Difference Between British English and American English in Pronunciation

马生虎

【Abstract】English is an official language all over the world； it is indispensable for us to master it well.As we all know， British English and American English are belonging to English.Maybe many people think they are the same language， but in fact they are different.What are reasons for making both languages so different？ As an English learner， we must have a clear idea about these.Because they will help us learn English well.Two countries have different historical background because of the independent development.

【Key word】British English； American English； pronunciation

【摘要】英语作为当今世界的官方语言，掌握和运用它已经成为我们必不可少的技能。很多人对于英式英语和美式英语之间的联系很清楚，但就两者的区别和差异来说则模糊不清。作为英语学习者们，必须熟知这些不同以避免一些不必要的麻烦。

【关键词】英式英语 美式英语 发音

1.Introduction

English is the most popular language in the world and used as the second language by many countries， which is divided into many parts by different history， geography， culture， custom， religion and so on.There are two main parts of English： British English and American English.Many English learners think there are no differences between them， it is wrong.Of course， there are many differences.

2.Some differences in pronunciation

Because of the political， economical and geographic differences， British English and American English developed in their own direction since seventeenth century.Differences appear in vocabularies， grammar and pronunciation.Pronunciation which is the most prominent part of the three supplies us a key clue to make a judgment about ones nationality.

2.1 British representative pronunciation.Dialects vary widely in British； there are nine major dialects in Scotland， three major dialects in Ireland， thirty major dialects in England and Welsh.Standard pronunciation dating back to sixteen and seventeen century beyond regional differences is called Received Pronunciation in British.How does this unity come？

First， it is a traditional pronunciation for the upper class all the time.Alone with the collapse of serious class division， more and more people begin to speak Received Pronunciation that causes its some characteristics are blur.

Second， broadcast， television， movie and other mass media promote the spread of Received Pronunciations development in Great British.Majority of announcers of BBC adopt Received Pronunciation as standard pronunciation.It has the most powerful effect among any other dialects in British and other countries， because Received Pronunciation spreads across the British and all over the world by broadcasting.We can infer that this form of pronunciation will continue remaining a wide influence for a long period of time.

2.2 Tone difference.Second， segment is different.There are six ways to divide tone； they are ultrahigh， high， middle high， middle， middle low， low.American segment is plain and in middle tones； British segment is protean and begins with high tones.In general interrogative sentence， American English uses falling tone， but British English uses rising tone.American English uses high rising tone， but British English uses low rising tone.

2.3 Rhythm and speed difference

2.3.1 Rhythm.Rhythm refers to arrangement pattern of stressed syllable and unstressed syllable when speaking.Because the stressed syllable time of American English is longer than British English， so American English is slower than British English.

2.3.2 Speed.Generally speaking， British English can speak three hundred syllables in one minute， that is， five syllables in one second.However， American English can speak one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five syllables.

Different treatment to accented vowels one of the reasons causes speed differences.American English always puts off the pronunciation which concludes accented vowels and uses secondary accent which is the reason why they speak slower.

3.Conclusion

To sum up， it is not accurate to say American English and British English which is much better， because as far as I am concerned， both are nice.Everyone has his opinion based on own preference.No matter which language we choose， we must know another too.

Reference：

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