differences in the pronunciation of individual words in the lexicon (i.e. phoneme distribution). In this article, transcriptions use Received Pronunciation (RP) to represent BrE and General American (GAm) to represent AmE.
In the following discussion:
superscript A2 after a word indicates that the BrE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in AmE.
superscript B2 after a word indicates that the AmE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in BrE.
superscript A1 after a word indicates that the pronunciation given as BrE is also the most common variant in AmE.
superscript B1 after a word indicates that the pronunciation given as AmE is also the most common variant in BrE.
Stress
Subscript a or b means that the relevant unstressed vowel is also reduced to/ə/ or /ɪ/ in AmE or BrE, respectively.
Most 2-syllable verbs ending in -ate have first-syllable stress in AmE and second-syllable stress in BrE. This includes castrate, collate, cremateA2,[69]curate, dictateA2, dilate, donateA2, fixate, frustrate, gestate, gradate, gyrate, hydrate, lactate, locateA2, mandateB2, migrate, mutate, narratebA2, notate, phonate, placatebB2, prostrate, pulsate, rotate, serrateA2, spectate, stagnate, striate,[70]translateA2, truncate, vacateb*A2,[71]vibrateA2. Examples where AmE and BrE match include conflate, create, equate, elate, inflate, negate, sedate; and probate with first-syllable stress. Derived nouns in -ator retain the distinction, but those in -ation do not. Also, migratoryB2[72] and vibratoryB2[73] sometimes retain the distinction.
Most longer -ate verbs are pronounced the same in AmE and BrE, but a few have first-syllable stress in BrE and second-syllable stress in AmE: demarcateaA2, elongateaA2, impregnateB1, incarnateA2, inculcate, inculpate, infiltrateA1, remonstrateabA2,[74]sequestrate, tergiversateaA1[nb 99].[75] For some derived adjectives ending -atory stress-shifting to -a(tory)- occurs in BrE. Among these cases are celebratorya[76] (BrE: /ˌsɛlɪˈbreɪtəri/), circulatorya, compensatorya,[77]participatorya,[78]regulatoryaB1.[79] AmE stresses the same syllable as the corresponding -ate verb (except compensatory, where AmE stresses the second syllable). A further -atory difference is laboratoryB2: AmE /ˈlæbərətɔːri/ and BrE /ləˈbɒrətəri/.[80]
Miscellaneous stress
There are a number of cases where same-spelled noun, verb and/or adjective have uniform stress in one dialect but distinct stress in the other (e.g. alternate, prospect): see initial-stress-derived noun.
The following table lists words not brought up in the discussion so far where the main difference between AmE and BrE is in stress. Usually, it also follows a reduction of the unstressed vowel. Words marked with subscript A or B are exceptions to this, and thus retains a full vowel in the (relatively) unstressed syllable of AmE or BrE. A subsequent asterisk, *, means that the full vowel is usually retained; a preceding * means that the full vowel is sometimes retained.
Words with other points of difference are listed in a later table.
BrE
AmE
words with relevant syllable stressed in each dialect[1]
Where the syllable preceding -ary, -ery, -ory, -mony or -ative is stressed however, AmE also usually reduces the vowel: /-əri/, /-məni/. Exceptions include library,[91]primaryA2,[92]rosemary.[93] (Pronouncing library as /ˈlaɪbɛri/ rather than /ˈlaɪbrɛri/ is stigmatized in the United States, for example as associated with African-American Vernacular English,[94] whereas in BrE, /ˈlaɪbri/ is common in rapid or casual speech.)
The suffix -berry is pronounced by similar rules, except that in BrE it may be full /-bɛri/ after an unstressed syllable, while in AmE it is usually full in all cases. Thus we have strawberry: BrE /ˈstrɔːbəri/, AmE /ˈstrɔːbɛri/, and whortleberry: BrE/AmE /ˈhwɔːrtəlbɛri/.
The placename component -bury (e.g. Canterbury) has a similar difference: AmE has a full vowel: /-bɛri/ where BrE has a reduced one: /-bəri/.
Stress differences between the dialects occur with some words ending in -atory (listed above) and a few others like capillary (included in #Miscellaneous stress above).
Formerly the BrE–AmE distinction for adjectives carried over to corresponding adverbs ending -arily, -erily or -orily. However, nowadays some BrE speakers adopt the AmE practice of shifting the stress to the penultimate syllable: militarily is thus sometimes /ˌmɪlɪˈtɛrɪli/ rather than /ˈmɪlɪtərəli/, and necessarily is in BrE either /ˈnɛsəsərɪli/ or /ˌnɛsəˈsɛrɪli/.[95]
-ile
Words ending in unstressed -ile derived from Latin adjectives ending -ilis are mostly pronounced with a full vowel in BrE /aɪl/ but a reduced vowel or syllabic L in AmE /əl/ (e.g. fertile rhymes with fur tile in BrE but with furtle in AmE).
AmE will (unlike BrE, except when indicated withB2) have a reduced last vowel:
generally in facile, (in)fertile, fissile, fragile, missile, stabile (adjective), sterile, tensile, versatile, virile, volatile
usually in agile, docile,[nb 117]decile, ductile,[96]futile, hostile, juvenile, (im)mobile (adjective and phone), puerile, tactile
Related endings -ility, -ilize, -iliary are pronounced the same in AmE as BrE.
di-
The pronunciation of the vowel of the prefix di- in words such as dichotomy, digest (verb), dilate, dilemma, dilute, diluvial, dimension, direct, dissect, disyllable, divagate, diverge, diverse, divert, divest, and divulge as well as their derivational forms vary between /aɪ/ and /ɪ/ or /ə/ in both British and American English.[101]: 237
-ine
The suffix -ine,[9] when unstressed, is pronounced sometimes /aɪn/ (e.g. feline), sometimes /iːn/ (e.g. morphine) and sometimes /ɪn/ (e.g. medicine). Some words have variable pronunciation within BrE, or within AmE, or between BrE and AmE. Generally, AmE is more likely to favor /iːn/ or /ɪn/, and BrE to favor /aɪn/.
The weak vowel merger causes affixes such as -ate (as in climate), be- (before a consonant), de- (as in decide), -ed (with a sounded vowel), -es (with a sounded vowel), -est, -less, -ness, pre- (as in prepare) and re- (before a consonant) to be pronounced with the schwa /ə/ (the a in about), rather than the unstressed /ɪ/ (found in the second syllable of locksmith). Conservative RP uses /ɪ/ in each case, so that before, waited, roses and faithless are pronounced /bɪˈfɔːr,ˈweɪtɪd,ˈroʊzɪz,ˈfeɪθlɪs/, rather than /bəˈfɔːr,ˈweɪtəd,ˈroʊzəz,ˈfeɪθləs/, which are more usual in General American. The pronunciations with /ə/ are gaining ground in RP and in the case of certain suffixes (such as -ate and -less) have become the predominant variants. The noun carelessness is pronounced /ˈkɛərləsnəs/ in modern RP and /ˈkɛərlɪsnɪs/ in conservative RP; both pronunciations typically merge in GA (usually towards the latter). This variation is denoted with the symbol ⟨ᵻ⟩ in some of the dictionaries published by Oxford University Press and in the Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation of Current English. In the latter, the British pronunciation of climate is transcribed ⟨ˈklʌɪmᵻt⟩, though carelessness is transcribed ⟨ˈkɛːləsnəs⟩.
Affixes such as dis-, in-, -ing and mis- contain /ɪ/ in conservative RP as well as General American and modern RP, so that words such as disloyal or teaching are phonemically /dɪsˈlɔɪəl/ and /ˈtiːtʃɪŋ/ in all three varieties.
Weak forms
The titleSaint before a person's name has a weak form in BrE but not AmE:
before vowels, /sənt/.[103]
Miscellaneous pronunciation differences
Entry for "Herb" from Walker's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, (London: Tegg, 1833), showing pronunciation without /h/
Words with multiple points of difference of pronunciation are in the table after this one. Accent-based differences are ignored. For example, in their respective conventional accent-specific transcription systems, Moscow would be transcribed as RP /ˈmɒskəʊ/ and GAm /ˈmɑskaʊ/, but it is RP /ˈmɒskoʊ/ and GAm /ˈmɒskaʊ/ in the transcription system used in this article. Only the /oʊ/–/aʊ/ difference is highlighted here, since both the presence of a contrastive /ɒ/ vowel in RP (which falls together with /ɑː/ in GA) and the RP use of [əʊ] rather than [oʊ] are predictable from the accent. Also, tiara is listed with AmE /æ/; the marry–merry–Mary merger changes this vowel for many Americans.
Many sources omit the length marks in transcriptions of AmE, so that words such as father or keep are transcribed /ˈfɑðər/ and /ˈkip/ rather than /ˈfɑːðər/ and /ˈkiːp/. Even though it is not phonemic, vowel length in GA works in a very similar manner to RP, so this is mainly a difference in transcription.
Excluding words changed by the trap–bath split,[104] (which affects most southern British speakers and almost no American speakers): banana, cabana, choraleA2, ColoradoA2, finale, Internationale, khakiA2, localeA2, mascara, morale, musicale, NevadaA2,[nb 122][105] pajama(s)A2, PakistaniAB2, pastorale, plaqueB2, rale, rationale, SaharaA2, sarsaparilla, scenarioA2, seraglio, sopranoA2, SudanB2, sultana, tiaraA2. Suffix words ending in -orama/-ramaA2: cyclorama, diorama and panorama.
adios, Aeroflot, ayatollah, Barbados, baroqueB2,[119]BoccheriniA2, Bogotá,[nb 131], Carlos, cognacA2, compost, Costa Rica, doldrumsA2, dolo(u)r, groschen, grossoA2, homo-B2, Interpol, KosovoA2, Lod, mocha, olfactoryA2, Pinocchio, pogrom, polkaB2, produce (noun)A2, professorialA2, prophy-(lactic/laxis), realpolitikA2, riposte, Rosh HashanahA2, sconeB2, shone, solsticeA2, Sonia,[120]TolstoyA2, trollB2, yogurtB2.[121] Also, in general, Greek-derived names of places, people, or ideas that end in "-os", for example, ErosA2, ethos,[nb 132]Helios, logos (singular)A2, mythos, pathos,[nb 133] etc.; although chaos follows the British norm in both countries.
anchovy, borough, thorough, varicose, volitionA2. Also place names that end in "-burgh", such as EdinburghA2 and surnames ending in -stone, e.g. Johnstone (see also -ory and -mony). Words prefixed with an unstressed "pro-"A2, with the exceptions of process, progress and project (verb), commonly use either pronunciation in American English; for example, probation, procedure, prohibit, proliferate, prolific, Prometheus, prophetic, propinquity, prorogation, protest (verb), protract, protrude, protuberance/-ant, and Provence.
In both British and American, the noun has stress on the first syllable. The verb has stress on the second syllable. Canadians follow the British pronunciation.
^BrE /niːˈʒɛər/, AmE /ˈnaɪdʒər/ Due to history with France, the country pronunciation in BrE is French [niʒɛʁ]. The country pronunciation in AmE is anglicized. Regardless of region, the river is pronounced /ˈnaɪdʒər/.
^stress more usually on third syllable in British English
^The 2007 update to the Oxford English Dictionary gives only /iːn/ for the British pronunciation of pristine.
^Although the British pronunciation is still heard in American English, it may be in declining usage, being increasingly seen as incorrect, particularly among Nevadans and other Western Americans.
^The old English pronunciation with /v/ has to a large extent been replaced by /f/ due to the spelling latinization of Middle English "neveu". The preference breakdown in BrE is /f/ 79%, /v/ 21%.)[146]
^Lindsey, Geoff (1990). "Quantity and quality in British and American vowel systems". In Ramsaran, Susan (ed.). Studies in the Pronunciation of English: A Commemorative Volume in Honour of A.C. Gimson. Routledge. pp. 106–118. ISBN978-0-41507180-2.; Boberg, Charles Soren (1997). Variation and change in the nativization of foreign (a) in English (PhD). University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
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