The slashes normally used to enclose IPA phonemic transcriptions have been omitted from the following table to improve legibility.
| Spelling
| BrE IPA
| AmE IPA
| Notes
|
| barrage
| ˈbær.ɑːʒ
| (1) bəˈrɑʒ (2) ˈbær.ɪdʒ
| The AmE pronunciations are for distinct senses (1) "sustained weapon-fire" vs (2) "dam, barrier" (Compare garage below.)
|
| boehmite
| (1) ˈbɜːmaɪt (2) ˈboʊmaɪt
| (1) ˈbeɪmaɪt (2) ˈboʊmaɪt
| The first pronunciations approximate German [ø] (spelled ⟨ö⟩ or ⟨oe⟩) ; the second ones are anglicized.
|
| bouquet
| ˈbuːkeɪ
| (1) boʊˈkeɪ (2) buˈkeɪ
|
|
| boyar
| (1) ˈbɔɪ.ɑː (2) boʊˈjɑː
| (1) boʊˈjɑr (2) ˈbɔɪ.jər
|
|
| buoy
| ˈbɔɪ
| ˈbu.i
| The U.S. pronunciation would be unrecognised in the UK. The British pronunciation occurs in America, more commonly for the verb than the noun, still more in derivatives buoyant, buoyancy.
|
| canton
| kænˈtuːn
| (1) kænˈtɑːn (2) kænˈtoʊn
| difference is only in military sense "to quarter soldiers"
|
| dilettante
| dɪləˈtænti
| (1) ˈdɪlətɑːnt (2) ˌdɪləˈtɑːnt
| BrE reflects the word's Italian origin; AmE approximates more to French.
|
| enquiry/inquiry
| ɪŋˈkwaɪ.(ə)ri
| (1) ˈɪŋ.kwə.ri (2) ɪŋˈkwaɪ.(ə)ri
| BrE uses two spellings and one pronunciation. In AmE the word is usually spelled inquiry.
|
| febrile
| ˈfiːb.raɪl
| (1) ˈfɛb.ril (2) ˈfɛb.rəl
| The BrE pronunciation occurs in AmE
|
| fracas
| ˈfrækɑː
| (1) ˈfreɪkəs (2) ˈfrækəs (3) frəˈkɑː
| The BrE plural is French fracas /ˈfrækɑːz/. For AmE examples (1) and (2), the plural is anglicized fracases
|
| garage
| (1) ˈɡærɪdʒ (2) ˈɡærɑːʒ
| ɡəˈrɑ(d)ʒ
| The AmE reflects French stress difference. The two BrE pronunciations may represent distinct meanings for some speakers; for example, "a subterranean garage for a car" (1) vs "a petrol garage" (2). (Compare barrage above.)
|
| glacier
| (1) ˈɡlæsiə (2) ˈɡleɪsiə
| ˈɡleɪʃər
|
|
| jalousie
| (1) ʒælʊˈziː (2) ˈʒælʊziː
| ˈdʒæləsi
|
|
| lapsang souchong
| ˈlæpsæŋ suːʃɒŋ
| ˌlɑːpsɑːŋ ˈsuːʃɑːŋ
|
|
| lasso
| ləˈsuː
| ˈlæsoʊ
| The BrE pronunciation is common in AmE
|
| lieutenant
| (1) lɛfˈtɛnənt (2) ləˈtɛnənt
| luːˈtɛnənt
| The 2nd British pronunciation is restricted to the Royal Navy. Standard Canadian and Australian pronunciation is the same as the British.
|
| lychee
| laɪˈtʃiː
| ˈliːtʃiː
| Spelling litchi has pronunciation /ˈlɪtʃiː/
|
| Molière
| ˈmɒl.i.ɛə
| moʊlˈjɛr
|
|
| oblique
| əbˈliːk
| əbˈlaɪk
| AmE is as BrE except in military sense "advance at an angle"
|
| penchant
| pãˈʃã
| ˈpɛntʃənt
| The AmE pronunciation is anglicized; the BrE is French.
|
| penult
| pɛˈnʌlt
| (1) ˈpiːnʌlt (2) pɪˈnʌlt
|
|
| premier
| (1) ˈprɛmjə (2) ˈprɛmɪə
| (1) ˈpriːmɪər (2) prɪmˈɪər
|
|
| première
| ˈprɛmɪɛə
| (1) prɪˈmɪər (2) prɪmˈjɛr
|
|
| provost
| ˈprɒvəst
| (1) ˈproʊvoʊst (2) ˈproʊvəst
| The BrE pronunciation also occurs in AmE
|
| quinine
| ˈkwɪniːn
| (1) ˈkwaɪnaɪn (2) ˈkwɪnaɪn
|
|
| resource
| (1) rɨˈzɔːs (2) rɨˈsɔːs
| ˈriːsɔːrs
|
|
| respite
| ˈrɛspaɪt
| (1) ˈrɛspət (2) rɨˈspaɪt
|
|
| reveille
| rɪˈvæliː
| ˈrɛvəli
|
|
| slough
| slaʊ
| slu
| sense "bog"; in metaphorical sense "gloom", the BrE pronunciation is common in AmE. Homograph "cast off skin" is /slʌf/ everywhere.
|
| Tunisia
| tjuːˈnɪziə
| (1) tuˈniʒə (2) tuˈniʃə
|
|
| untoward
| ˌʌn.tʊˈwɔːd[1]
| (1) ʌnˈtɔrd (2) ˌʌn.təˈwɔrd
|
|
| vase
| vɑːz
| (1) veɪs (2) veɪz
| The BrE pronunciation also occurs in AmE
|
| z (the letter)
| zɛd
| ziː
| The spelling of this letter as a word corresponds to the pronunciation: thus Commonwealth (including, usually, Canada) zed and U.S. (and, occasionally, Canada) zee.
|
1. ^ "untoward" . Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Cambridge University Press.
§ Wells, John C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. 2nd ed. Longman. ISBN 0-582-36468-X.
§ http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/changing-voices/phonological-change/trap-bath-split/
ˇ This page was last modified on 19 March 2012 at 05:05.
ˇ Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details.
WikipediaŽ is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
