Pronunciation of English in different countries

A. 1. Many differences involve the pronunciation of individual words or groups of words. Here are some of these:

RP GA

cordial ['ko:dэ?l] [`korjl]

either ['aэр] [`i:рr]

lever ['li:vе] ['levеr]

schedule [sedju:l] ['skedjul]

shone [son] [soun]

tomato [to'ma:tou] [to'meэtou]

vase [va:z] [veэz]

2. Words apparatus, data, status can be pronounced with either [eэ] in GA, but only with [eэ] in RP.

3. Words like hostile, missile, reptile have final [aэl] in RP. In GA they may have [il].

B. Stress Differences

1. In words of French origin GA tends to have stress on the final syllable, while RP has it on the initial one:

RP GA

ballet [`bжleэ] [bae'lei]

beret [`berэ] [bә'reэ]

2. Some words have first-syllable stress in GA whereas in RP the stress may be elsewhere.

RP GA

address [ә'dres] ['әdres]

cigarette [sigә'ret] ['sэgәrуt]

magazine [mag'zi:n] ['mәgazэn]

adult [e'dлlt] [`adalt]

3. Some compound words have stress on the first element in GA and in RP they retain it on the second element: weekend, icecream, hotdog, New Year [19].

4. Polysyllabic words ending in -ory, -ary, -mony have secondary stress in GA, often called "tertiary": laboratory ['lәobratorэ] [20].

 

Conclusion

 

    English is the national language of England proper the USA, Australia and some provinces of Canada. It was also at different times imposed on the inhabitants of the former and present British colonies and protectorates as well as other Britain- and USA-dominated territories, where the population has always stuck to its own mother tongue.

    In the United Kingdom RP is a unique national standard. Therefore RP has always been and still is the “prestigious” national standard pronunciation, the so-called implicitly accepted social standard. In spite of the fact that RP speakers form a very small percentage of the British population, it has the highest status of British English pronunciation and is genuinely regionless.

    During studying this work we tried to find out the characteristic features of the present day varieties of the English language of the United Kingdom and beyond the bounds of it. We have done it by solving assigned tasks:

1. We gave the definition to the notion “dialect”.

2. We determined the history and geography of dialects spread.

3. We found out the difference between the dialects and the standard language.

    Dialect is a variety of a language. A dialect may be distinguished from other   dialects of the same language by features of any part of the linguistic structure - the phonology, morphology, or syntax. The label dialect, or dialectal, is attached to substandard speech, language usage that deviates from the accepted norm. On the other hand the standard language can be regarded as one of the dialects of a given language.

    In considering the history and development of the English language we may maintain that a regional variety of English is a complex of regional standard norms and dialects. Owing to specific ways of development, every regional variety is characterized by a set of features identical to a variety of English.

   The comparative analysis of the phonetic system of the regional varieties of English pronunciation shows the differences in the pronunciation in the system of consonant and vowel phonemes.

   The local dialects on the British Isles are being gradually replaced by regional variants of the national language, i. e. by a literary standard with a proportion of local dialect features. On the other hand, it is important to note that urban dialects are undergoing developments of a new type, and the phonetic differences between urban varieties seem to be on the increase.

    American English and British English are two equitable variants of the same language, because their structural peculiarities, especially their word-formation system, syntax and morphology, as well as their word-stock and phonetic system are essentially the same. American standard is a slight modification of the norms accepted on the British Isles.

    Local variations in the USA are relatively small. What is called by tradition American dialects is closer in nature to regional variants of the literary national language.

    The so-called local dialects on the British Isles and in the USA are used only by the rural population and only for the purposes of oral communication. In both variants local distinctions are more marked in pronunciation, less conspicuous in vocabulary and insignificant in grammar.

    The study of regional linguistic variation is very important. The more we know about regional variation and change in the use of English, the more we will come to appreciate the individuality of each of the varieties which we call dialects, and the less we are likely to adopt demeaning stereotypes about people from other parts of the country.

 

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