Have you noticed that Americans and Brits pronounce words quite differently?
You might hear that vowel sounds are completely different.
After all, vowel sounds do vary quite a lot between regional dialects.
And you might notice different consonants, especially when we're talking about the American
"r" versus the British pronunciation of "r," or the American flap "t" versus the British
clear pronunciation of the "t" sound.
But as far as I'm concerned, the most noticeable differences between the two accents have to
do with the way the words are stressed, and that's what we're going to focus on in today's video.
We'll talk about 30 words that are stressed differently in American and British English.
Welcome back to the English with Kim YouTube channel, where you'll learn what to say, how
to say it, and why it matters.
If you're as obsessed with word and sentence stress as I am, be sure to hit subscribe.
Like I said a moment ago, the most noticeable difference between the American and British
pronunciations of words has to do with the placement of the primary stressed syllable
in certain words.
When we stress a word, we make one syllable longer, louder and higher in pitch.
This also makes the vowel sound in this word extremely clear and easy to hear.
If you stress the wrong syllable, the word will sound off and be a little hard to understand,
even if you pronounce the rest of the word correctly.
I talk all about this in my videos on reasons why native speakers may not understand you,
as well as in my video on three reasons you're mispronouncing words in English.
I've included links to these videos in the description.
This means if you're stressing a word the British way, it may confuse an American who's
not that familiar with British English.
Believe me, I understand how frustrating it can be to have to choose an accent when you're
trying to learn a language, but you want to make sure you focus on the pronunciation and
the stress that is most related to your life.
I'll share both the American stress pattern and the British one, but I can't promise that
my pronunciation of British words will sound the way a native speaker would say it.
After all, I haven't studied the British accent.
I just teach the American one.
The other thing I want to point out about the words we're going to discuss today is
that many of them have roots in French.
They're what we call "loanwords" from French.
The British version of these words is pronounced the way it would be according to English spelling.
The American version is a pronunciation that sounds more French, even though it is still
Anglicised, or converted into English pronunciation.
I know my French friends will probably be cringing at the way we pronounce these words,
but that's how it is.
So let's get started.
The first word we're going to look at today is the word "address."
In British English, the word would be pronounced address, with stress on the second syllable:
address, address.
In American English, the word will be pronounced address, address, with stress on the first syllable.
I have to point out that you will hear Americans as well as Brits use both pronunciations of
this word, but it's more common in British English to say address, and it's more common
in American English to say address.
In the US, the stress on the word will change depending on whether it's a noun or a verb.
If we're talking about someone's address, we're going to stress the first syllable.
If we are going to address an envelope, we're going to stress the second syllable.
However, it is more common that you'll hear people say "address."
Next, let's talk about the word "adult."
In British English, this word is pronounced adult.
In American English.
This word is generally pronounced adult, adult.
However, like the previous example, you will hear people use both pronunciations of that word.
I tend to use adult more than adult.
The reason I mix the pronunciations of "adult" and "adult" may have to do with the fact that
I'm from the New England area, the Boston area, and we have closer ties to the Brits.
Maybe.
That's just a possible explanation.
So once again, the American version of this word is adult, adult.
Next, let's look at a word that is so different in American English and British English.
I'm talking about the word "advertisement."
In British English, this word would be pronounced advertisement, advertisement.
In American English, we pronounce it advertisement, advertisement.
As you can hear, the stress in the American version is on the first syllable.
In the British version, the stress is on the second syllable, and it really changes the
way the word sounds.
Advertisement, advertisement, advertisement, advertisement.
I hope you clearly hear the difference.
Like I said at the beginning, when we change the pronunciation of a word, it can really
change the way the vowel sound is understood.
That's why it really brings out those differences between the pronunciation of vowels in British
and American English.
Next, let's look at a word that we've taken from French: ballet.
In British English, the word would be pronounced ballet, ballet, with stress on the first syllable,
and the vowel sound would be way more British, maybe "ballet."
Like I said, I'm not British, so I'm not entirely sure.
Americans would pronounce the word ballet, ballet.
Like I said earlier, we're making the words sound a little more French by stressing it
on the second syllable: ballet, ballet.
Obviously it's still an American version of a French word, but it's pronounced a little
closer to the French than the British version.
Here's another example: brochure.
In British English, this word would be pronounced brochure, brochure.
In American English, the word would be pronounced brochure, brochure.
As you can hear, once again the stress is on the second syllable: brochure brochure.
Here's another French inspired word: buffet, buffet.
In British English, the word would be pronounced buffet, buffet, with stress on the first syllable.
In American English, the word would be pronounced on the second syllable: buffet, buffet, buffet.
Can you hear the difference between the stress patterns on these words?
Next, let's look at the word "caffeine," everybody's favorite, if you like drinking tea or coffee: caffeine.
In British English, the word would be stressed on the first syllable: caffeine, caffeine.
In American English, the word is stressed on the second syllable: caffeine, caffeine.
You can clearly hear the difference between the two pronunciations.
That's a word that really confuses me when I hear it pronounced in the British English version.
I'm so used to hearing people talk about needing caffeine.
Similarly, let's talk about the word "cafe."
In British English, the word is stressed on the first syllable: cafe, cafe.
In American English, the word is stressed on the second syllable: cafe, cafe.
You can remember the American English version because we usually include a little accent
mark on the "e": cafe, cafe.
Pay attention to this stress pattern on words coming from French.
This will help you remember to stress these words correctly when you're speaking American English.
Next, let's look at the word "chauffeur."
In British English, the word is said chauffeur, chauffeur.
In American English, the word is pronounced chauffeur, chauffeur.
As you can see, we're shifting the stress to the end of the word: chauffeur, chauffeur.
Big difference, right?
Let's move on to cliche, cliche.
Obviously another word that we've taken from French.
The British pronounce it cliche, cliche.
Americans pronounce it cliche, cliche.
Once again, you can use the little accent mark at the end of the word in order to remind
you where the stress should be.
Next, let's talk about a word that I find really confusing with the British English pronunciation: debris.
In British English, this word would be pronounced debris, debris.
When I first heard this word, I didn't really understand what it meant in British English,
because we pronounce it debris, debris.
As you can hear, it's completely different, because we use the schwa in the American version,
and the British pronounce the "de" really clearly.
Once again, the American version is debris.
We're stressing the word on the second syllable.
Now we can look at the word debut, debut.
In British English, the word would be stressed on the first syllable: debut, debut.
In American English, the stress would be on the second syllable: debut, debut.
Once again, this is another loanword from French and you can hear Americans are stressing
that second syllable.
Listening for this stress pattern will help you recognize words that appear to have similar roots.
Moving on, let's talk about decor, decor.
In British English, the word would be pronounced decor, decor.
In American English, the word is pronounced decor, decor, decor.
You'll sometimes hear some Americans who know that it comes from French, say decor, but
they'll still stress that second syllable.
However, I usually reduce it to a schwa sound: decor.
Moving on, let's look at the word detail, or detail.
In British English, they tend to pronounce it detail, detail.
In American English, we tend to pronounce it detail, detail.
However, like other words in these examples, you will hear both pronunciations.
I tend to use detail, and that may have to do, like I said, with the fact that I'm from
New England, and we have closer ties to our British friends.
Next, let's look at the word "donate."
In British English, the word would be pronounced donate, donate.
In American English, we pronounce the word donate, donate.
In this case, the stress is on the first syllable: donate.
Next, let's talk about the word fiance, or fiance.
In British English, they tend to stress the second syllable and pronounce it with a much
better French accent: fiance, fiance.
I can't really say it correctly.
In American English, we tend to stress the last syllable: fiance, fiance.
I have to say I tend to pronounce it with stress on the second syllable: fiance, fiance.
Once again, that may have to do with my New England background.
You will find that there are different regional pronunciations of words.
I talk more about this in my video: 10 words I have trouble pronouncing in English.
Be sure to check out that video in the cards, and also in the description below the video.
Up next is a word that is very hard for me to pronounce in British English because it's
very different than the American version.
It's the word "garage."
The British stress this word on the first syllable, and they tend to really emphasize
the difference in sound.
They say garage, garage.
In American English, we say garage, garage.
And if you hear an actual Brit pronounce the word, you'll probably notice a difference
between how Americans pronounce the "r" and how British pronounce the "r."
They say garage, and we say garage.
That one's really hard for me to understand when I hear a Brit say it.
Moving on, let's talk about some food: gourmet.
In British English, the word will be stressed on the first syllable: gourmet.
In American English, the word will be stressed on the second syllable: gourmet, gourmet.
Once again, this is a loanword from French, and you can hear that Americans are stressing
that second syllable, the end of the word: gourmet.
When I learned this next difference, it was really surprising to me, because it's one
of my favorite things to eat in the summer: ice cream.
In British English, they stress the word "cream": ice cream, ice cream.
In American English, we stress the first syllable: ice cream, ice cream.
This is really interesting to me because this is such a predictable stress pattern in English,
stressing that first syllable: ice cream, ice cream.
Next, let's talk about the word "magazine."
In British English, the word would be stressed on the last syllable: magazine, magazine.
In American English, the word will be stressed on the first syllable: magazine, magazine.
However, because of the influence from British English, you will also hear people stress
it on the last syllable.
I think we tend to shift the stress based on the way the word is used in the sentence,
and the words that appear around it.
But if you listen carefully, you'll probably hear Americans use both pronunciations, but
in American English it's generally pronounced magazine, magazine, with stress on that first syllable.
Next up: matinee, matinee.
In this word, you're going to hear a big difference between the British and American pronunciation,
because I tend to change that "t" into a glottal "t": matinee, matinee.
In British English, it would be matinee, matinee, and they would pronounce that "t" sound much
better than I do as an American.
In American English, the word will be matinee, matinee, or matinee, if you're in California,
or a region where you pronounce the "t" more clearly: matinee, matinee.
But I would say matinee, matinee.
You can definitely hear my regional accent in that word.
Next, let's talk about the word "migrate": migrate.
In British English, the word would be stressed on the second syllable: migrate, migrate.
In American English, the word is stressed on the first syllable: migrate, migrate.
It's so interesting how there are some words that are stressed on the first syllable, and
then they switch to the second syllable, and other words are stressed on the second syllable,
and they switch to the first syllable.
I'm not really sure why, but it's quite interesting to consider.
Next we have the word montage, montage.
In British English, this word tends to be pronounced on the first syllable: montage, montage.
In American English, we tend to pronounce it on the second syllable: montage, montage.
Once again, this has to do with whether we're using the noun version or the verb version
of the word.
If it's being used as a noun, a lot of Americans would say montage, montage, but we would use
the verb version, montage.
Language is fun, isn't it?
Next, we have a word that Americans definitely try to pronounce the French way: nonchalant,
nonchalant.
In British English, it would be stressed on the first syllable: nonchalant, nonchalant.
In American English, we would pronounce it on the last syllable: nonchalant, nonchalant.
You can probably hear that this gives us a little bit of an affectation.
We're trying to sound a little more French.
And it really makes me wonder if it has to do with the French support of Americans way
back when, in the history of our nation.
Hmm, who knows?
Another word we're going to look at: premature, premature.
In British English, the word would be stressed on the first syllable: premature, premature.
In American English, the word would be stressed on the second syllable: premature, premature.
Here's another word that sounds really funny to me when I hear it pronounced the British
way, and of course given the news recently, we hear it pronounced the British way quite a lot.
It's the word princess, princess.
The British pronounce the word princess, princess.
I first heard this in a movie called "Ever After," and I was really surprised because
that's not the way I grew up hearing the word.
In American English, the word would be pronounced princess, princess, princess.
In British English, princess.
Hmm. Isn't that interesting?
Next we have the word "rotate."
This one really surprised me when I heard there's a British version.
The British would stress the second syllable: rotate, rotate.
Americans stress the first syllable: rotate, rotate.
Next, we have another obviously French word: sachet, sachet.
The British would pronounce the word sachet, sachet.
Americans pronounce it sachet, sachet, with stress on the second syllable: sachet.
Another common word that we use is salon, salon.
The British will pronounce it on the first syllable: salon, salon.
They probably have a different vowel sound, like I said, not British.
The Americans would pronounce it on the second syllable: salon, salon.
You can hear that the word sounds a little more foreign when we stress it on the second syllable: salon.
Here's another one: vaccine, vaccine.
The British stress the first syllable: vaccine, vaccine.
Americans say vaccine, vaccine.
Can you hear the difference?
And for our last word today, it's a word that really confuses me: weekend.
The British pronounce it weekend, weekend, which probably has to do with the roots of the word.
Americans pronounce it weekend, weekend, with stress on the first syllable.
How do you feel after learning these 30 words that are stressed differently in British and
American English?
Even if you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed right now, I want to reassure you.
For the most part, the word stress patterns that we follow in English are the same between
British and American English.
This helps simplify things if you are focusing on your stress, which you should.
I really encourage you to focus on your stress, because even if you have other characteristics
of a non-native accent, stressing words correctly will make it so much easier for a native English
speaker to understand you, even if you're speaking American English to a Brit, or British
English to an American.
Of course, these words that are stressed differently between British and American English may cause
a little bit of confusion, but these probably aren't the words that you're using most commonly
in everyday speech.
Be sure to focus your attention on stress when you're learning how to pronounce a word.
It will really, really, really help people understand you.
Now that you've learned the words that are stressed differently between British and American
English, I want to know if you've heard of any other examples.
Leave a comment and share below.
Which words did you find surprising and which words do you find really challenging
to stress correctly?
They don't have to be the ones in this video, I'm happy to help you find the stress
in American English.
Of course, I do have many more resources on this topic, so be sure to take a look at the
links in the description below the video.
Or just click on my playlist for word and sentence stress in American English.
Once again, I'm Kim from englishwithkim.com.
I'm your guide to the essential conversation skills you need to sound more natural in English.
If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up and share it with a friend.
Be sure to hit subscribe if you haven't already.
Have a good one.
Goodbye.