Learning English

British and American English Pronunciation

Someone clever and witty once said that Britain and America were two countries divided by a common language. Although no one can agree on who said it, it does highlight the way British English and American English speakers use the language in different ways. There are differences in grammar, vocabulary, spelling and of course, pronunciation. In Unit 17 Tim talked about the stress of the word advertisement. This led to a question about the American English pronunciation which has a different stress pattern. In this video Tim talks about some of the common pronunciation differences between these two English speaking nations.

Watch the video and complete the activity

Summary

Native speakers from different countries and different parts of the same country pronounce English in different ways. There's no right, wrong or 'best' version of English. It can be useful though to be aware of certain differences in pronunciation.

Some common differences between US and UK English are:

This is a very short list of some of the common differences. There can be variations in which syllable is stressed, vowel sounds and consonant sounds. 

This table uses phonetic symbols. You can learn more about these in the pronunciation section.

To do

How much do you know about the US and the UK? Try this general knowledge quiz to find out.

End of session

Well done. That's the end of this session.

Many thanks to the staff and students at The London School of English for their help with this feature.

Thanks also to Tessa Delaunay-Martin for being Tim's invisible American English speaking friend.

Next

Time to make a reservation at the White Elephant Restaurant. What's on the menu this week?