The main differences between English and American accents

Although we speak largely the same language, there are vast differences between the accents of the English and the Americans. In fact if you look at the frequency range of the accents, American English's frequency range is much more similar to French than it is British English.

This article is intended to give you the major differences. For a more detailed analysis why not have a telephone session or one-to-one class with one of our Accent Coaches.

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Read more about Received Pronunciation

Setting

The main difference between US and UK setting (or default facial position) is that Americans speak with the mouth much more widely open. In fact they tend not to use the lips very much at all when they speak. Most of the sounds are shaped at the back of the mouth. In contrast, RP English is very busy at the front of the mouth. The lips are endlessly rounding forward to create sounds, and the tongue tip is very active and precise as well.

RP English can therefore feel 'fussy' to a native American speaker - perhaps even a bit affected. American in turn can feel very 'laid-back' even possibly lazy to a native RP speaker. But in fact it's just that the work is in a different place in the mouth.

Placement of Sound

Although the sounds are formed further back in the mouth, in American English the feeling is that the voice is falling forwards out of the mouth. Whereas in RP English, despite all the busy movement of the tongue-tip and the lips, the feeling is that that voice is in a big space right in the centre of the mouth.

The sound of American is focused in the area of an apple being bitten between a wide open jaw at the front. The sound of RP English is focused as if there is a plum (or a hot potato) right in the middle of the mouth with the lips closed around it.

Major Consonant Differences Between British and American English

There are three major consonant differences that make a massive difference to the sound of the accent.

1. The R sound.
British RP English speakers do not pronounce the 'r's in the spelling after a vowel. They only say them before a vowel. So for all these words there is no /r/ sound pronounced: murder, nurse, earlier, version, learner, further, girl. In all these words, the 'r' in the spelling represents a vowel sound and is not pronounced.

In American English - all these /r/ sounds are pronounced. That means all those vowel sounds are strongly affected by being half-made with an /r/ sound. 'r'-colouring on vowels, that are open vowel sound in English, is a major difference between the two accents.

But that's not the only difference. The American 'r' sound is much further back in the mouth too. The English one is made with the front of the tongue folded, or squeezed up behind the toothridge. The American /r/ is made with the back of the tongue up against the roof of the mouth. This major difference brings all the energy for this common vowel sound to the back of the mouth for American and the front for English (see posture notes above).

2. The L Sound
In British English there are two types of L. Both are made with the tongue tip on the toothridge, but the one that comes after vowels (ie ill, all, well, oil) is also made with the back of the tongue raised. It's called the Dark L and the sound seems much further back in the mouth - even though the tongue-tip is still raised at the front. American English only has the Dark L. Again this focuses tongue activity further back in the mouth for American English.

3. The T Sound
British English loves this sound and makes it lightly and neatly with the tongue tip on the toothridge (behind the top teeth). We make it like this in all positions - so in team, butter and neat - there will be a light little puff of air as the T releases.

In American English it's more complicated. At the begining of words, it's likely to be made similarly to the English sound. But in the middle of words (butter, later, little, rated) it is more like a /d/ sound. And at the end (neat, lot, rate) it is stopped half way through - that means that you make the block with the tongue-tip, but don't release it with the puff of air. The delicate little aspirated /t/ sounds in British English are the main reason it can seem fussy to American speakers.

Vowel Sounds

1. Lip Rounding
This too large an area to go into in detail here - but the first major thing to remember is that vowels are made by shaping the mouth. As the American mouth shape is much more open at the front and the lips don't round much, that affects a lot of the vowel sound immediately.

Therefore the lip-rounded sounds - you, book, floor, dog, now, go - are all less lip rounded in American English.

2. R-colouring
Any vowel spelt with a silent 'r' in British English, will have that R strongly pronounced with the back of the tongue in American English. This means that several vowel sounds that are noted in British phonetics, are not even present in American phonetics as they would be seen as the same as another vowel sound simply followed by an /r/.

The difference between cord and cod is clear in American English because the /r/ will be so clear on the first sound. Whereas caught and cot will be almost identical. In British English cord and caught are a long/strong rounded vowel with no /r/ in cord so the vowel sounds are identical. Whereas cot and cod are both short/soft vowels. The two pairs do not sound like each other at all.

For more precise information about the difference between English and American accents, you may wish to take a private session with one of our Accent specialists. Just call the number above to find out more.

Happy practising!

The Speak Easily Team

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