UK vs. USA: the never-ending English tug-of-war between the two native English speaking countries.
We all can agree that UK and USA are the two countries that have dominated the world of English speakers for a long time now.
Both of them have a huge population of native English speakers and have a lot in common when it comes to language.
BUT, IT'S NOT ALL SAME!
One of the biggest difference between the English and the Americans is the way they speak.
Even though the language is same, the two countries are on opposite poles when it comes to dialect and pronunciation.
Let's understand some basic differences between British and American pronunciation.
THE 'I' SOUND
• A Britisher's 'I' sounds like the word EYE.
• American 'I', when used in a word, is pronounced just like you would pronounce the solo alphabet 'E'.
Let's understand with some examples:
EITHER
UK eye-ther
USA ee-ther
HOSTILE
UK hos-taa-il
USA hos-til
MOBILE
UK moh-bye-ul
USA moh-bil
There are some exceptions to this rule where the situation kind of gets reversed, such as:
VITAMIN
UK vit-uh-min
USA vahy-tuh-min
THE 'A' SOUND
• British people like to exaggerate the sound of 'A'.
• American pronunciation of 'A' is quite short and abrupt.
It's more like a higher sound rather than an elongated one.
American 'A' sound is somewhat closer to the sound of letter 'e' in the word 'Example' while Brits pronounce 'A' just like it's pronounced in the word- 'Art'.
Understand with the help of examples:
VASE
UK vaahs/vaahz
USA veys
CAN'T
UK kaant
USA kaynt
CHANCE
UK chaans
USA chayns
TOMATO
UK tuh-maa-toh
USA tuh-mey-toh
Well, these were some basic differences regarding 'UK vs. USA pronunciation'
To know more about the differences between UK vs US English, read our blog 'British English vs. American English'
Don't forget to read our other pronunciation blogs:
Pronounce Foreign Language Phrases LIKE A PRO
Commonly Mispronounced Vegetable Names
Improve your English communication skills with the help of our English learning app Namaste English
