American English and its phonetic peculiarities. General American

Contents

Introduction 3
Part 1. General American 5
Part 2. The vowels and diphthongs 7
Part 3. The consonants 10
Part 4. Stress peculiarities 12
Conclusion 15
References 16

Introduction

The variety of English spoken in the USA has received the name of American English. The American variant of the English language differs from British English in pronunciation, some minor features of grammar, but chiefly in vocabulary.
The first wave of English-speaking immigrants was settled in North America in the 17-th century. In this century, there were also speakers in North America of the Dutch, French, German, Native American, Spanish, Swedish and Finnish languages. Speaking about the historic causes of these deviations it is necessary to mention that American English is based on the language imported to the new continent at the time of the first settlements, that is on the English of the 17th century.
Even to non-native speakers of the English language it is in most cases an easy task to differentiate between British and American native speakers by listening to their pronunciation. In this term paper the most characteristic phonological features of American English will be named and explained and an overview of the variety of dialects within the United States will be provided. This can be done best by using British Standard English – also known as Received Pronunciation (RP) – as reference accent and pointing out the differences to American English [1, p. 36].
On the whole, the history of the English Language originally starts with the history of English in Britain. It is Standard British English, which is referred to as Received Pronunciation (RP), and General American (GA) that are meant in this study when dealing with the differences between British English and American English. These standard varieties are sufficient for the purpose of this research, as they both characterize most linguistic features of the various national varieties of both British and American English. Furthermore, the discussion of the differences between British English and American English is limited here to pronunciation.
The aim of the paper is to provide an analysis of the phonetic peculiarities of American English.
The objectives are:
1) to define the notion of “General American”;
2) to examine the peculiarities in the system of vowels;
3) to explain the specific features of American English in the consonant system;
4) to identify stress peculiarities of American English.
Part 1. General AmericanHowever, it is hard to work with the term American English when doing a phonological analysis of American speech since it covers a broad spectrum of different dialects. For this reason the term General American (GA), which is widely used and preferred by most linguists today, will be introduced and worked with.
General American can be seen as the Standard English of North America, but in contrast to Received Pronunciation, it is not defined by social reputation or a specific geographical origin. Throughout the United States one can not really find a socially preferred accent that is commonly recognized as the standard pronunciation. There have been several different approaches to defining a Standard English for the USA and in this paper General American will be used in means of a range of accents that do not exhibit any of the North-Eastern or Southern features which are perceived as regional by the majority of American speakers. One has to keep in mind that GA is not a single and totally homogenous accent. But since its internal variation is mainly a matter of differences in the phonetic realizations of a system of phonemes that is by and large shared by all GA speakers, the generalization expressed in the notion ‘General American’ is useful in phonological terms. [2, p. 72]
Pronunciation is the greatest difference. Students who master the English, often face the characteristic difficulty during the first dialogue with the American. And this is not due to the language but to the pronunciation. Independently from the qualities of the American Speech, there is a group of the main distinguishing features between American and British pronunciation. [3, p. 277]
1)        Americans often say [r] in cases where it is not pronounced in British English: hare, car, and port;
2)        Americans instead of [a:] pronounce the sound “a:”, as [æ] in words: answer, past, ask, can't.
3)        In the words dew, news, duke American pronunciation is as follows: [du:], [nu: z], [du: k];
4)        Americans say [nΛt], [hΛt], [tΛp], [Λn], ['kΛmon], in the words not, hot, top, on, common;
5)        Words “butter”, “better”, “city” are pronounced as [bΛdə], ['bedər],
['sidi];
6)        Address, tomato and schedule are also pronounced differently: ['ædres], [tə'meitəu], [' skedju: l];
7)        Words ending in — ory and -ary in the American language are stressed on the last syllable in the following: laboratory, secretary;
8)        [h] is omitted, usually in the beginning of the word: him, his, her, humidity, humor, history.
Part 2. The vowels and diphthongsComparing the vowel charts of General American and Received Pronunciation, one will notice that there are a rather small number of differences in the phonemic inventory of both accents, so the difference in pronunciation must mainly be due to differences in the phonetic realizations of the phonemes.
Concerning the vowels and diphthongs, the only major difference of the GA phonemic inventory compared to the RP inventory is the lack of the short ‘o’ (/Ŋ/) and of the centering diphthongs (/Iə, εə, ʊə/).
The first of these two phenomena is often referred to as the cot-caught merger since in GA the vowels in those two words are turned into a single sound which is very close to the long ‘ah’ vowel (/α:/) so cot and caught become homophones in American pronunciation. Many GA speakers perceive the vowels /Ŋ/, /ɔ:/ and /α:/ as allophones.
Additionally, GA phonology does not have the RP broad A (/α:/) in words such as class or dance, but still uses the older form /æ/. “Formerly, all dialects of the English language had the sound of /æ/ as in cat ( /kæt/ ) in all of these words. At some time, probably during the late eighteenth century, a sound change occurred in southern England that changed the sound of /æ/ to /α:/ in words in which the former sound appeared before” /f, θ, ð, s, z, v/, “either alone or in the company of /m/ or /n/.” [4, p. 410]
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.
Using this example it might be surprising to learn that American English is phonologically more conservative than today’s RP. In fact, GA is in various characteristics close to seventeenth century English (The spoken English in some rural areas of the United States is sometimes even said to be Elizabethan English) since the American population did not participate in a lot of sound changes that appeared in England after the settlement of North America.
As a general characteristic of GA affecting the realization of all vowels, one can notice that vowel length is relatively less important than it is in RP. Even though vowel length does differ in GA pronunciation as well, these differences depend primarily on the environment in which the respective vowels occur. [4, p. 411]
Regarding diphthongs, the lack of the three centering diphthongs (diphthongs ending in a ‘schwa’ sound) has already been mentioned. This characteristic can be explained through the fact that in GA the /r/ sound is pronounced in any position of the word while in RP it gets vocalized to /ə/ and merged into a diphthong when preceded by a vowel. This vowel then serves as starting point of articulation so the word near will be pronounced /n I ə/ in RP but /n I r/ in GA.
In most American regions the “retroflexsive vowel” is often heard unlike the British use a central long tense vowel (ɜ:). For example, /bird/ (bɜ:d), /worm/ (wə:m), /first/ (fɜ:st), sister ('sıstə) etc. Though figuratively, /r/ can also be pronounced in American English such as bird/ (bɜ:rd), /worm/ (wə:rm), /first/ (fɜ:rst), /sister/ ('sistə(r)) etc. Beside this, it is possible to pronounce (ɜ(r)) in American English instead of /ʌ/ or /a:/.
The RP diphthong /əʊ/ is pronounced with a more back and rounded starting point in GA so it becomes a /oʊ/ sound, for example heard in the words go and don’t.
The diphthong /eı/ has differences in American English and British English if it is analyzed according to the diphthongal degree. It is wholly monophthongized in American variant, mostly in unstressed syllables, for instance, /vacation/ (ve'keıʃn), /chaotic/ (ke'otik) etc. (But in British English (vou'keıʃn); (keı'ɔtik) ) We can observe it before voiceless consonants too. For example, gate/ (get), /date/ (det). (But in British English (geıt); (deıt)) In other positions /eı/ which can not form syllable is clearly heard. For example, before voiced consonants such as game/ (geım), /grade/ (greıd) etc. and at the end of the words such as /holiday/ ('hɔlədeı), /birthday/ (bə:θdeı) etc.
Part 3. The consonantsIn contrast to the vowels and diphthongs, the consonants used in GA do not differ considerably from those used in RP. In fact, the overall number of consonantal phonemes is the same in both standards; however one can notice a difference in distribution and realization.
Probably the most significant phenomenon of GA is the distribution of the /r/ sound. GA is a non-rhotic accent which means that – as mentioned above – the /r/ is pronounced anywhere there is an ‘r’ letter in the spelling. RP, on the other hand, is a non-rhotic accent so /r/ is only pronounced before vowels (prevocalic r) as in great. This derhotacization started to take place in England from the beginning of the 17th century onwards, but was not followed through by the settlers of the North American continent with the notable exception of the New England area and parts of New York State . One can notice an early stage of derhotacization in GA when focusing on the pronunciation of the letter ‘r’ preceded by the mid-central vowels /ε/ and / ə /. For example in the cases of nurse and mother, the /r/ is not fully pronounced, but the vowels become ‘r-colored’. [5, p. 13]
The phoneme /r/ is widely spread in the American English. The phoneme /r/ after the vowel phonemes is pronounced (in English “rhotic pronunciation”, “rhoticity”) in the American English. The British English does not have such a kind of pronunciation. The phoneme /r/ has the character of “retroflexsive (r)” in American variant. The northern American regions keep the pronunciation of postvocal retroflexsive /r/. For example, /farm/ (fa:rm), court (kɔ:rt), /far/ (fa:r), /core/ (kɔ:r). This allophone is realized connected with the previous word.
Another prominent and widespread feature of GA is referred to as t-voicing. The American /t/, when positioned between two vowels (the intervocalic-t), becomes very voiced, often not distinguishable from the voiced consonant /d/. However this only happens if the first of the two vowels is stressed, so a GA speaker would voice the /t/ sound in the words city and better, but not in attend, return or attack. In phonemic transcription, the intervocalic-t is represented by /t/.
The last noticeable characteristic of the GA phonology which will be mentioned here is sometimes called yod-dropping. GA speakers do not pronounce the /j/ sound in stressed syllables succeeding dental or alveolar consonants as in tune, news or suitcase (RP /ju/, GA /u:/). This does not apply when /ju/ is preceded by labials or the sounds /k/ or /h/, so the /j/ will be pronounced in the words beauty, cue and hue. [6, p. 18]
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 lute [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:].
Part 4. Stress peculiarities
So far major phonetic peculiarities of 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 American English from British English. 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.
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.
- 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 [ˈmætnˈeɪ].)
- 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. [7, p. 62]
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.
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]. [5, p. 55]
- 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].
- 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 [kənˈtrerɪli], 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. [8, p. 33]
As stated at the outset, there some minor differences in articulation between British and American English. These differences do not compromise mutual understanding. American English is inclined to pronounce unstressed syllables. Bernard Shaw stated: “he could once recognize an American because he accented the third syllable of necessary.” There is a certain jocular intention in his comment, but it also acknowledges a fact about American English, the due emphasis given to each syllable. Thus, we hear necessary [ˈnesəsəri] in RP, but a more clearly articulated version in GA, necessary [ˈnesəseri], with two  stronger vowels in the same word.
Conclusion

There are a number of noticeable differences between British and American English in the field of phonetics. The concise phonetic properties of the American variant of the English language show that there are some peculiar phonological characteristics. The study shows that consonants are more resistant to change than vowels. Vowels have changed a lot.
The Standard Voice System is being formed in America because of their ways of pronunciation of the American English. The main phonetic differences between English and American variants depend on the pronunciation characteristics of separate phonemes.
The typical peculiar features of General English Pronunciation are the following:
- full rhoticity (or R-fullness) is typical of American accents, pronouncing the phoneme /r/ (corresponding to the letter ⟨r⟩) in all environments, including after vowels, such as in pearl, car, and court.
- most American varieties: pronunciation of /æ/ in words like can’t, dance etc.
- change of stress: in General American some words have a final-syllable stress, while British English stresses an earlier syllable.
References

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