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1、Phonetic Differences between American and British EnglishAs we all know, there are many differences between American and British sound such as sentence stress, intonation, overall sound and voice quality, etc. We have learned about the differences concretely this semester. There is very little empir
2、ical research available on differences in sentence stress between GA and British English. British English sometimes gives light stress to the fronted auxiliary verb whereas GA usually does not. For instance, the stresses between GA and British English on the sentence I want to see a friend of mine.
3、are different. In British English, want, see and friend are all stressful, but In GA English, only friend are all stressful.Theoretically, the British intonation begins with a marked rise, then a gradual fall with a final glide down on the last syllable. The GA intonation begins with a much smaller
4、rise-fall, maintaining a mid-level pitch with a marked rise-and-fall glide on the final syllable.British English has a greater pitch range and a more step like movement from high to low whereas GA maintains a flat or slightly wavy mid-level until the final contour of the utterance.Here we have part
5、of Hilary Clintons endorsement speech as an example:Some will say we cant do it, that is too hard, we are just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject cant do plans and to choose instead, the stretch the binderies in the past of all the too
6、hard work and termination and pioneering experience, but it is this belief, this optimism that sedater Obama and I share and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard, so today I am standing with sedater Obama to say “yes we can!”Here we have part of a reading m
7、aterial of the novel atonement as another example:After two strong gin cocktails in the drawing room with Leon and his sister, Marshall had come upstairs to find his room, unpack and change for dinner.From these two examples above, we can see that the GA has a much smaller rise-fall. Comparatively,
8、the GA tends to use a high fall-rise more commonly than British speakers. American speakers tend to use a relative narrow pitch range, while British speakers have a wider pitch range. Therefore, compared with the Americans relatively plain and steady tone, British intonation sounds more musical, mor
9、e colorful and pleasant. It is said that GA speakers tend to perceive British speakers as pretentious and mannered, and British speakers tend to perceive Americans as monotonous and negative. To us, learning the Phonetic Differences between American and British English is quite helpful, and the phonetic of English in the two areas are both symbols of their own culture.