British vs American pronunciation
Standard British and American English differ in seven systematic ways, and the first three do most of the work: Americans pronounce R after vowels and the British do not; Americans turn T into a quick D between vowels; and words like “bath” have the vowel of “cat” in America and of “father” in Britain.
Say these the American way
The checker is set to American English. British versions of most of these are understood too.
- car/kɑr/
- water/ˈwɔtɚ/
- bath/bæθ/
- hot/hɑt/
- new/nu/
- schedule/ˈskɛdʒʊl/
- tomato/təˈmeɪˌtoʊ/
- garage/ɡəˈrɑʒ/
- advertisement/ˌædvɚˈtaɪzmənt/
- laboratory/ˈlæbrəˌtɔri/
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The seven differences
| Feature | American | British (standard southern) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| R after a vowel | pronounced | silent | car, hard, teacher |
| T between vowels | flap, like a quick D | clear T or glottal stop | water, better, city |
| The “bath” vowel | /æ/ as in “cat” | /ɑː/ as in “father” | bath, laugh, dance, can’t |
| The “lot” vowel | /ɑ/, unrounded | /ɒ/, rounded | hot, stop, not |
| The “go” vowel | /oʊ/ | /əʊ/ | go, home, know |
| Y after T, D, N | dropped: “noo” | kept: “nyoo” | new, tune, student, duty |
| -ary, -ory, -ile | full vowel: “SEC-ruh-terry”, “MISS-ul” | reduced: “SEC-ruh-tree”, “MISS-ile” | secretary, laboratory, missile |
Words pronounced differently
| Word | American | British |
|---|---|---|
| schedule | SKED-jool | SHED-yool |
| tomato | tuh-MAY-toe | tuh-MAH-toe |
| vitamin | VYE-tuh-min | VIT-uh-min |
| privacy | PRY-vuh-see | PRIV-uh-see |
| garage | guh-RAHZH | GARR-ij |
| advertisement | AD-ver-tize-ment | ad-VER-tis-ment |
| leisure | LEE-zher | LEZH-uh |
| route | root or rowt | root |
| herb | erb | herb |
| Z | zee | zed |
| either | EE-ther | EYE-ther (both used) |
| aluminum / aluminium | uh-LOO-mi-num | al-yoo-MIN-ee-um |
| mobile | MOH-bul | MOH-bile |
| data | DAY-tuh or DAT-uh | DAY-tuh |
| lieutenant | loo-TEN-ant | lef-TEN-ant |
Which one should you learn?
Either. Both are understood everywhere, and natives themselves vary widely. Choose the one you hear most: American if you work in tech or watch US media, British if you live in Europe or are preparing for IELTS or Cambridge exams. Mixing is normal for learners and causes no misunderstanding.
Questions people ask
Is one accent more correct?
No. Both are standard varieties with their own dictionaries.
Do exams accept both?
Yes. IELTS, TOEFL and Cambridge exams accept any standard accent, as long as it is consistent and clear.
Which is easier for learners?
American spelling-to-sound is slightly more regular because R is always pronounced. British has fewer vowel mergers. In practice, exposure decides.
Related
- What is my accent? (quiz)12 questions about how you say everyday words: American, British, Australian or Canadian?
- The flap TWhen Americans pronounce T as a quick D: water, city, a lot of.
- The R soundThe tongue touches nothing: how to make the English R, with a voice check.
- DiphthongsThe gliding vowels of “day”, “my”, “boy”, “now”, “go”, with a chart.