NAnEng vowels

Phonological differences from RP

Phonetic differences from RP

Phonological differences

Rp vowels NAmEng

/ɒ/ /ɑ/

/æ/ / æ/

/ɑː/

Easy to identify correpondences Words spelled with a: RP NAmEng Cat Bad /æ/ /æ/ Man

words spelled with o RP NAmEng Pot Top / ɒ/ /ɑ/ Nod

RP distinction NAmEng

/ɒ/ - /ɑː/ /ɑ/

Bomb - Balm Bomb

Balm

Father

Bother

Calm

Rhoticity RP NAmEng

Gnaw /nɔː/ /nɔː/

Nor /nɔːr/

Cod /kɒd/ /kɑd/

Card /kɑːd/ /kɑrd/

Phonetic differences The vowel of pot is unrounded [ɑ] in NAmEng,

rounded [ɒ] in RP.

The vowel /ɔ/ of paw in USEng tends to be shorter, more open and less rounded than the equivalent vowel /ɔː/ in RP

Very front realizations of /ou/ such as RP [əʊ] are not found in most variaties of NAmEng.

North American English consonants ʔ d̯ Glottal stop is found as an allophone of /t/ maily

before /n/ Button [bəʔn] and before /l/: bottle [bɑʔl]

The RP differentiation of /l/: [l] vs [ɫ] is not so strong in NAmEng. In most variaties, /l/ is fairly dark in all positions.

Intervocalic /t/ is normally a vocalic flap [d̯ ], not unlike the flapped /r/ of ScotEng: ladder [læ. d̯ ɹ̝]

Regional variation in United States English Lower south:

Eastern of Virginia, eastern North Carolina, eastern South Carolina, northern Florida, southern Alabama, Mississippi, Lousianaand south-eastern Texas.

1. lower Southern accents are non-rhotic, many of them are so non-rhotic, that they lack linking and intrusive /r/

2. the vowels /e/ /ɪ/ /æ/ often take a [ə] offglide in many stressed monosyllables. Bed [bejəd]

3. the vowel /ai/ is often a monothong of the type [a:], as in high [ha:]

4. the /ei/ and /ou/ diphtongs tend to havefirst elements rather more open than elsewhere in North America.

5. The vowel /e/ /ɪ/ are not distinct before a nasal consonant, so that words such as pin and pen are identical.

6. The verb forms isn’t, wasn’t are often pronounced with /d/rather than /z/: idnt – idn/.

Inland Southern