RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH (RP) AND GENERAL AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION (GA)

RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH (RP) AND
GENERAL AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION (GA)

The manner of the pronunciation of one and the same person appears to be
different in different circumstances. For example, when delivering a speech, a
lecture, speaking over TV, talking to officials or chattering with friends and
relatives. These different ways of pronunciation are called pronunciation styles.

1) the rapid familiar style (Сан Саныч);
2) the slower colloquial style;
3) the natural style;
4) the formal style;
5) the acquired style – style of singing and recitation.

L.V. Shcherba while classifying pronunciation styles used the so-called
distinctive principle,i.e. the degree of carefulness with which words are
pronounced. Accordingly he suggested two types of pronunciation styles:
1) the full style, characterized by a moderately slow tempo and careful
pronunciation of words. Words retain their full forms, vowels and
consonants are not reduced and non-obligatory assimilation is avoided.

This style in its purest form is observed in singing and recitation;
2) the colloquial style differs from the full style in its tempo and clearness. It
is characterized by the use of weak forms, reduction and assimilation of
vowels and consonants.
As a result of its colonial expansion of Great Britain English has spread from
the British Isles to all the continents of the globe. As the colonies gained their
independence and nationhood, English remained the national language of several
countries: the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the greater part of Canada, the
Republic of South Africa. There are several national varieties or variants of
English. Accordingly all English speaking nations have their own variants of
pronunciation. Still all the national types of pronunciation have many features in
common, because they have the common origin. At the time they have varying
number of differences due to the new conditions of their development after the
separation from Great Britain. Following Marckwardt we shall use the terms Br.E.,
Am.E., Austr.E. etc. to denote the national varieties of English pronunciation. In
the USA there are three regional types of the American English: the Eastern, the
Western, the Southern.
Eastern American English (EA) is spoken along the Eastern coast of New England and largely in New York City. It bears a close resemblance to the
Southern English type because the early settlers were the people mostly from the
Southern and Eastern Great Britain. One of the features of the EA is the traditional
use of [a:] in the words “ask”, “answer”, though the tendency to use […] is
growing. [a:] is also used for […] in such words: learn, certainly; [e] –> […]: just,
such; [i] –> [e]: yes, get, several. EA speakers use […] in such words: dog, crop,
hot.
Southern American English (SA) is spoken in Southern American states of Virginia, Northern and Southern Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Maryland. Generally speaking SA has some specific
differences in the manner of articulation as they lengthen vowels. It is called the
southern drawl. As a rule vowels are prolonged, monophthongs are turned into
diphthongs and even threephthongs: […] – > [………]: that [……………]. As far
as diphthongs are concerned some of them are turned into long monophthongs by
prolonging the nucleus and dropping the glide: fine [fa:n], oil […:l]. The final and
preconsonantal [r] is usually omitted: far [fa:], farm [fa:m]. Intervocalic [r] is also
not pronounced: vary [v……i]. The retention of [j] in such words as due, tune, new
is characteristic in the South. The pronunciation of some words is peculiar: with
[wi…], without [wi…aut]; in the words world, fast, kind the final -d, -t are not
pronounced.