British and American English Pronunciation

British and American English Pronunciation

The differences between American and British English Pronunciation

If we really notice that Americans and British people have some noticeable pronunciation differences. And the most obvious ones are when they pronounce the letters 'r' and 't' in some specific positions in a word. Despite this, they also have some common similarities in the way they pronounce the two letters. 

And if you need to understand the differences and similarities between American and British English Pronunciations for your further English improvement, continue reading till the end.

The subject of this English lesson will be focusing on the most common differences and similarities in American and British English pronunciation.

Let's begin with the different pronunciations between the two.

Pronunciation Differences

Here are some very common words that are pronounced differently in American and British English. Let's start with the letter 'r'.

Pronunciation :  ' r '

The ' r ' at the end of a word 

In most cases, when there is a letter 'r' at the end of a word, American English speakers pronounce it as it is in American pronunciation, while British people tend to drop it, or the 'r' is not pronounced. 

Some common examples as in these following words:

            vowel + r  ( at the end )

▪︎  Car       ▪︎ Clever      ▪︎ Viewer      ▪︎ Door    

▪︎ Buyer   ▪︎ Shower    ▪︎ Summer    ▪︎ Color

▪︎ Far        ▪︎ Seller       ▪︎ Hour           ▪︎ floor  

▪︎ Dollar   ▪︎ Lower      ▪︎ Follower   ▪︎ Flower

▪︎ Year      ▪︎ Over         ▪︎ Winner     ▪︎ Manner

Here are examples of some of the words in a sentence that you can practice saying using either American and British English pronunciations:

~ I'm waiting for you in the car. 

~ Is the station far away?

~ Diana is very clever at English, but she's not very clever at maths.

~ This car is still a big seller so far this year. 

~ She has over 200,000 followers on Instagram. 

~ He is a regular viewer of this blog.

~ This car is still a big seller so far this year.

~ The winner of this match will play Real Madrid in the semifinals.

~ There are one hundred cents in a dollar. 

The  ' r '  between a vowel and a consonant in a word 

American and British English also pronounce most words with a letter 'r' differently, especially when the 'r' comes between a vowel and a consonant . The British omit it, whereas the Americans pronounce it. In British English, the 'r' is often noticeably vague, while in American English, it's a bit clearer.

The following are just some common words with the letter 'r" in the middle position which comes between a vowel and a consonant:         

        Vowel + r + consonant                     

▪︎  Morning          ▪︎  Learn        ▪︎ Work      ▪︎ Turn  

▪︎  Birth                 ▪︎ Farm         ▪︎ Warm      ▪︎ Firm    

▪︎  Park                  ▪︎ Large         ▪︎ Bird         ▪︎ Word 

▪︎  Earn                  ▪︎ hard           ▪︎ Card       ▪︎ Start

Examples of some of the words in a sentence you can practice pronouncing are as follows:

~ I only work in the mornings.

~ We can also learn English by watching English movies.

~ I'm willing to work hard to accomplish this. 

~ Please fill in your date and place of birth.

~ How much do you earn, if you don't mind me asking?

~ Now, turn to page 9.

~ The car won't start.

~ I found the English test quite hard.

The single  ' t '  and double  ' tt ' between two vowels plus ' r '

When the single letter "t' or double 'tt' in a row come between two vowels plus 'r', in American English, they  pronounce it more like a 'd', and the letter 'r' is also pronounced as an 'r' in American version. Whereas, in British English, the t and tt are always pronounced as a 't', but they drop the letter 'r' at the end. 

Some common examples include: 

 Vowel + t / tt + vowel + r

    t                          tt

▪︎ Water              ▪︎ Better

▪︎ Waiter             ▪︎ Matter 

▪︎ Computer       ▪︎ Butter

▪︎ Later                ▪︎ Litter

▪︎ Saturday         ▪︎ Bitter

▪︎ Party                ▪︎ letter

▪︎ Commuter       

▪︎ Hater 

Here are examples of some of the words in a sentence:

~ The human body is about 50 percent water.

~ I hope you get better soon. 

~ You'll need a user name and password in order to log onto the computer.

~ You look upset -- is anything the matter?

~ What are you doing later on this evening?

~ Please do not leave litter after your picnic.

~ The six o'clock train is always packed with commuters.

The ' t ' at the end of a word

Moreover, BrE speakers pronounce the letter 't' as it is in British English version when it is at the end of a word, while AmE speakers tend to drop it instead, or it's only slightly pronounced. A few examples include: 

    -- t  ending 

▪︎ What   ▪︎ Wait    ▪︎ Wet          

▪︎ Cut      ▪︎ Cat       ▪︎ But         

▪︎ Pet       ▪︎ eight   ▪︎ hat

▪︎ Fat       ▪︎ foot     ▪︎ Net

Example sentences of some of the words as in: 

~ "I just fought Peter."    "You did what?"

~ I'll be successful one day, just you wait!

~ The washing is still wet.

~ We have a pet cat.

~ He spends most of his time playing computer games and surfing the net. 

~ By the end of the day we were tired, but happy.

~ He eats a lot but he never gets fat.

~ Are you going by bicycle or on foot.

    The  ' n ' +  ' t '  side by side + vowel + ' r '

American English speakers don't pronounce or drop the letter 't', when it is preceded by an 'n' in a word but they pronounce the 'r'. Otherwise, British people pronounce the 't' as it is in British English version, but they drop the 'r'. For example:

     n + t + vowel + r

▪︎ Internet              ▪︎ Interview     ▪︎ Intermediate

▪︎ International    ▪︎ Center           ▪︎ Interpersonal

Examples of some of the words in a sentence include: 

~ I learned about it on the internet.

~ He has a job interview tomorrow. 

~ She is an English student at the intermediate level.

~ English is used as an international language.

~ He got the job because he has good interpersonal skills. 

~ They work in the city center.

The similarities between British and American English PRONUNCIATION

Despite their differences in the way American and British English speakers pronounce the letter 'r' and 't', they also have similarities in the way they pronounce the letters, especially when they are in a certain or different position in a word.

Pronunciation Similarities

  The 'r'  and  'rr' between two vowels

However, if the single 'r' and double 'rr' are between two vowels, they are always pronounced in American and British English. In this case, both AmE and BrE speakers pronounce the letters 'r' and 'rr' almost in the same way, or there's no an obvious differences pronouncing them.

vowel    +    r / rr   +   vowel sound

▪︎  Parent    ▪︎  Marry    ▪︎  Difference    ▪︎  Berry

▪︎  Plural     ▪︎ Sorry       ▪︎  Glory             ▪︎ Worry

▪︎  Caring    ▪︎ Carry       ▪︎  Sharing         ▪︎ Sorrow

▪︎  Very        ▪︎ Lorry       ▪︎  tomorrow     ▪︎ Borrow

▪︎  Narrow   ▪︎ Correct

Note that the letter 'y' is a vowel sound in the words, as it is pronounced 'i'. 

Examples of some of the words in a sentence you can practice pronouncing are as follows:

~ Children need a lot of encouragement from their parents.

~ He's going to marry his girlfriend from high school.

~ I'm sorry to hear you've been ill again.

~ What's the plural of 'child'?

~ My mom is a very caring person.

~ Glory be to God!

~ Hey, sharing is caring, folks!

~ I don't have time now. I'll do it tomorrow.

~ Your answer is correct.

~ I don't carry a lot of cash.

 The 'r' after a consonant in a word

Likewise, Both American and British English also pronounce the letter 'r', when it comes after a consonant as shown in the examples below:

      consonant  +  r

▪︎ Try        ▪︎ Tree       ▪︎ Trip      ▪︎ Fry       ▪︎ Friday  

▪︎ Cry        ▪︎ Great     ▪︎ Grade   ▪︎ Dry      ▪︎ Drive

▪︎ Grow    ▪︎ Brave     ▪︎ Brand   ▪︎ Bread  ▪︎ Product 

▪︎ Price     ▪︎ Prove   ▪︎ Abroad ▪︎ Impress  ▪︎ across

▪︎ Umbrella  ▪︎ Travel   ▪︎ Free

▪︎ Improve   ▪︎ Promote

Examples of some of the words in a sentence you can try to practice pronouncing are as follows:

~ Why don't you give it a try?

~ She's going on a trip to New York this weekend.

~ You can download the app for free.

~ They have two grown-up children, both of whom study abroad. 

~ He impressed me with his sincerity.

~ She wants to grow her hair long.

~ Shall I enquire about the price of tickets?

~ In my job, I've learned how to brand and promote a product. 

~ It was a brave decision to quit her job and start her own business.

~ You need to improve your English.

  The ' r '  in the front of a word

Moreover, when the letter 'r' is in the front of a word, there is no an obvious difference between American and British English pronunciation. They both pronounce it almost similarly as well. 

Here are just a few examples: 

        R --  in the front

▪︎ React     ▪︎  Really       ▪︎ Rain     ▪︎ Rest      

▪︎ Request  ▪︎ Respond  ▪︎ Risk     ▪︎ remind    

▪︎ Resilient  ▪︎ refresh   ▪︎ Redo    ▪︎  Refuse

Example sentences of some of the words:

~ How do you think she will react when she hears the news?

~ "She's getting married to Jackson."   "Really? When?"

~ It looks like rain.

~ He's resilient -- he'll be able to get over it. 

~ A good night's sleep can refresh you.

~ It's always a risk starting up a new business.

~ Do you have anything planned for the rest of the day?

~ I asked her what she was doing, but she didn't respond. 

~ If you get a bad score in your test, you'll have to redo it.

   The ' t ' / ' tt ' and ' r ' side by side

Similarly, when the 't' and 'r' are side by side in a word, British and American English speakers pronounce the letters 'tr' the same way.

The examples of the words as in: 

           t  /  tt   +  r

▪︎  Waitress      ▪︎  Actress

▪︎  Mattress      ▪︎  Attraction

▪︎  Mistreat      ▪︎  Control 

▪︎  Petrol          ▪︎  Trendy

▪︎  Travel         ▪︎  Triangle

The examples of some of the words in a sentence like in: 

~ She works as a waitress.

~ Her dream is to be an actress.

~ Disneyworld is one of Florida's major tourist attractions.

~ She bought the car just to be trendy.

~ You can sleep on the mattress.

~ Don't worry -- everything's under control.

~ Parents mustn't mistreat their children.

  The 't' at the beginning of a word

British English and American English always pronounce the 't' as a 't' almost similarly when it is at the beginning of a word as in the examples below:

      T --  in the front

▪︎ Today   ▪︎ Tonight       ▪︎ Time      ▪︎ Top

▪︎ Test       ▪︎ Tall              ▪︎ Take       ▪︎ Tea

▪︎ Team    ▪︎ Television   ▪︎ Ticket    ▪︎ Tip 

Some of the words in a sentence include: 

~ Time passes so quickly when you're having fun. 

~ She is top of the class in English.

~ I'm having an English test today.

~ Is there anything good on television tonight? 

~ You don't need to leave a tip for the waiter, because there's a service charge included in the bill. 

~ Have you bought your ticket yet?

~ I'm going to take my brother to the airport this afternoon.

  The 't' / 'tt' in the middle of a word

Similarly, the single 't' and double 'tt' are also always pronounced in British and American English, when they are in the middle of words like in these following examples: 

vowel + tt / ttr / +vowel ( without 'r' afterwards )

▪︎ Attain   ▪︎ Attend  ▪︎ Attempt

▪︎ Attach   ▪︎ Attract  ▪︎ Attribute

consonant + t + vowel   (without 'r' afterwards)

▪︎ Sustain  ▪︎ Obtain  ▪︎ Maintain

Examples of some of the words in a sentence as in: 

~ I need to work hard to attain my goals.

~ Which school does Mike attend?

~ You have to attach your photo to your application form.

~ A large house costs a lot to maintain. 

~  When she lost her job she could no longer sustain her expensive lifestyle.

~ You can obtain such information from the internet.

~ What are the skills and personal attributes needed for success?

  Miscellaneous pronunciation differences

Apart from the pronunciations of the words that have been presented above, BrE and AmE speakers have some other common words listed below with obvious pronunciation differences worth noticing as well: 

                       AmE                BrE

1.      Z           (  ziː  )              (zed ) 

2.  Garage    ( ɡəˈrɑːʒ )     ( ˈɡær.ɪdʒ )

3.  Route       ( raʊt )            (  ruːt  )

4.  New         ( nuː  )              ( njuː )

5.  Vase         ( veɪs )             ( vɑːz )

6.  Patent      ( ˈpæt.ənt )      ( ˈpeɪ.tənt )

7.  Hurricane  ( ˈhɝː.ɪ.keɪn )    ( ˈhʌr.ɪ.kən )

8.  Adult       ( əˈdʌlt )          ( ˈæd.ʌlt )

9.  Enquiry     ( ˈɪŋ.kwɚ.i )    ( ɪnˈkwaɪə.ri )

10. Leisure    ( ˈliː.ʒɚ )           ( ˈleʒ.ər )

11. Either      ( aɪ.ðə )            ( ˈiː.ðɚ )

12. Neither   ( ˈnaɪ.ðə )         ( ˈniː.ðɚ )

13. Advertisement ( ədˈvɜː.tɪs.mənt )   ( ˌæd.vɚˈtaɪz.mənt )

14. Director  ( dɪˈrek.tər )       ( daɪˈrek.tɚ )

If you are not sure how the words are exactly pronounced in American and British English, you can check the phonetic sounds in an electronic dictionary on your laptop or smartphone.

Finally, you've come to the last point. So, do you want to pronounce those words using American or British version? This depends on which of the versions you prefer! 

See also:

British and American English spelling

British and American English grammar

British and American English vocabulary differences