouns and auxiliary verbs normally lose this sound.

He would have hurt him if he had had his gun with him.

[ev] [im] [is] [im]

· Nasality – “American Twang” – is a common characteristic of American English although it’s treated by some phoneticians as a defect of American speech. It is limited to vowels adjacent to [m], [n] and [N]. The preceding vowel becomes nasal, but the vowel [Q] and the diphthong [αU] are nasalized in any position

Man

Now

About

Long

Song

Matter

 

The differences concerning vowels:

· [Q] is frontier and longer than that in RP

A black cat sat on a mat, and rapidly ate a fat rat.

In GA [Q] is used in most words in which the letter “a” is followed by a consonant except “r” (in RP [α:] is used)

GA RP

[Qsk] [α:sk]

[dQns] [dα:ns]

[tSQns] [tSα:ns]

[lQst] [lα:st]

[Qnsər] [α:nsə]

[Qt] [α:t]

[Qnt] [α:nt]

[hQf] [hα:f]

GA [Q] is tense, long and nasalized before the sounds [m], [n] and [d]

Bad – [bQ:d}

Land

Man

In GA before a consonant [r] + a vowel [e] is used instead of [Q]

Carry

Marry

Parrot

Thus the words “marry” and “merry” are homophones.

· [Q] is pronounced without lip rounding just like [α]

RP GA

Box [bQks] [bαks]

Stop [stQp] [stαp]

In the words “long” and “strong” [Q] is labialized.

• [ei] is closer in GA as opposed to RP. Sometimes pronounced as a monophtong [e]. This variant is used before voiceless consonants

Gate – [get]

Date – [det]

Make – [mek]

• The nuclear of a diphthong [αU] tends to be more advanced

Now

Down

Town

• [ÎU] – the glide in GA is weakened, sometimes it can be even reduced to a [o] in unstressed syllable

Boat – [bot]

Coat – [cot]

• The realization of diphthongs [αi] and … in RP and GA is practically identical.
• Many differences involve the pronunciation of different words.

RP GA

Either [αiD«] [i:D«r]

Leisure [leZ«] [li:Z«r]

Schedule [Sedj«l] [skedj«l]

Vase [vα:z] [veiz]

Tomato [t«mα:tÎU] [t«meitÎU]

 

Stress differences:

The most typical distribution concerning primary stress:

• In words of French origin GA tends to have stress on the final syllable

RP GA

Ballet [ÈbQlei] [bQÈlei]

Beret [Èberei] [b«Èrei]

 

• Some words have first-syllable stress in GA whereas in RP the stress may be on any syllable

RP GA

Address [«dÈres] [QdÈres]

Cigarette [Çsig«Èret] [Èsig«r«t]

Magazine [ÇmQg«Èzi:n] [ÈmQg«zi:n]

Research [risÈÎ:tS] [Èri:sÎ:tS]

Adult [«ÈdÃlt] [ÈQdÃlt]

Absolutely [ÇQbs«Èlutli] [ÈQbs«lutli]

Intonation differences:

GA intonation has a general resemblance to that of RP. But anyway there are a few differences:

• Level head (ровная шкала) – mid-level – is very common with Americans. Thus the statement with a gradual descending sequence.

RP: I Èdon’t Èwant to Ègo to the °theatre.