british to u.s english

[ovair]

Hey hi every body!

I'm asian.We use british system over there.I'm in u.s right now,so situation for me right now is quite difficult because we got different pronounciations of every alphabets in british system.I would like to know pronounciations of alphabets in u.s language.It can help me to become like native speakers.!Please help me.!
many thanks and highly appreciated.....

please tell me pronounciation of a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y, z.!I hope these alphabets are in chronological order.:D.!

[Teia]

Originally Posted by ovair

Hey hi every body!

I'm asian.We use british system over there.I'm in u.s right now,so situation for me right now is quite difficult because we got different pronounciations of every alphabets in british system.I would like to know pronounciations of alphabets in u.s language.It can help me to become like native speakers.!Please help me.!
many thanks and highly appreciated.....

please tell me pronounciation of a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y, z.!I hope these alphabets are in chronological order.:D.!

Hi

There`s no difference between the British alphabet and the American one.
Try searching google for a clear pronounciation of the letters / sounds of the English alphabet.

[ovair]

yes I know there is no difference between alphabets.I was askking about pronounciation.can you give me some better link because i tried and still without any good result...!

thanks.!

[RedMtl]

Originally Posted by ovair

yes I know there is no difference between alphabets.I was askking about pronounciation.can you give me some better link because i tried and still without any good result...!

thanks.!

The pronunciation of the individual letters of the alphabet is precisely the same.

What you are searching for is a guide to the pronunciation of words, which are made up of those letters. Try searching for a guide to American pronunciation, as opposed to a guide to the American alphabet (which is no different to the English alphabet).

This should help you with the specific usage and sounds of the letters in combination, as well as the differences in the vowel sounds.

One book with generally good reviews is: The American Accent Guide: A complete and comprehensive course on the pronunciation and speaking style of American English for individuals of all language backgrounds.

There is also a website called fonetiks . org which might help.
Good luck!

[David L.]

The only difference I'm aware of is for 'z'

In Britain, we say 'zed'. In the USA, it's 'zee'.

[RedMtl]

Originally Posted by David L.

The only difference I'm aware of is for 'z'

In Britain, we say 'zed'. In the USA, it's 'zee'.

It is "zed" (or some close variation such as "tzet" in German) everywhere I know of, except the USA. It always amuses me when people there tell everyone else which way is correct. I'm especially sensitive to it living so close to the US border. It happens regularly, if I spell something, that I'll get a very long pause as a reaction if I happen to use the letter Z. Occasionally, the penny drops. More frequently, it does not, and I have to stop to think what I say wrongly in the spelling.

I happen to have a friend who is presently living in the London area. She has a four year old boy, who is in a UK preschool. She quite recently told me that she will be glad to get back to California, where he'll learn the "right way to pronounce 'zee' rather than this horrible 'zed' they use here."

What makes it all the stranger/funnier is that she's married to a Canadian, who is a linguist, and she speaks several languages herself -- all of which use "zed" or some close variation. Yet, she's so ingrained in American English, that she cannot see the advantages in her son having more than one angle on the whole issue.

Oh well!

[Tdol]

The pronunciation of letters can make people angry- I have seen venomous criticisms of both the pronunciation and the people who say 'haitch'.

[amy270]

Originally Posted by Tdol

The pronunciation of letters can make people angry- I have seen venomous criticisms of both the pronunciation and the people who say 'haitch'.

Your post made me giggle Tdol, as I'm Australian and 'haitch' has become ingrained in my speech. It wasn't until I was googling Australian English one day (I'm working as a legal English teacher in Sweden) that I found out that 'haitch' most likely comes from Australia's Irish ancestry.

Must have had an English teacher who said 'haitch' somewhere along the line...

As an aside, 'z'/'zed' is pronounced 'zetta' in Swedish. Good luck Ovair!

[Anglika]

I always use "haitch" when spelling something on the phone - "aitch" can sound like "eight" and lead to much misunderstanding.

[ovair]

thank you all of you.

I want to share one of my story here:)

I was in my class,my casual friends of class including me were playing a game named as "handman"for just time pass because we had nothing to do.one of my friend wrote one word on the projector,I guesses one alphabet in between the game "t"."t" is pronounced as"teee".i said this alphabet like 4 times.he didn't get what i said.in that class there were 5 students and all were native speakers..none of them were hispanic or asian...!can you tell me why he didn't get "t" word?...i was saying so clearly,softly and calmly...!