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 [α U ] 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 [α U ] tends to be more advanced

Now

Down

Town

• [ Î U ] – 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.