Learning Languages

British vs American Pronunciation

Cristobal Gomez
20 January, 2021

Anyone who has travelled between the USA and the UK can tell you that the first thing most people notice is the difference in accents and pronunciation. We use many of the same terms, but the there are key distinctions in the way that Americans and Brits pronounce certain words.

If you are thinking about learning English abroad in either the USA or the UK, it’s good to study up on the correct pronunciation for your chosen city. That way, you’ll know your ah-luh-min-um from your al-oo-min-i-um.

 

Food pronunciation

Many of the spices and vegetables used in cooking have different pronunciations (or even different terms entirely), so if you like to cook you will probably be using these terms quite often.

 

Yogurt (Yoghurt)

  • American English: Yoh-gurt
  • British English: Yog-urt

 

Pitta

  • American English: Pee-ta
  • British English: Pitt-a

 

Basil

  • American English: Bay-zil
  • British English: Bah-zil

 

Oregano

  • American English: Oh-ray-ga-no
  • British English: Orah-ga-no

 

Herb

  • American English: Erb
  • British English: Herb

 

Tomato

  • American English: To-may-to
  • British English: To-mah-to

 

Listen to the difference:

Yogurt (Yoghurt) 

Pitta 

Basil

Oregano

Herb

Tomato

 

 

Household item pronunciation

Things we use in our day-to-day lives can also have slight pronunciation differences. Whether you are talking about kitchen items or things you encounter throughout your day, you’ll probably come across these as well.

 

Vase

  • American English: Vayz
  • British English: Vawz

 

Vitamin

  • American English: Vai-tuh-min
  • British English: Vit-uh-min

 

Garage

  • American English: Guh-rahj
  • British English: Gare-uh

 

Aluminum

  • American English: Ah-luh-min-um
  • British English: Al-oo-min-i-um

 

 

Listen to the difference:

Vase

Vitamin

Garage

Aluminum

 

 

MISCELANEA 

Address

  • American English: Add-ress
  • British English: A-dress

 

Van Gogh

  • American English: Van-Go
  • British English: Van-goff

 

Advertisement

  • American English: Ad-ver-tize-ment
  • British English: Advert-iz-ment

 

 

Listen to the difference:

Address

Van Gogh

Advertisement

 

Try practicing the different pronunciations on your own and note how the words sound different. How many of these words have you heard before? 

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Cristobal Gomez (99 Posts)
Cristobal is the Global Marketing Manager of Kaplan International Languages; and he’s based in London HQ. Born in Málaga, Spain, Cris has always had a passion for languages; learning English as a second language himself. Cris has worked for in a wide variety of roles for different companies in the ELT space. Over the last four years, Cris has worked in administration, school operations, sales, managed a Juniors’ camp and is now busy running around with a clipboard in marketing. Cris is a musician, a basketballer and self-professed “gamer”.