45. National variants of English pronunciation. The main types of American pronunciation.

Languages, spoken by more than one nation, have several national variants of standard pronunciation. One of such languages is English. As a result of the colonial expansion of British Empire, the English language spread from the British Isles to all the continents of the earth, and as the colonies and dominions gained their independence and attained nationhood English became the national language of several countries, such as the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and the greater part of Canada. It is native to many who live in India, Israel, Malta, Ceylon, the Republic of South Africa.

All the English-speaking nations have their own standard variants of English pronunciation, which possess many features in common, because they are of common origin. At the same time, they acquire varying number of differences due to the new conditions of their development after separation from the British English and to the degree of their connection with the British English after that separation.

Thus, there are the following national variants of Standard English pronunciation:

1) Australian pronunciation standard;

2) New Zealand pronunciation standard;

3) American pronunciation standard;

4) Canadian pronunciation standard.

New Zealand and Australian types of pronunciation are British-based standards. Canadian pronunciation standard exhibits features common with American English and British English. Like American speakers, most Canadians use the retroflex [r] and dark [l] in all positions and pronounce [æ] in place of [α:]. Some scholars consider Canadian pronunciation American based standard.

The main types of American pronunciation. General American Pronunciation.

In the United States there may be distinguished three main regional variants of standard pronunciation:

1) the Eastern type of standard pronunciation;

2) the Southern type of standard pronunciation;

3) the Western (Midwestern, Northern, Central Western) type of standard pronunciation.

The Eastern type is spoken along the East coast of New England and in New York City; it bears a close resemblance to the Southern English pronunciation which is explained by close contacts of the New England States with Britain during the colonization of America. But there are, of course some slight differences.

The Southern type is spoken in the South and South-East of the USA. Its most striking distinctive feature is the so called Southern drawl, which is a specific way of pronouncing vowels, consisting in the diphthongization of some simple vowels and monophthongization of some diphthongs at the expense of prolonging (“drawling”) their nuclei and dropping the glides (ex. that [ðæiet] ,cute [kjuət], fine [fα:n]). Southern American pronunciation has some features in common with RP, such as the dropping of [r] after [з:], and [ə] the use of clear [l] before a vowel and others. Some linguists consider Southern American pronunciation non-standard, as it is peculiar only to that part of the country and has not spread north.

The Western American is spoken in the central Atlantic States: New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin and others. It is not only the most widespread type, but also, like RP in Great Britain, the least regional in character, which is why this type of pronunciation is called General American (GA). It is close to modern Northern British Pronunciation.

These three dialects posses certain features in common that are characteristic of American pronunciation in the whole. But GA pronunciation is the national pronunciation standard of the USA, as it is the form of speech used by radio and television, in scientific, cultural and business intercourse. Besides in two important business centers – New York and St. Louis – GA is the prevailing form of speech and pronunciation, though New York is situated within the territory where Eastern American is used, and St. Louis is within the region of Southern American.