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TYPES AND STYLES OF PRONUNCIATION
Styles of speech or pronunciation are those special forms of speech suited to the aim and the contents of the utterance, the circumstances of communication, the character of the audience, etc.
two styles of pronunciation
L.V. Shcherba wrote of the need to distinguish a great variety of styles of speech, in accordance with the great variety of different social occasions and situations, but for the sake of simplicity he suggested that only two styles of pronunciation should be distinguished
colloquial style characteristic of people's quiet talk, and (2) full style, which we use when we want to make our speech especially distinct and, for this purpose, clearly articulate all the syllables of each word.
There are many differences between British and American English which don’t
concern pronunciation. For example, in England you live in a block of flats, take the
underground and go on holiday. In the United States, you live in an apartment house,
take the subway and go on vacation. These are examples of vocabulary differences.
There are differences of grammar as well. In Britain you ask, “Have you got the
time?” and receive an answer, “It’s ten past two.” In the United States you say, “Do
you have the time?” and they tell you that “It’s ten after two.” British and American
English also differ in terms of spelling. Thus, British English has colour and centre,
where American English has color and center. Catalogue is spelt catalog, without -ue
in the end in the United States, and so on. But it is in terms of pronunciation that
British and American English differ most.
BBC pronunciation General American
box bÅks bå:ks
hot hÅt hå:t
o’clock \«klÅk \ «klå:k
bother «bÅ∂\ «bå:∂\r
knowledge »nÅn«prÅfˆt »nå:n«prå:fˆt
Notice, however, that there are also words which are pronounced with /å:/ in both
accents, e.g., father, palm, balm, part, start, large, card, etc.
• On the other hand, in a number of words in which BBC pronunciation has /å:/,
General American has the front open /æ/ vowel, e.g.
In conclusion, it must be said that there is a lot of accentual variation both within
Britain and the United States. Also, some Eastern accents in the USA sound closer to
BBC pronunciation than to General American, while some British accents resemble
General American rather than BBC English. Nevertheless, BBC pronunciation and
General American still are, and will most probably continue to be, the two accents
which learners of English who wish to acquire (near) native-like pronunciation take as
their model.
conclusion