The Foundations of Standard American English Pronunciation
Given the enormous geographical range of spoken English, how did American English pronunciation become so generalized?
- Most linguists attribute this to the sociolinguistic connection between language and culture.
- Accents are created either by geographical constraints (deserts, mountains, oceans, etc.) or social constraints that restrict contact among groups of people.
- The degree to which Americans can move from one socioeconomic class to another, as well as from one geographic region to another, is unprecedented compared to other language communities.
Accordingly, a standard accent for American English pronunciation has been created that people from all over the country can understand and identify with, if not use on a daily basis.
Standard American pronunciation, in everyday lingo, is known as "anchorman's English" since this is the preferred accent of national newscasters.
Regional Accents in the United States
Many large countries, either by population or by land mass, have hundreds of different regional accents. But in the United States, most people can only identify less than five general accent patterns. These include:
- A "New York" accent
- A "Boston" accent
- A "Southern" accent
- A "Minnesota" accent
Of course, there is great variation even within these regional accents.
Remember, pronouncing 'ed' endings is very important. If they aren't clearly pronounced, the meaning of your sentence changes completely. The sentences "I talk to him regularly" and "I talked to him regularly" have different meanings.
A) Pronounce 'ed' like /t/ after voiceless consonants except for 't'.
- Brian faxed over the order.
- Sorry I missed you!
- We've always worked well together.
- Jane really helped me out!
Try This: I flinched when the cars smashed into each other. Yet, both drivers jumped out and checked the damage, so I knew they were alright.