I know what you mean about not leaving their home state-have come across many people in NJ who are the same. I’d personally say mo-bill is close to how most Americans say it. Once again, the American version is de-BRIS. I am Canadian (close enough to American) and know very well how most Americans without huge regional accents that differ speak. I’m going to make you an ARF-ur you can’t refuse. But, similar to the way they've transformed the word "downtown," Pittsburghers have turned it into a one-syllable word that comes out sounding like "arhn. On the other hand, my family pronounces “Italy” as “Itah-lee” not “It-ly” or “It-lee”. Once again, the variation in pronunciation has to do with whether we’re using the noun or verb version of the word. You are the voice of sanity, thanks to you and a small number of others who understand what I have tried to explain. In British English, they tend to stress the second syllable and pronounce it with a much better French accent: fi-AN-cé(e), fi-AN-cé(e). Though the word's accepted pronunciation is the simple "koo-pon," many an educated individual pronounce the first syllable of the word like "kyoo," as if they're sounding out the letter "q.". These words are split up into two categories: Words Pronounced Differently in American vs. British English, and Words with Different Stressed Syllables in American vs. British English. I still struggle with some words, as the puzzled looks on other faces tells me but luckily I know now to think about how I say it and to slow down when speaking! In British English, the word would be pronounced do-NATE, do-NATE. No, but I can pass the "sirr-up." Thanks though for trying to politely explain the points of contention! Some people say "New Oar-lins," others say "New Or-leans," and a small subset even add an extra syllable to make it "New Or-lee-uhns.". It's all dependent on what happens in the first week. What English words pronounced differently in America have you come across as an expat? Thanks for your reply and thoughts on pronunciation. For the most part, these alternate pronunciations can be heard in Southern and Northeastern states. You’ve made errors in your statements both in #1and #25 which you’ll see for yourself if you read them carefully. Most of these people were from Midwestern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. If you've stayed in one place for your entire life, then you might not even know that there's more than one way to pronounce the word "roof." Learn the proper definition of these common words you hear on a regular basis. Hi Lizabeth! Additionally, people are missing that what I heard was from just one part of the enormity of the US, which has a huge range of different accents that most expats like me, don’t understand until you visit a few other states. In British English, this word tends to be stressed on the first syllable: MON-tage, MON-tage. Next, let’s look at a word that is so different in American English and British English. I am not sure that Americans will understand how I am trying to sound it out, as we say and hear the words differently. From Givenchy to Hermès, these are all the brand names you get wrong. In British English, the word will be stressed on the first syllable: GOUR-met, GOUR-met. ", This sweet treat's pronunciation is rather controversial. Ditch these surprisingly toxic words right now—the impact it'll have on your life will shock you. Big difference, right? The same could be said for some of the Aussie ones. Lots of people also move states and bring their accent with them. While the hefty majority of Americans pronounce the word "bit" like "sit," there are some people (particularly in parts of Colorado) who say it like "bet." In British English, this word would be pronounced DE-bris, DE-bris. We're learning how the virus hits our senses. Surely there is no way you mistyped 23 times and so I’d have to make the guess that you truly hear the words as you typed them. Perhaps there is no ‘single’ way that applies to all but hopefully my experiences benefit other expats. According to the Harvard Dialect Survey, just over 5 percent of respondents—primarily people in Northern and Midwestern states—say the state's name with a "z" sound. Want to make sure you’re easily understood when speaking American English? Do you hear a difference in pronunciation between the words "cot" and "caught"? Cheers, I Say To-may-do, You Say To-mah-to: 80 English Words Pronounced Differently in America, Seven Memorable American High School traditions to savour in the time of Covid, An Expat Guide to Renters’ Insurance in New Jersey, Dangerous wildlife in New Jersey that expats need to know, How to Open a US Bank Account in New Jersey as an expat, Typical Town Celebrations and Events in New Jersey, Keeping in Touch with Family Friends for expats. Thanks Mick! So, call it an "al-mond," an "am-end," or an "ahl-mend"; regardless of pronunciation, you're still referring to the same thing. However, I usually reduce the “de” to a schwa sound: de-COR. Hi Suzy, "If you come from the East, you're much more likely to say ki-o-tee. I mean I knew people in New Jersey spoke a little funny but this is making me think we need to send some dialect coaches down there ASAP! In British English, the word would be stressed on the first syllable: CAF-feine, CAF-feine. Americans pronounce it sa-CHET, sa-CHET, with stress on the second syllable. Thanks so much Dee for your reply. If they do then that’s the worst thing happening in America." This difference is really interesting to me because compound nouns have such a predictable stress pattern in English, where we usually stress that first syllable: ICE cream. Not only this, sometimes they just use different words for the same thing. In British English, the word would be stressed on the first syllable: PRE-mature, PRE-mature. Next, let’s talk about the word “migrate.”. Oregon is yet another state name that people outside of the West Coast don't know how to pronounce. In the Northeast, you're most likely to hear that second syllable pronounced like "see." Request to do the needful. That’s a word that really confuses me when I hear it pronounced in the British English version. Both Merriam-Webster and the Macmillan Dictionary advise you to pronounce it as "toor," but that isn't to say that "tore" is wrong—it really just depends on what you were taught. In America, the Aussie word for phone sounds like foam. Americans stress the first syllable: RO-tate, RO-tate. In American English, the word is pronounced chauf-FEUR, chauf-FEUR. Whether you pronounce the word "pecan" as "pee-can" or "puh-kahn" is more complicated than you think. Seriously? The various pronunciations of the word "almond" originate back to when many people were emigrating from Europe to the United States, bringing with them their native languages and thusly their own versions of various words. Though Northeasterners tend to pronounce it so it rhymes with "hoot" and Midwesterners tend to pronounce it so it rhymes with "out," just over 30 percent of respondents in the Harvard Dialect survey noted that they can (and do) pronounce it both ways. Also, Kim, who are you to tell people how to talk? These words come out sounding completely different, depending on where you live or grew up. For more vocabulary insight, here are 50 Words You Hear Every Day But Don't Know What They Mean. That is to say, whether you choose to pronounce it like "add-ult" or "uh-dult," you are correct—just as you'd be correct in placing your toilet paper roll either under or over. Now that you’ve learned the words that are stressed differently between British and American English, I want to know if you’ve heard of any other examples. In American English, we pronounce the word DO-nate, DO-nate. Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences! In American English, we pronounce it AD-ver-tise-ment, AD-ver-tise-ment. Next, let’s look at a word that we’ve taken from French: ballet. Hi Mike, Believe me, I understand how frustrating it can be to have to choose an accent when you’re trying to learn a language, but you want to make sure you focus on the pronunciation and the stress that is most related to your life. Next, let’s talk about the word “magazine.”. They’re what we call loanwords from French. In the South, when someone asks you to pass the "all," they're probably asking for "oil." I should have made it clearer that there is not just one way to say words here, and even within one state there are differences depending on whether Americans were raised in NJ or came from other parts of the US such as California, Massachusetts etc. 1) In British English, the word would be pronounced AD-dress, with stress on the second syllable: AD-dress, AD-dress. Next, we have another obviously French word: sachet. In most of the country, the word for an individual compartment in a dresser rhymes with the word "bore." The researchers behind the Harvard Dialect Survey also discovered that while most Americans pronounce the word "lawyer" in such a way that the first syllable rhymes with "boy," Southerners emphasize the "law" in lawyer so the first syllable makes a "saw" sound. The Harvard Dialect Survey found that while "flurr-ish" is the preferred pronunciation, there are many Midwesterners and Northerners who say "flore-ish" and some folks living in the Northeast who say "fluh-rish.". I’m American and I couldn’t even read half of your “American pronunciations”. That’s just a possible explanation! Maybe you didn't notice it before, but your cross-country comrades likely have vastly differing ways of pronouncing these everyday terms. In the British version, the stress is on the second syllable, and it really changes the way the word sounds. I can’t phonetically spell Aussie pronunciations for Americans either but I wouldn’t even imagine trying. It would be rather difficult though to list all the different pronunciations possibly in the US, so I did make mention that this was NJ experience. My husband has had different word experiences in the south as well but I did not include these. In American English, the word will be pronounced ad-DRESS, ad-DRESS, with stress on the first syllable.

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