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Lecture 7
Regional and stylistic varieties of English pronunciation
1. Spoken and written language
2. The orthoepic norm.
3. Classification of pronunciation variants in English.
4. British and American pronunciation models.
5. Types of English RP (Received Pronunciation)
6. General American.
7. Some differences between RP and GA.
8. Ukrainian English

1. Spoken and Written language

We do not need to speak to use language. Language can be written,
broadcast from tapes and CDs and produced by computers in limited ways.
Nevertheless, speech remains the primary way humans encode and broadcast
Language. Speaking and writing are different in both origin and practice. Our
ability to use language is as old as humankind is. It reflects the biological and
cognitive modification that has occurred during the evolution of our species.
Writing is the symbolic representation of language by graphic signs. It is
comparatively recent cultural development. Spoken language is acquired without
specific formal instruction, whereas writing, must be taught and learned through
deliberate effort. The origins of the written language lie in the spoken language,
not the other way round.
The written form of language is usually a generally accepted standard and is
the same throughout the country. But spoken language may vary from place to
place. Such distinct forms of speech are called dialects! The varieties of the
language are conditioned by language communities ranging from small groups to
nations. Speaking about the nations we refer to the national variants of the language.
According to A.D. Schweitzer, national language is a historical category evolving
from conditions of economic and political concentration, which characterizes the
nation's formation. In English, there is a great diversity in the realization of the
language and particularly in terms of pronunciation. Though every national
variant of English has considerable differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and
grammar, they all have much in common, giving us ground to speak of the same
language — the English language.
Every national variety of language fall into territorial or regional dialects.
Dialects are distinguished from each other by differences in pronunciation,
grammar and vocabulary. When we refer to varieties in pronunciation only, we use
the term accent. So local accents may have many pronunciation features in common
and are grouped into territorial or area accents.
And the question is: which variant ought we learn? Not two persons of the same
nationality pronounce language alike. The difference arises from:
- Locality;
- social surrounding;
- individual peculiarities.
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For certain reasons, one of the dialects becomes the nation's standard language
and its pronunciation or accent - the standard pronunciation.
The literary spoken form has its national pronunciation standard. A standard
may be defined as "a socially accepted variety of language established by a codified
norm of correctness" (K. Macanalay). Standard national pronunciation is sometimes
called "an orthoepic norm''. Some phoneticians, however, prefer the term "literary
pronunciation".
Every national variant has a orthoepic norm. ” Orthoepy” - / 'ɔ:θəʊepɪ/ - орфоепія
(зразкова літературна мова) adopted by native speakers as a right and proper way of
speaking.
2. Orthoepic norm comprises:
- The variants of pronunciation of vocabulary units and prosodic patterns which
reflect the main tendencies in pronunciation that exist in the language.
- It also includes stylistic variants of pronunciation which are acceptable only in
certain circumstances.
Orthoepic norm is not constant and fixed; non-standard prosodic patterns and
regional variants of pronunciation influence the orthoepic norm. Most of the phonetic
changes first occur among the less educated people before they are recognized as
acceptable.
Territory, social and stylistic factors influence the orthoepic norm.
A speaker’s experiences of languages may typically embrace a first language, a
second language, a foreign language (Laver, 1995; 78).
The first language is the speaker’s native language/mother-tongue, whose
learning normally begins in the speaker’s earliest experience of language acquisition
as a very small child.
A second language is any other language that the speaker learns to control, at any
time, to a level of near native-like proficiency. Typically immigrants acquire it in the
first language’s natural environment.
A foreign language is any language spoken by the speaker to less the second
language level.
A lingua franca is a language used to communicate by speakers who do not have
a native language in common. Originally it was a particular case when a foreign
language was used as a medium of linguistic communication in some area (e.g. for
trade purposes).
A pidgin English is the language used to communicate between speakers of
mutually unintelligible languages (usually in the Third World), which has been
developed out of the mixture of the languages of the communities concerned (Papua
New Guinea Pidgin English, Chinees Pidgin). As such, it would have no native
speakers. Tom McArthur defined this language as a label for any hybrid languages
used in ports and ships and garrisons, markets, mines, and the like. In the later 20 th
century, it has acquired the neutral, technical definition : “ a contact language which
draws on elements from two or more languages” ( The Oxford Companion to the
English Language).

3. Classification of pronunciation variants in English.

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4. British and American pronunciation models.

All English speaking nations have their national variants of pronunciation.
They are British English, Irish English, Australian English, New Ireland English,
American English.
Nowadays, two main types of English are spoken in the English-speaking
world: British English and American English.
According to British dialectologists (P. Trudgill, J. Hannah, A. Hughes and
others), the following variants of English are referred to the English-based group:
English English, Welsh English, Australian English, New Zealand English;
Тo the American-based group: United States English, Canadian English.
Scottish English and Ireland English fall somewhere between the two, being
somewhat by themselves.
According to M. Sokolova and others, English English, Welsh English,
Scottish English and Northern Irish English should be better combined into the
British English
subgroup, on the ground of political, geographical, cultural unity, which brought
more similarities - then differences for those variants of pronunciation.
The famous linguist D. Crystal estimates that roughly more than 400 million
people speak English as a mother tongue worldwide. Of those 400 million, 226 of
them live in the USA; thus, 2 out of 3 people who speak English as a mother tongue
are Americans. Compared with it only 55 million speak English in Britain; therefore,
statistically, you are much more likely to encounter American accents and dialects
than British ones.

Teaching practice as well as a pronouncing dictionary must base their

recommendations on one or more models. A pronunciation model is a carefully
chosen and defined accent of a language.
Received Pronunciation (RP) was a social marker, a prestige accent of an
Englishman in the nineteenth century. "Received" was understood in the sense of
"accepted in the best society". The speech of aristocracy and the court phonetically
was that of the London area. It lost its local characteristics and was finally fixed as
a ruling-class accent, often referred to as "King's English". It was also the accent
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taught at public schools. With the spread of education, cultured people not
belonging to upper classes were eager to modify their accent in the direction of
social standards.
In the first edition of the English Pronouncing Dictionary (1917), Daniel
Jones defined the type of pronunciation recorded as "Public School Pronunciation"
(PSP). However, he had by 1926, however, abandoned the term PSP in favour of
"Received Pronunciation" (RP). However, the type of speech he had in mind was not
restricted to London and the Home Counties. However, he was characteristic by the
nineteenth-century of upper-class speech throughout the country. The Editor of the
14th Edition of the dictionary, A.C. Gimson, commented in 1977, "Such a definition
of RP is hardly tenable today". A more broadly-based and accessible model accent
for British English is represented in the 15 th (1997) and the 16 th (2003)
editions – ВВС English. This is the pronunciation of professional speakers
employed by the BBC as newsreaders and announcers. Of course, one finds differences
between such speakers - they have their own personal characteristics, and an
increasing number of broadcasters with Scottish, Welsh and Irish accents are
employed. On this ground, J.C. Wells (Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 33rd
edition - 2000) considers that the term BBC pronunciation has become less
appropriate. According to J.C. Wells, in England and Wales RP is widely regarded as
a correct pronunciation model, particularly for educated formal speech.
Gimpson distinguishes 3 varieties of Received Pronunciation (RP).
- The conservative RP – is used by the older generation and by certain
profession of social groups.
- The general RP – is heard on the radio and TV adopted by the BBC.
- The advanced RP – is used by young people, of exclusive social groups -
mainly of the upper classes, but also for prestige value in certain professional
circles» (teachers of English and professors at colleges.)

In the last edition of ''An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English" by A. C.

Gimson, revised by Alan Cruttenden (2001) a new classification of RP types is given:
General RP
Refined RP
Regional RP
By "Regional RP" they mean standard pronunciation norm in
articugeographical regions, which are commonly close to the national RP but reflect
regional peculiarities.
Many native speakers, especially teachers of English, college and university
professors (particularly in the South and South-East of England) have accents closely
resembling RP. P. Trudgill and J. Hannah call them Near-RP southern.
There is one regional type of RP which is widely discussed now under the
name "Estuary English" which is very close to "Advanced RP" or "Near-RP accent".
It is often spoken by young people who want to avoid the "snobbish" accent
and at the same time to sound trendy and fashionable

5. Types of English RP (Received Pronunciation)

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National RP Regional RP
refined, general Estuary other RP
conservative advanced English regional
mainstream. near-RP accents
Oxford English. BBC English accent
King’s English

In the British Isles, the regional types of English are:

Southern English (Standard English, Received Pronunciation, Public School
Pronunciation). Is considered to be the main variant. It has the advantage that it is
easily understood in every part where English is spoken, and it is more understood
than any other variant. It is mostly heard in every day speech of educated people,
English theatres and radio. This type is recorded, investigated and described for
teaching purposes, and because of that, it is adopted as a teaching norm in our schools
and higher educational establishments.
As it was stated above, educated Southern speech is very much near-RP accent,
whereas non-standard accents are similar to Cockney. So, we are going to give a
detailed description of this London accent.
It has been long established that Cockney is a social accent typical of the
speech of working-class areas of Greater London. Here are some pronunciation
features of Cockney.

Vowels
1. /ʌ/ is realized as [ӕi]: blood [blʌd] - [blӕid];
2. [ӕ] is realized as [ԑ] or [ԑɪ]: bag [bӕg] - [bԑg], [bԑɪg];
3. [ɪ] in word-final position sounds as [i:]: city ['sɪtɪ] –[sɪti:];
4. when [ɔ:] is non-final, its realization is much closer, it sounds like [o:]; pause
[pɔ:z] - [po:z]; when it is final, it is pronounced as [pɔ:ə]: paw - [pɔ:] – [pɔ:ə]
5. the diphthong [eɪ]is realized as [ӕɪ] or [aɪ]: lady ['leɪdɪ] - ['lӕɪdɪ] ['laɪdɪ]
6. RP [ɜʊ] sounds as [ӕʊ]: soaked [sɜʊkt] - [sӕʊkt];
7. RP [aʊ]may be [ӕʊ]: now [naʊ] - [nӕʊ]:

Consonants
1. [h] in unstressed position is almost invariably absent;
2. [?] is widely spread in Cockney speech: paper ['pӕɪ?pə];
3. the contrast between [θ] and [f] is completely lost: thin [fɪn];
4. the contrast between [ð] and [v] is occasionally lost: weather ['wevə]
5. when [ð] occurs initially it is either dropped or replaced by [d]: this [dis], them
[(d)em];
6. [l] is realized as a vowel when it precedes a consonant and follows a vowel, or
when it is syllabic: milk [mɪvk], table [teɪbv]; when the preceding vowel is [ɔ:], [l]
may disappear completely;
7. [ŋ] is replaced by [n] in word-final position: dancing ('dɑ:nsɪn] or it may be
pronounced as [ɪŋk] in something, anything, nothing: ['nʌfɪŋk];
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8. [p, t, k] are heavily aspirated, more so than in RP;

9. [t] is affricated, [s] is heard before the vowel: top [tɒp].

Prof. J.C.Wells in is article “Cocknification of RP” discussed several of recent and

current sound changes in RP. They are:
1. The decline of weak /i/.
2. Glottaling.
3. L-vocalization.
4. Intrutive ‘r’.
5. Yod coalescence.
6. Assorted lexical chages. (Паращук стор.75)
7. Smoothing or reduction of sequences /aie aue/
8. Monophonguization of diphthong /ue/
9. Yod dropping after /s/
Northern English (NE) is spread between Birmingham and Scotland. The
difference between RP and Northern pronunciation may be illustrated by the /æ/,
which is heard in “last”, “part”, “after”. Overall, the NE resembles the London
pronunciation in the 16-th – 17-th centuries, which was a literary norm at that time.
This type brought to the USA by similarity can be traced between NE and American
Pronunciation. Midland accents, Yorkshire, for example, West Midland and North-
West accents have very much in common with Northern ones.

Vowels
1.RP [ʌ] is realized as [ʊ]: love [lʌv] - [lʊv];
2. RP final [ɪ] sounds like [i:]: city ['sɪtɪ] – ['sɪti:];
3. words like dance, chance which in RP have [ɑ:] are pronounced with [ӕ]: [dӕns],
[ʧӕns];
4. [e] , [ɜʊ ] are either monophthongs, or much narrower diphthongs that the ones in
the south of England, or they may even sound as opening diphthongs [ɪe], [ʊo]: bay
[beɪ], [bɪe], plate [pleɪt), [plɪet], boat [bo:t], [bʊot];
5. words that have "al" in spelling - talk, call, all, are pronounced with [ɑ:]: [tɑ:k],
[kɑ:l], [ɑ:l];
6. RP words with [ɜ:] are pronounced with [ɔ:] in a broad Tyneside accent: first
[fɔ:st], shirt [ʃɔ:t]; so first, forced; shirt, short are homonyms;
7. [aɪ] is [ԑɪ]: right [rԑɪt]
8. words which in RP have [aʊ] may have [u:] : e. g. about [ə'bu:t].

Consonants
1. [l] is clear in all environments;
2. [h] is usually present in all positions;
3. -ing is [ɪ]: shilling [ʃɪlɪn];
4. [p, t, k] between vowels are accompanied by glottal stop [?]: pity ['pɪt?i:] ;
5. in parts of Northumberland and Durham [r] may be uvular (in its production
the tongue and the uvula, not the tongue and the alveolar ridge take part).
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The principal phonological differences between Welsh English and RP are the
following:
Vowels
1. The distribution of [ӕ] and [ɑ:] is north of England. Last, dance, chance, etc. tend
to have [ӕ] rather than [ɑ:];
2. unstressed orthographic "a" tends to be [ӕ] rather than [ə], e. g. : sofa ['so:fӕ] ;
3. there is no contrast between [ʌ] and [ə]: rubber ['rəbə];
4. [ɪ] at the end is a long vowel: city ['si:ti:];
5. in words like tune, few, used we find [iu] rather than [ju:]: tune [tiun];
6. [eɪ, [ɜʊ] may become monophthongs: bake [bԑ:k], boat [bo:t];
7. the vowel [ɜ:] as in girl is produced with rounded lips approaching [o:];
8, the vowels [ɪə, ʊə] do not occur in many variants of Welsh English: fear is ['fi:ə],
poor is ['pu:wə].

Consonants
1. Welsh English is non rotic, [r] is a tap, or it is also called a flapped. Intrusive and
linking [r] do occur.
2. Consonants in intervocalic position, mainly when the preceding vowel is short, are
doubled: city ['sltti:].
3. Voiceless plosives tend to be strongly aspirated: in word-final position they are
generally released and without glottalization, e. g. Pit [phi:th].
4. [l] is clear in all positions.
The Welsh language very much influences intonation in Welsh English.

Scottish Pronunciation. English has been spoken in Scotland for as long as it

has been spoken in England. However, in the Highlands and Islands of northern and
western Scotland, Gaelic is still the native language of thousands of speakers from
these regions.
Nowadays, educated Scottish people speak a form of Scottish Standard English
which grammatically and lexically is not different from English used elsewhere,
although with an obvious Scottish accent. However, we must admit that non-standard
dialects of Scotland still resemble Scots and, in many respects, are radically different
from most other varieties of English. It is very difficult to understand them for
students who learn RP.
The most striking peculiarity is observed in the manner of utterance of the /r/,
which resembles here as Ukrainian /r/ rolled. Another peculiarity: initial “wh” is
pronounced as /hw/.
Eg. Which /hwɪt∫/.
Vowels.
1. Since Scottish English is rhotic, i. e. it preserves post-vocalic [r], vowels such
as RP [ɪə], [ɜ:], [ԑə], [ʊə] do not occur:

RP Scottish English
Beer [bɪə] [bɪr]
bird [bɜ:d] [bɪrd]
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hurt [hɜ:t] [hʌrt]

bard [bɑ:d] [bɑ:rd]
moor [mʊə] [mʊr]

2. Length is not a distinctive feature of Scottish vowels. Such pairs like pool - pull,
cot - caught are not distinguished. It should be noted, however, that vowels are longer
in final stressed open syllables than elsewhere.
3. Monophthongs are pure, there is no trace of diphthongization with the exceptions
of [aɪ] - [eɪ], [aʊ] - [ɜʊ] and [ɔɪ];
4. The RP [ӕ] - [ɑ:(ɑ)] distinction doesn't exist: hat [hɑt], dance [dɑns];
5. [ɪ], [ʊ] may be central;
6. In non-standard Scottsih English accent [u:] often occurs when RP has [aʊ]: house
[haʊs]- [hu:s].

7. It is interesting to mention that [ɒ] and [ɜʊ] may be not contrasted.

socks not
[soks] [not]
soaks note
8. In very many regional accents do, to are pronounced as [də], [tə].
9. In some accents words such as arm, after, grass may have [ԑ] rather [ɑ:]: after
[ԑftə].

Consonants
1. Scottish English consistently preserves a distinction between [ʍ] and [w]: which
[ʍɪtf] witch – [whɪʧ];
2. Initial [p, t, k] are usually non-aspirated.
3. [r] is most usually a flap.
4. Non-initial [t] is often realized as a glottal stop [?].
5. [ł] is dark in all positions.
6. The velar fricative [x] occurs a number of words: loch [lɒx].
7. -ing is [ɪn].
8. [h] is present.
9. A specific Scottish feature is the pronunciation of [θr] as [ʃr]: through [ʃru:].

6. General American.
The sociolinguistic situation in the United States is very complicated. It is
moulded by certain linguistic, cultural, historical, demographic, geographic, political
and other factors. Generally speaking, the situation in the USA may be characterized
as exoglossic, i. e. having several languages on the same territory, the balance is in
favour of American English
American English shows a lesser degree of dialect than British English due to
some historical factors: the existence of Standard English when first English settlers
came to America, the high mobility of population, internal migrations of different
communities and so on. As regards pronunciation, however, it is not at all
homogeneous. There are certain varieties of educated American speech.
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In the USA three main types of cultivated speech are recognized:

the Eastern type,
the Southern type and
Western or General American.
1. The Eastern type is spoken in New England and in New York City. It bears a
remarkable resemblance to Southern English, though there are, of course, some slight
differences.
2. The Southern type is used in the South and South-East of the USA. It possesses a
striking, distinctive feature - vowel drawl, which is a specific way of pronouncing
vowels, consisting in the diphthongization and even triphthongization of some pure
vowels and monophthongization of some diphthongs at the expense of prolonging
("drawling") their nuclei and dropping the glides.
3. The third type of educated American speech is General American (GA), also
known as Northern American or Western American, spoken in central Atlantic
States: New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin and others. GA pronunciation is known to
be the pronunciation standard of the USA. There are some reasons for it. GA is the
form of speech used by the radio and television. It is mostly used in scientific,
cultural and business intercourse. Also, in two important business centers - New York
and St. Louis - GA is the prevailing form of speech and pronunciation, though New
York is situated within the territory where Eastern American is spoken, and S t. Louis
is within the region of Southern American. In this chapter, we shall give an outline of
the GA accent. We will then point to the differences between this accent and RP.
For American English, the selection (in EPD) also follows what is frequently
heard from professional voices on national network news and information programs. It
is similar to what has been termed General American, which refers to a geographically
(largely non-coastal) and socially based set of pronunciation features. It is important to
note that no single dialect - regional or social - has been singled out as an American
standard. Even national media (radio, television, movies, etc.), with professionally
trained voices, have speakers with regionally mixed features. However, in its
most colourless form, Network English can be described as a relatively
homogeneous dialect that reflects the ongoing development of progressive American
dialects. This "dialect" itself contains some variant forms. The variants involve
vowels before [r], possible differences in words like cot and caught and some vowels
before [l]. It is fully rhotic. These differences largely pass unnoticed by the
audiences for Network English and reflect age differences. What are thought to be
the more progressive (used by educated, socially mobile, and younger speakers)
variants are considered as first variants. J.C. Wells prefers the term General American.
This is what is spoken by most Americans, namely those who do not have a noticeable
eastern or southern accent.

Vowels
1. There is no strict division of vowels into long and short in GA, though some
American phoneticians suggest that certain GA vowels are tense and likely to be
accompanied by relative length: [i:] in seat, [u:] in pool. They also admit that a
slight rise in tongue position during the pronunciation of tense vowels leads to a
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diphthongal quality of tense vowels, which contrasts with a monophthongal

quality of lax vowels
2. Classification of vowels, according to the stability of articulation, is a very
controversial subject in GA. Some diphthongs are treated as biphonernic
combinations. The inventory of GA diphthongs varies from three to twelve
phonemes. Following D. Shakhbagova we distinguish here five diphthongs in
GA: [eɪ], [aɪ], [ɔɪ], [aʊ], [oʊ].
3. Another important feature that causes different interpretations of diphthongs and
vowel length in GA is the pronunciation of [r] between a vowel and a consonant
or between a vowel and a silence: tum [tɜrn], bird [bɜrd] star [stɑ:r]. It has been
estimated that 2/3 of the American population pronounce and 1/3 omit it. Thus
GA is rhotic. In words like far, core, when [r] follows the vowels and ends the
word, this sound is consonantal and non-syllabic. It involves the characteristic
hindering of the free flow of breath, which we associate with consonants. The
sound [r] in far closes the syllable more definitely than in British Received
Pronunciation of the word [fɑ:]. On the other hand, there is a vocalic or vowel-
like and syllabic [r] that occurs in words like bird, murmur, after a vowel and
before a consonant.
4. One more peculiar feature of pronunciation of vowels in American English is
their nasalization, when they are preceded or followed by a nasal consonant (in
such words as take, small, name, etc.). Nasalization is often called an American
twang. It is incidental and need not be marked in phonemic transcription.
5. GA front vowels are somewhat different from RP. In words like very, pity GA
has [i:] rather than [ɪ]. In word final position it is often even diphthongized. The
vowel [e] is more open in GA. It also may be diphthongized before [p], [t], [k]:
let [Iԑet].
6. There are four mixed or central vowels in GA: [ɜ], [ə], [ʌ], [ɑ]. They differ
markedly from RP vowels in articulation and distribution.
7. The three RP vowels [ɒ], [ӕ], [ɑ] correspond to only two vowels in GA- [ɑ] and
[ӕ]. This combined with the articulatory differences between RP [ɒ] and GA [a]
and a difference in vowel distribution in many sets of words, makes it very
complicated. The following chart vividly shows it:
RP GA
dad [ӕ] [ӕ]
dog [dɒɡ] [dɑɡ]
path [pɑ:θ] [pӕθ]
dance [dɑ:ns] [dӕns]
half [hɑ:f] [hӕf]
Besides word distribution of [ɔ:] , [ɒ] in RP and GA is completely different.
GA [ɔ] is intermediate in quality between the RP [ɔ:] and [ɒ]. In its production the
lips are considerably less rounded.
8. Now to the qualities of GA diphthongs.
a) the diphthong [eɪ] is closer in GA as opposed to RP;
b) the nucleus of [ɜʊ] tends to be more advanced in GA;
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c) since GA is a rhotic accent with non-prevocalic [r], it has the consequence that the
following RP vowels (derived historically from vowel +[r]) do not occur in GA: [ɪə]
in dear - GA [dɪr], [ԑə] in dare – GA [deɪr], [ʊə] in tour - GA [tur].

Consonants
1. The RP allophonic differentiation of [l] does not exist in GA. In all positions, [l] is
fairly dark.
2. Intervocalic [t] as in pity is most normally voiced. The result is neutralization
of the distribution between [t] and [d] in this position, i. e. latter, ladder. The original
distinction is preserved through vowel length, with the vowel before [t] being shorter.
In words like twenty, little [t] may even drop out. Thus winner and winter, for
example, may sound identical.
3. GA [r] is articulated differently from RP one. The impression is one of greater
retroflexion (the tip of the tongue is curled back further than in RP).
4. The ‘wh’spelling is represented in GA by [ʍ] sound (or sometimes as [hw]. Most
American speakers make a clear distinction and "w" words: where - ware, which -
witch.
5. The sonorant [j] is usually weakened or omitted altogether in GA between a
consonant (especially forelingual one) and [u:] as in the words: news [nu:z], Tuesday
[tu:zdɪ] suit [su:t], tube [tu:b], stupid ['stu:pɪd].

Non-systematic Differences between General American and Received

Pronunciation
1. Many differences involve the pronunciation of individual words or groups of
words. Here are some of these:
RP GA
Asia ['eɪʃə] ['eɪʒə]
cordial ['kɔ:dɪəl] ['kɔrjəl]
either ['aɪðə] ['i:ðər]
leisure ['leʒə] ['li:ʒər]
lever ['li:v] ['levər]
schedule ['ʃedju:l] ['skedjəl]
shone [ʃɒn] [foʊn]
tomato [tə'ma:təʊ] [ta'meɪtoʊ]
base [va:z] [veɪz]

2. Words apparatus, data, status can be pronounced with either [ӕ] or [eɪ] in GA, but
only with [eɪ] in RP.
3. Words like hostile, missile, reptile have final [ail] in RP. GA, they may have [əl].

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 ['bӕlel] [bӕ'lel] beret
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2. Some words have first-syllable stress in GA, whereas in RP, the stress may be
elsewhere.
RP GA
address [ e'dres] ['ӕdres]
cigarette [sɪge'ret] ['slgərət]
magazine [ˌmӕge'zi:n] ['mӕgazn]
research [r'zɜ:ʧ] ['rɪzəʧ]
adult [e'dʌlt] ['ӕdʌIt]
inquiry [ɪŋ'kwaɪərɪ] ['ɪŋkwaɪərɪ]
3. Some compound words have stress on the first element in GA and in RP they
retain it on the second element: weekend, ice-cream, hot dog, New Year.
4. Polysyllabic words ending in -ory, -ary, -many have secondary stress in GA, often
called "tertiary": laboratory ['lӕbrəˌtɔrɪ], dictionary ['dlkʃəˌnerɪ], secretary ['sekrə
ˌterɪ], testimony [ˈtestɪˌmounɪ].

Intonation Differences
GA intonation on the whole is similar to that of RP. But there are, of course,
some differences that should be mentioned here.
1. In sentences where the most common pre-nuclear contour in RP is a gradually
descending sequence, the counterpart GA contour is a medium Level Head:
2. The usual Medium or Low Fall in RP has its rising-falling counterpart in GA:
3. The rising terminal tone in RP in GA has a mid-rising contour
4. The Fall-Rise nuclear tone is different in RP and GA:

These comparisons show that the main differences in intonation concern the
direction of the voice pitch and the terminal tones' realisation. In GA, the voice
doesn't fall to the bottom mostly. This explains the fact that the English speech for
Americans sounds "affected" and "pretentious" or "sophisticated". And for the
English, Americans sound "dull", "monotonous", "indifferent".
These differences and vocabulary give ground for some scientists to claim the
existence of the American language. But the differences in pronunciation, spelling,
and vocabulary are not so far reaching as to give grounds to consider that there is the
American language.
We say that since English spoken in USA have the same grammar, structure
and the same basic word stock, we may speak of the American English variant of
English.

7. Ukrainian accent of English.

The notion accent is used in present-day linguistics in several ways:
1. It refers to the prominence given to a syllable, usually by the use of pitch.
2. It denotes a particular way of pronouncing, e.g. there are a number of English
speakers who all share the same grammar and vocabulary but pronounce what they
say with different accents, such as Scots, Cockney or RP (Roach 1992).
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3. It means a dynamic system of violations of the accepted pronunciation norms

of a foreign language in the speech of nonnative speakers. It appears as a result of
interference of first language pronunciation habits into foreign phonetic realization.
Violations of English pronunciation in speakers of the same language
community have a number of common features that distinguish their speech from that
of other nonnative speakers who use English as the lingua franca. Thus, by Ukrainian
accent of English, we understand a set of specific pronunciation features peculiar to
the English pronunciation of Ukrainian speakers and distinguish them from other
English-speaking people.
Speaking about foreign pronunciation acquisition, one cannot avoid
mentioning the role articulatory basis and articulatory settings (voice quality settings)
of the first and the second language in this process.
When a Ukrainian learner imposes the new phonemes of English on the
articulatory (voice quality) Ukrainian setting, a foreign accent appears.
In the sphere of vowels, such deviations from the pronunciation norm of
English are observed:
1. More front articulation of the English front vowels /i:/, /e/, /ɪ/.
2. Insufficient opening of the English low vowels due to a lesser articulatory activity
of the bottom jaw in Ukrainian.
3. Insufficient differentiation of broad and narrow variants of vowel phonemes.
4. Incorrect articulation of English diphthongs.
5. Excessive lip rounding and protrusion in the articulation of English rounded
vowels caused by the greater prominence pf lip participation in Ukrainian.
6. Deviations in the realization of phonological and positional length of English
vowels.
7. Absence of qualitative and quantitative reduction of vowel phonemes in unstressed
position.
In the sphere of consonants Ukrainian accent of English includes the following
features:
1. Inappropriate articulation of the consonants which are absent in Ukrainian: /w/
(confusion with /w/, /θ/, /ð/ (dental articulation of inner-dental phonemes, /r/, /ŋ/
and /h/ (excessive fortis articulation of this phoneme).
2. Dental-dorsal articulation of English apical-alveolar consonants due to the tongue
settings in Ukrainian.
3. Palatalization of English consonants and consonant clusters.
4. Devoicing of voiced consonants in the word final position. This feature is the case
of secondary interference, i.e. the influence of Russian, but not Ukrainian
articulatory habits on English. Devoicing at the end of the words is typical for
Russian, while in English, voiced consonants are partially devoiced, and in
Ukrainian, such consonants undergo no devoicing.
5. Absence of aspiration of fortis plosive phonemes /p/, /t/, /k/ and absence of
neutralization of aspiration in special cases.
Knowing the features mentioned above of the Ukrainian English accent is
important for intercultural communication and English foreign language teaching
practice. It helps clarify the interaction of English and Ukrainian pronunciation bases
 14

and enhances mutual intelligibility between the speakers who use English as the
lingua franca. In teaching practice, the teacher’s awareness of typical English
pronunciation violations by Ukrainian learners will help devise efficient teaching
techniques and direct the learners’ efforts at the acquisition of accurate English
pronunciation habits.