American and British English pronunciation differences

Differences in pronunciation between American English and British English can be divided into

differences in accent.[] See differences between [General American and Received Pronunciation] for the standard accents in the United States and Britain; for information about other accents see regional accents of English.
differences in the pronunciation of individual words in the lexicon. In this article, transcriptions use Received Pronunciation to represent BrE and General American to represent AmE.

In the following discussion:

superscript ^A2 after a word indicates that the BrE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in AmE.
superscript ^B2 after a word indicates that the AmE pronunciation of the word is a common variant in BrE.
superscript ^A1 after a word indicates that the pronunciation given as BrE is also the most common variant in AmE.
superscript ^B1 after a word indicates that the pronunciation given as AmE is also the most common variant in BrE.

Stress

Subscript _a or _b means that the relevant unstressed vowel is also reduced to or in AmE or BrE, respectively.

French stress

For many loanwords from French, AmE has final-syllable stress, while BrE stresses an earlier syllable. French loanwords that differ in stress only are listed below.

Verbs ending in ''-ate''

Most 2-syllable verbs ending in -ate have first-syllable stress in AmE and second-syllable stress in BrE. This includes castrate, collate, cremate^A2, curate, dictate^A2, dilate, donate^A2, fixate, frustrate, gestate, gradate, gyrate, hydrate, lactate, locate^A2, mandate^B2, migrate, mutate, narrate_b^A2, notate, phonate, placate_b^B2, prostrate, pulsate, rotate, serrate^A2, spectate, stagnate, striate, translate^A2, truncate, vacate_b*^A2, vibrate^A2. Examples where AmE and BrE match include conflate, create, equate, elate, inflate, negate, sedate; and probate with first-syllable stress. Derived nouns in -ator retain the distinction, but those in -ation do not. Also, migratory^B2 and vibratory^B2 sometimes retain the distinction.
Most longer -ate verbs are pronounced the same in AmE and BrE, but a few have first-syllable stress in BrE and second-syllable stress in AmE: demarcate_a^A2, elongate_a^A2, impregnate^B1, incarnate^A2, inculcate, inculpate, infiltrate^A1, remonstrate_ab^A2, sequestrate, tergiversate_a^A1. For some derived adjectives ending -atory stress-shifting to -a- occurs in BrE. Among these cases are celebratory_a, circulatory_a, compensatory_a, participatory_a, regulatory_a^B1. AmE stresses the same syllable as the corresponding -ate verb. A further -atory difference is laboratory^B2: AmE and BrE.

Miscellaneous stress

There are a number of cases where same-spelled noun, verb and/or adjective have uniform stress in one dialect but distinct stress in the other : see initial-stress-derived noun.
The following table lists words not brought up in the discussion so far where the main difference between AmE and BrE is in stress. Usually, it also follows a reduction of the unstressed vowel. Words marked with subscript _A or _B are exceptions to this, and thus retains a full vowel in the unstressed syllable of AmE or BrE. A subsequent asterisk, _*, means that the full vowel is usually retained; a preceding _* means that the full vowel is sometimes retained.
Words with other points of difference are listed in a later table.

Affixes

''-ary, -ery, -ory, -mony, -ative, -bury, -berry''

Where the syllable preceding the suffixes ', ', ', ' or ' is unstressed, AmE pronounces the penultimate syllable with a full vowel sound: for ' and ', for ', for ' and '. BrE reduces the vowel to a schwa or even elides it completely: or, and. So military is AmE and BrE, inventory is AmE and BrE, testimony is AmE and BrE and innovative is AmE or and BrE.
Where the syllable preceding ', ', ', ' or ' is stressed however, AmE also usually reduces the vowel:,. Exceptions include library, primary^A2, rosemary.
The suffix -berry is pronounced by similar rules, except that in BrE it may be full after an unstressed syllable, while in AmE it is usually full in all cases. Thus we have strawberry: BrE, AmE, and whortleberry: BrE/AmE.
The placename component ' has a similar difference: AmE has a full vowel: where BrE has a reduced one:.
Stress differences between the dialects occur with some words ending in ' and a few others like capillary.
Formerly the BrE–AmE distinction for adjectives carried over to corresponding adverbs ending ', ' or '. However, nowadays some BrE speakers adopt the AmE practice of shifting the stress to the penultimate syllable: militarily is thus sometimes rather than, and necessarily is in BrE either or.

''-ile''

Words ending in unstressed derived from Latin adjectives ending ' are mostly pronounced with a full vowel in BrE but a reduced vowel or syllabic L in AmE .
AmE will have a reduced last vowel:generally in facile, fertile, fissile, fragile, missile, sterile, tensile, versatile, virile, volatileoften in agile, docile, ductile, futile, hostile, juvenile, mobile, puerile, tactilerarely in domicile^B2, erectile, febrile^A2, infantile, nubile, pensile, percentile, projectile, reptile, senile^A2, servile, textile, utilenever in crocodile, exile, gentile, reconcile; nor to compounds of monosyllables
In some words the pronunciation also comes into play:

BrE, AmE : '^A2, mercantile^A2, mobile/stabile
BrE, AmE or : motile, prehensile, pulsatile, tractile
BrE, AmE or : imbecile
BrE, AmE : rutile

Related endings ', ', are pronounced the same in AmE as BrE.

''di-''

The pronunciation of the vowel of the prefix di- in words such as dichotomy, digest, dilate, dilemma, dilute, diluvial, dimension, direct, dissect, disyllable, divagate, diverge, diverse, divert, divest, and divulge as well as their derivational forms vary between and or in both British and American English.

''-ine''

The suffix -ine, when unstressed, is pronounced sometimes, sometimes and sometimes . Some words have variable pronunciation within BrE, or within AmE, or between BrE and AmE. Generally, AmE is more likely to favor or, and BrE to favor.
BrE, AmE : carbine^A2, Florentine^A2, internecine^A2, philistine^A2, pristine^B2, saline^A2, serpentine^A2.
BrE, AmE : adamantine^A2.
BrE, AmE : uterine^B2.
BrE, AmE : crystalline, labyrinthine.
BrE, AmE : strychnine^A2.

Effects of the weak vowel merger

The weak vowel merger causes affixes such as -ate, be-, de-, -ed, -es, -est, -less, -ness, pre- and re- to be pronounced with the schwa, rather than the unstressed . Conservative RP uses in each case, so that before, waited, roses and faithless are pronounced, rather than, which are more usual in General American. The pronunciations with are gaining ground in RP and in the case of certain suffixes have become the predominant variants. The noun carelessness is pronounced in modern RP and in conservative RP; both pronunciations typically merge in GA. This variation is denoted with the symbol in some of the dictionaries published by Oxford University Press and in the Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation of Current English. In the latter, the British pronunciation of climate is transcribed, though carelessness is transcribed.
Affixes such as dis-, in-, -ing and mis- contain in conservative RP as well as General American and modern RP, so that words such as disloyal or teaching are phonemically and in all three varieties.

Weak forms

The title Saint before a person's name has a weak form in BrE but not AmE:
before vowels,.

Miscellaneous pronunciation differences

These tables list words pronounced differently but spelled the same. See also the table of words with different pronunciation reflected in the spelling.

Single differences

Words with multiple points of difference of pronunciation are in the table after this one. Accent-based differences are ignored. For example, in their respective conventional accent-specific transcription systems, Moscow would be transcribed as RP and GAm, but it is RP and GAm in the transcription system used in this article. Only the – difference is highlighted here, since both the presence of a contrastive vowel in RP and the RP use of rather than are predictable from the accent. Also, tiara is listed with AmE ; the marry–merry–Mary merger changes this vowel for many Americans.
Many sources omit the length marks in transcriptions of AmE, so that words such as father or keep are transcribed and rather than and. Even though it is not phonemic, vowel length in GA works in a very similar manner to RP, so this is mainly a difference in transcription.

BrE	AmE	Words
		Excluding words changed by the trap–bath split, : banana, cabana, chorale^A2, Colorado^A2, finale, Internationale, khaki^A2, locale^A2, mascara, morale, musicale, Nevada^A2, pajama^A2, Pakistani^AB2, pastorale, plaque^B2, rale, rationale, Sahara^A2, sarsaparilla, scenario^A2, seraglio, soprano^A2, Sudan^B2, sultana, tiara^A2. Suffix words ending in -orama/-rama^A2: cyclorama, diorama and panorama.
		"A" in the anglicised pronunciation of many foreign names and loanwords, e.g.: Abu Dhabi, Abu Nidal, accelerando, Angst^A2, Ankara^A2, aqua^A2, Ariosto, Asti, Asunción, avocado,^A2 Avogadro, Baku, Balaton, banzai, Basra, Białystok, Bratislava, camaraderie, Caracas^B2, Carpaccio, Casablanca^A2, Casals, caveat^A2, Cézanne, chianti^A2, Chiapas, dacha, Dachau, Deus ex machina^A2, d'Annunzio, Dushanbe, Dvořák, Francesca, ganja, Gdańsk, gazpacho, gestalt, glissando, goulash^A2, grappa, Gulag, gratin, hacienda, Hamas, Hans^B2, Haryana, Islamic^A2, jalapeño, Jaruzelski, Kafka, Kalashnikov, kakemono, kamikaze, Kampala, kampong, kanji, Kant, katakana, kebab, lambada, La Paz, Las ^A2, lasagna^B2, latte^B2, Lausanne, Lillehammer, Luhansk, macarena^A2, macho, mafia, mamba/o, manga, Mann^A2, mantra, maraca, Mario^A2, Mascagni, Mazda, Milan^A2, Mohammed, Mombasa^A2, Pablo Picasso^A2, paparazzo, paso doble, pasta, patio^A2, Paternoster, Pavlova, pilaf, Pusan, quattrocento, Rachmaninoff, Rafah, Rafsanjani, rallentando^A2, Ramadan, ravioli^A2, regatta^A2, ritardando, Rwanda, salsa, samba, Sámi^B2, samizdat, sanitaire, sashimi, sforzando, shiatsu, Slovak^A2, squacco, Sri Lanka^A2, stal'ag, Sva'lbard^B2, taco, tagliatelle, tapas, trattoria, Traviata, tzatziki, Uganda, Vivaldi, volte-face, wigwam, Wuhan, Yap (island), Yasser/sir, Yerevan
		charade, cicada^A2, gala^AB2, grave^A2, praline^B2, promenade^B2, strafe^B2, stratum^B2, tomato
		Utah^A2
		agave, swathe
		Adolf^A2, basil ^A2, canine^B2, granary^A2, placable^A2, macron^A2, paleo-, patronise/-ize^A2, patriot^B2, patriate/-ation^B2, phalanx^A2, plait^A2, Sabine, satrap^A2, satyr^A2
		apparatus^A2, apricot^A2, babel, comrade, dahlia, data^A2, digitalis^A2, gratis^B2, patent^B2, rabid^B2, status^A2
		aquatic^A2, twat^B2
		quagmire^B2, scallop^B2, wrath
		Boulogne, Dordogne
		auteur^B2, Xhosa^AB2
	or	sloth, troth^A2, wont^A2, wroth^B2
		Excluding words changed by the lot-cloth split: alcohol^A2, altar^B2, alter^B2, assault^B2, atoll^A2, Austen, austere, Austin, Australia, Austria, Balkan^B2, Baltic^B2, Baltimore^B2, cauliflower^A2, claustrophobia, cobalt^B2, exalt^B2, false^B2, falter^B2, fault^B2, Gibraltar^B2, gnocchi^A2, halt^B2, hydraulic^B2, malt^B2, Malta^B2, paltry^B2, parasol^A2, protocol^A2, salt^B2, sausage, somersault^B2, vault^B2, Walter^B2, waltz^B2. Many chemical compounds ending in -ol; for example, butanol, ethanol, methanol, propanol, etc.
		leprechaun^A2
		asphalt, mall
or		Yalta^B2
or		falcon^A2
		Aesculapius, Aeschylus, esthete/-tic^B2, amenity^B2, anesthetist/-ize, anapest/-ic, breve^A2, D(a)edalus, evolution^B2, eco-^A2, ecumenical^B2, epochal^B2, esoteric^B2, hemo-^A2, Hephaestus, hygienic^A2, Kenya^B2, lever^A2, methane^B2, Oedipus^A2, estrogen^B2, estrus^B2, pedophile, penalize^A2, Ph(a)edrus, predecessor^A2, predilection^A2, pyrethrin^A2, questor, schizophrenia^A2, Semite^B2, systemic
		crematorium^A2, cretin^A2, depot^A2, fetid^B2, hedonism/-ist, leisure^A2, presentation^A2, reconnoit^A2, zebra^B2, zenith
		gazebo^A2, heinous^B2, Mekong^A2, quay^A2, repartee^A2. Greek alphabet letters containing eta: beta, theta and zeta.
		detour^B2, Helene^A2
		Zimbabwe^B2
		commedia dell'arte, Haggai, Israel^A2
		ate^B2, éminence grise, étui, mêlée^A2, Pécs, presa
		again^B2, cortège^B2, machete, nonpareil
		mayor^A2
		amok^B2, coloratura, comme il faut, hover^A2, Somme, Sorbonne. Also the strong forms of these function words: because, body^A2, from, of, was, what^A2
		accomplice/-ish^B2, colander^B2, conjure^A2, constable^B2, monetary^A2, -monger^A2
		adios, Aeroflot, ayatollah, Barbados, baroque^B2, Boccherini^A2, Bogotá,, boll^B2, Carlos, cognac^A2, compost, Costa Rica, doldrums^A2, dolor, groschen, grosso^A2, homo-^B2, Interpol, Kosovo^A2, Lod, mocha, olfactory^A2, Pinocchio, pogrom, polka^B2, produce ^A2, professorial^A2, prophy-, realpolitik^A2, riposte, Rosh Hashanah^A2, scone^B2, shone, sol, solstice^A2, Sonia, Tolstoy^A2, troll^B2, volt^B2, yogurt^B2. Also, in general, Greek-derived names of places, people, or ideas that end in "-os", for example, Eros^A2, ethos, Helios, log'os ^A2, mytho's, pathos, etc.; although chaos follows the British norm in both countries.
		Adonis, codicil^B2, codify^A2, goffer, ogle^A2, process^A2, project^B2
		dynasty, hibiscus, housewifery, idyll, italic^A2, pipette, privacy^B2, simultaneous^A2, sinecure, tinnitus, totalizator, tricolor^B2, trimester, Tyrolean, vitamin^B2. See also -ine.
		butyl^B2, condyle, cyclic^B2, doctrinal, finance/-ial^AB2, forsythia, -isation/-ization^A2, kinesis/-tic^B2, Minotaur, primer,^A2 Pythagoras,^A2 respite, subsidence/-ent, synapse^B2, umbilical^B2. See also -ine.
		aïoli^A2, Isaiah
		either^AB2, Pleiades, via. See also -ine.
		albino, geyser, iodine, migraine^B2, oblique, reprise. See also -ine.
		symbiosis/-tic^B2
		In the prefixes anti-, multi- and semi- in loose compounds^A2.
		been^B2, clique^A2, creek^A2, invalid ^B2, prima
		aphrodisiac, Biarritz, bulimia, memorabilia, pita^B2, prestigious^A2, tricot
		enclave, envoi/-voy
		pall-mall
		nous^A2
		kümmel
		Buddha/-ism/-ist, Burundi, cuckoo, Düsseldorf, Gutiérrez, guru, Ljubljana, Mussolini, Tuzla
		boogie-woogie, boulevard, hoof^A2, roof^AB2, root^A2, snooker, woof^A2
		ferrule, fortune
		courier^A2
		Muslim^A2
or		brusque^B2
		surplus
		cumin^B2
		route^A2
		brooch^A2, proven^B2
		cantaloup, catacomb, hecatomb
		plover
		Moscow^A2
		Madagascar^A2
		Berkeley, Berkshire, Cherwell^B2, clerk, derby, Hertford (shire).
		err^A2
		Ernst^B2
		deterrent^A2
		ampere^A2
		spheric, inherent^A2
		era,^A2 hysteria^A2
		Irkutsk
		chirrup^A2, squirrel, stirrup^A2, syrup^A2
		whorl^A2
		acorn^A2, record, the weak form of or
		Eleanor, metaphor^B2, Westmor(e)land
		Amazon, anacoluthon, automaton^A2, Avon, capon, crampon, crayon^A2, Lebanon, lexicon, marathon, ascot, melancholy, myrmidon, Oregon^A2, pantechnicon, paragon, Parthenon, phenomenon, pylon, python, Rubicon, saffron^A2, silicon^A2, wainscot. Also any geometric shapes ending in -agon; for example, hexagon, octagon, pentagon, polygon, etc.
		Aesop^A2, Amos, colon, condom, despot, Enoch^A2, ingot, mosquito, sombrero, Winthrop
		röntgen, Stendhal
		accent, nonsense
	,	congress, Kentucky, parallelepiped, prestige
		Places ending with -chester;^B2 e.g., Chichester, Colchester, Dorchester, Grantchester, Ilchester, Lanchester, Manchester, Portchester, Rochester, Silchester, Winchester
		Ceylon
		Some of the words affected by the weak vowel merger:^AB2 impetigo, orange, Semitic, etc. See also #Effects of the [weak vowel merger\|effects of the weak vowel merger].
		baboon^A2, bassoon^A2, Capri^A2, fastidious^AB2, nasturtium^A2, papoose^A2, platoon^A2, raccoon, saucepan, taboo, tattoo, toucan, trapeze
		Draconian^A2, hurricane^B2, legislature, satanic. Also, longer words ending in -ative.
		entrails^A2, magistrate^A2, portrait, template
		foyer^A2
		Göttingen, Koestler
		föhn
		Montreux, Schönberg
	or	bleu, œuvre, pas de deux
		Bofors, Mauritius
		anchovy, borough, thorough, varicose, volition^A2. Also place names that end in "-burgh", such as Edinburgh^A2 and surnames ending in -stone, e.g. Johnstone. Words prefixed with an unstressed "pro-"^A2, with the exceptions of process, progress and project, commonly use either pronunciation in American English; for example, probation, procedure, prohibit, proliferate, prolific, Prometheus, prophetic, propinquity, prorogation, protest, protract, protrude, protuberance/-ant, and Provence.
		Excluding words altered by the yod-dropping phenomenon: barracuda, culotte, puma^A2
		coupon^A2, fuchsine, Houston^B2
		conduit^A2, iguana^B2, unguent
		figure^A2
		erudite^A2, purulent, virulence^B2
		duress, Kuwait, résumé^A2
		Excluding words altered by the yod-dropping phenomenon: Honduras^B2
		nougat
		Huguenot^A2
		connoisseur,^A2 entrepreneur,^A2 masseur^A2
		tournament^A2
		Betelgeuse, chanteuse, chartreuse^A2, masseuse
		berceuse
		Aussie^A2, blouse, blouson, complaisant^A2, crescent^B2, dextrose, diagnose^A2, erase, fuselage^A2, glasnost, Joseph, Manresa, mimosa, opposite^A2, parse, ruse^A2, talisman, treatise^B2, valise, venison^B2, visa^A2, xylose
		asthma, chromosome^A2, Zaragoza
		piazza^A2, schnauzer, terrazzo
		xi
		luxury
		Asia^B2, cashmere, Persia^B2, persion^A2, cursion^B2, mersion, version^A2
		erasure
		Elgin
		sandwich^B2, spinach
		Chou (en Lai)
		chassis
		cassia^A2, Cassius^A2, Dionysius^A2, hessian, Lucius, scient/-ence, Theodosius
	or	issue^B2, sexual^B2, tissue^B2
or	,, or	nausea, transient
,		artesian^B2, Elysian, Frisian^B2, Frasier, glazier, grazier, hosiery^B2, Indonesia^B2, Malaysia^B2, Parisian, Polynesia^B2, Rabelaisian, visual^B2
		cordial
		bastion, besti, celestial, Christian^B2, bastian
		consortium^A2, otiose, ratiocinate, sentient^B2
		schedule^B2
		niche^AB2
		bequeath, booth^B2, loath^A2, smithy^A2, with^A2
		Anthony^B2
		Excluding words changed by flapping : Taoism^A2
		conquistador, sequoia
		questionnaire^B2
		nephew^B2
		Excluding words changed by nasal flapping: bona fide^A2, chthonic^B2, broccoli^A2, coupé, diaper, furore, herb^A2, Knossos^B2, phthisis^B2, ricochet^B2, salve^A2, solder, toward^{A2, B2}, vaudeville
		Excluding words changed by non-rhoticity: geography^B2, Maupassant, medicine^B2, miniature^A2, Nantes, Nehru, physiognomy, schism^B2, Singhalese, suggest^A2, trait^B2, Valenciennes, vehicle^A2, Warwick (shire). See also -ary -ery -ory -bury, -berry.