Varieties of Modern English: The Truth Behind the Myth

By Julie C. Pelto and Juan C. Boyadji

INTRODUCTION

The main objective of this paper is to raise awareness of the differences

between the two major varieties of English.
Are these differences important? If so, where do they lie? This paper will
explore what we know about this issue and what our tenets are. In order to
achieve this aim we will group these differences into distinct areas of linguistics,
namely: grammatical, orthographical, lexical and phonological, briefly clarifying
their origin and reason.

1. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

Language is constantly changing. Yet, there are historical reasons that triggered
the unequal development of the English language on either sides of the Atlantic.

Settlement and colonial times

The common beginning dates back to Shakespearean language, when English

was under the process of standardization, i.e. spelling conventions as we know
them today were starting to arise. It is by this time the first settlers arrived at
Jamestown(1607) and Plymouth(1620).

The separation of the English-speaking people in two distant and radically

different geographical contexts, added to the fact that communication was
scant, played a crucial part in the separate development of the language.

In the New World items which did not exist in the Old World had to be named.
These basically referred to geography and agriculture. Most of these terms
were borrowed from the Native American peoples.

The different ways in which pronunciation developed:

1
 • Variation in pronunciation occurred in different directions on both sides of
the Atlantic.
• Some original pronunciation patterns were kept in North American
English while change occurred in British English.
• Patterns which were under transformation continued to do so in the same
way.

At this point in time changes in the language were minimal due to several
reasons:

• stable political/economic bonds

• the worldwide prestige of British English
• an increase in literacy during the XVIII C.
• common reading material (both educational and recreational)

Indolence and thereafter

At the beginning, contrary to what one would expect, the new nation needed to
keep a strong standard for the sake of unity. Thus, language underwent no
major change. Yet, some years later (ca.1800), having achieved this goal,
linguistic differences were to be stated pursuing individuality. Noah Webster
suggested these changes through what he called ‘spelling pronunciation’, where
an attempt was made to bring pronunciation and spelling together.

Industrial Revolution also contributed to these variations since inventions

occurred in parallel in Britain and America and were named at the same time
independently.

Furthermore, differences in the political systems created new vocabulary

specific to each.

2
The XX C requires Britain and the US to reinstall long-lost ties, mainly due to
political affairs, particularly the great world wars. In addition to this, the mass
media as a multi-cultural source of linguistic influence have played an integral
part in the levelling of the two varieties. As a result, lexical and grammatical
borrowings occur in both now.

2. ORTHOGRAPHICAL VARIATION

Orthographical differences between the two varieties are well known to

teachers, but sometimes these differences are oversimplified.

The major areas of differences in spelling are:

• -our vs. -or

In general, where “-our” is found in BritEng, “-or” is used in USEng.

E.g.

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

behaviour behavior
colour color

Some exceptions are glamour, saviour and savour, where the “-our” is still
usual in USEng

• -re vs. -er

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

calibre caliber
centre center
fibre fiber
goitre goiter
litre liter
lustre luster
meagre meager
metre(length) meter
mitre miter
nitre niter
philtre philter
reconnoitre reconnoiter

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 sabre saber
saltpetre saltpeter
sceptre scepter
sombre somber
spectre specter
theatre theater

• -ence vs. -ense

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

defence defense
licence(n.) license(n.)
license(v.)
offence offense
pretence pretense

• -ogue vs. -og

The spelling “-ogue” can be found in both BritEng and USEng, whereas “-og”
is only found in USEng.

E.g.

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

catalogue catalog
dialogue dialog

• -amme vs. -am

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

aerogramme aerogram
gramme gram
kilogramme kilogram
programme program
program(computer)

• -ise/-yse vs. -ize/-yze (suffixes)

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

-yse -yze
-ise -ize

E.g.

4
analyse analyze
paralyse paralyze

criticise critisize
realise realize

• -ll- vs. -l- (word medial)

Both USEng and BritEng accept the “ll” spelling, “l” being being found only in
USEng.

E.g.

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

counsellor counselor
traveller traveler

An exception worth noting is jewellery (BritEng)/ jewelry (USEng only)

• -l vs. -ll (word final)

The opposite case is also found, where “l” is a possible spelling in both
varieties, “ll” being acceptable only in USEng.

E.g.

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

enrol enroll
fulfil fulfill

An exception here is skilful (BritEng only).

• -pp- vs. -p- (plus suffix)

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

kidnapper kidnaper
worshipping worshiping

• -ae-/-oe- vs. -e-

In general, USEng favours the spelling pronunciation. At times, the more

complex spelling is also acceptable in USEng.

E.g.

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

5
 archaeology archeology
foetus fetus
gynaecologist gynecologist

• -e + suffix vs. elision of e

Verbs which finish in “e”, when adding a suffix, keep the “e” in both varieties,
although a non-“e” spelling is the more common case in USEng.

E.g.

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

acknowledgement acknowledgment
judgement judgment
ageing aging
likeable likable

• -xion vs. -ction

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

connexion connection
deflexion deflection
inflexion inflection
reflexion reflection
retroflexion retroflection

• en-/em- vs. in-/im-

BritEng BritEng /USEng USEng

embed imbed
encase incase
enclose inclose
endorse indorse
enquire inquire
ensure insure

3. LEXICAL VARIATION

To begin with, we must consider that there are several areas of difference
between British and American English as well as reasons for them.
We will divide the vocabulary lists in groups attempting at some
systematisation.

6
The first and most important group of words comprises those that differ radically
in meaning. These are the ones we prefer to highlight due to the fact that, being
the same word, and bearing semantic differences, leads to sometimes rather
touchy misunderstandings. Fortunately, this is a limited list, yet a very important
one to know when teaching.

WORD BritEng meaning USEng meaning

‘down to earth, domestic’

Homely ‘ugly’ (of people)
(= US homey)
Nervy ‘nervous’ ‘bold, full of nerve, cheeky’
Pants ‘underpants’ ‘trousers’
Muffler ‘scarf’ ‘exhaust pipe of car’
to tick off ‘to scold’ ‘to make angry’

Secondly there are those words that carry an additional meaning in one of the
two varieties due to a particular sense or usage. These words are also very
important because they can likewise cause communication problems between
speakers of the two varieties. Often, the additional meaning responds to a
metaphorical extension of the common meaning. Not surprisingly, these words
are also relatively few, yet useful to bear in mind.

WORD Meaning in common Additional meaning in USEng.

‘a room with a bathtub or

bathroom ‘room with toilet only’
shower and sink’
‘attractive, charming’ ( e.g. of adult
cute ‘endearing’ (kittens, puppies)
people)
dumb ‘mute’ ‘stupid’
good ‘fine, nice’, etc. ‘valid’ (as of tickets, special offers)
regular ‘consistent, habitual’ ‘average’ (as in size), ‘normal’
‘institution of education at ‘all institutions of education, including
school
elementary level’ universities’
‘to transport by ship, train, plane or
to ship ‘to transport by ship’
truck’

7
 WORD Meaning in common Additional meaning in BritEng

frontier ‘a wild open space’ ‘border between two countries’

‘one who commands, guides,
leader ‘an editorial’
directs, is in front’
‘to look after’ as in e.g. mind the gap,
to mind ‘to heed, obey’
mind the children
rug ‘a thick carpet, usually wool’ ‘a thick wrap or coverlet’
smart ‘intelligent’ ‘well-groomed’
‘a medical operation or
surgery ‘an office of any doctor’
operating room’

Thirdly, there is a group of words which, having shared meanings, either convey
a different style, connotation, or are used with a dissimilar frequency. Luckily,
this list is also quite short. Misunderstandings are not as frequent as in the
categories analysed previously, yet one can detect by these words which
variety of the English language one uses.
This is valuable for teachers to become consistent models of whichever variety
of English they choose to teach.

WORD BritEng usage USEng usage

uncommon; poetic or formal (fall

autumn common; all styles
used instead)
clever
less common; usually negative
(meaning smart, common; positive
(i.e. sly)
dexterous)
to fancy
(meaning to like or common; informal Uncommon
want)
fortnight common; all styles uncommon (archaic); poetic
somewhat formal (maybe used
perhaps all styles
instead)
quite (as in quite
negative or neutral Positive
good)
row (meaning
quarrel or Common Uncommon
disturbance)

Finally, the last group comprises different words altogether for the same
concept or item. This group in contrast, accounts for the majority of the
differences between British English and American English.

8
The following is just a sample list. Some of these terms are not normally
understood in the other variety, others are known, yet are used to a lesser
extent. They are presented here according to the semantic fields they belong to.

Food and Cooking

USEng BritEng

alligator pear avocado

appetizer starter, hors d'oeuvre
baked potato jacket potato
beer lager/ale
Bell pepper (red, green, etc.) pepper
biscuit scone
Blood sausage black pudding
bowl (e.g. for pudding) basin
bun bap, roll
can tin
chips crisps
cookie biscuit
cracker biscuit (savoury)
crepe pancake
custard egg custard
dessert pudding
eggplant aubergine
hamburger meat mince
jello jelly
jelly jam
molasses treacle
pitcher jug
pudding custard
roast (noun) joint
stove cooker
To broil to grill
zucchini courgette

Household items

USEng BritEng

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 antenna Aerial
apartment flat
apartment house/building block of flats
attached home semi-detached house
bathtub bath
buffet sideboard
couch/davenport sofa
faucet tap
flashlight torch
floor lamp standard lamp
garbage can dustbin
garden vegetable or flower garden
living room sitting room
outlet/socket power point
sheers net curtains
to call (by telephone) to ring
washcloth face flannel
yard garden

Clothing and Accessories

USEng BritEng

(women’s) underpants knickers

backpack/backbag rucksack
baking soda bicarbonate of soda
barrette hairslide
bathrobe dressing gown
billfold wallet
braid plait
changepurse purse
diaper nappy
garter suspender
jumper dress worn over blouse
knickers knickerbockers
overalls dungarees
pantyhose tights
purse handbag
smock overall
suspenders braces
sweater (pullover) jumper

10
 tuxedo dinner jacket
undershirt vest
vest waistcoat

Commerce

USEng BritEng

attorney lawyer
automated teller machine
cashpoint
(atm)
bill note
desk clerk (hotel) receptionist
drug store/pharmacy chemist’s shop
hardware store ironmongers
installment buying hire purchase
liquor store off-license store
mortician undertaker
realtor estate agent
to make a reservation to book
trade (noun) custom
traveling statesman commercial traveller

Transportation

USEng BritEng

asphalt/blacktop Tarmac
baby buggy pram (perambulator)
flatcar (railway) truck
gas (gasoline) petrol
muffler (on a car) silencer
pedestrian underpass subway
pullman car (railway) sleeping car
sidewalk (paved street side) path
station wagon estate car
subway underground railway/tube
trailer/camper/mobile home caravan
truck lorry

11
 Miscellaneous

USEng BritEng

AM medium wave
area code dialing code
bar pub, public house
Brit Briton
cart trolley
emcee compere
game (sports) match
generator dynamo
line queue
monkey wrench spanner
rookie first year member (e.g. on a team)
sophomore second year student
to check to tick
zero nought

4. GRAMMATICAL VARIATION

There are important differences between the two varieties concerning the use of
auxiliaries and modal verbs.

At the level of educated speech and writing, which to our understanding is what
should be present in classroom education, there are relatively few differences in
grammar between BritEng and USEng. Those, which do exist, tend to be fairly
trivial when considered from the point of view of understanding. Non the less, as
teachers one must be aware of these differences in order to be prepared when
working with sources of each variety.

For practical reasons, we will divide these into their different grammatical
categories.

4.1 Verb Formation

• Irregular Verbs

In USEng, a number of irregular verbs have become regular, while remaining

irregular in BritEng.

• Derivation

12
New verbs are constantly created from adjectives and nouns in both varieties:
e.g. symbol – symbolize, ripe – ripen, frost – defrost. USEng tends to be more
productive than BritEng. Two verb-forming affixes which are somewhat more
productive in USEng than in BritEng are:
-ify: citify, humidify, uglify
-ize: burglarize, decimalize, hospitalize, rubberize, slenderize

• Conversion

Another way of forming new words is by simply changing a word’s grammatical

class. Although this process is common to both varieties, again, it is more
common in USEng.

Noun Verb E.g.

an author to author She has authored three books.

a host to host We hosted a meeting last week.
a sky-rocket to sky-rocket Prices are sky-rocketing this
week.
pressure to pressure (BritEng to pressurise)
a room to room I room at that house.

4.2 Auxiliaries

4.2.1 Modal Auxiliaries

• Shall

This modal verb is rarely found in USEng except in legal documents or in very
formal styles, being replaced by will (or should in questions with first person
subjects). Shan’t is even less common in USEng.

BritEng USEng
I shall tell you later I will tell you later
Shall I drink this now? Should I drink this now?
I shan’t be able to come. I won’t be able to come.

• Should

In its hypothetical sense, when it occurs in a main clause with a first person
subject followed by a conditional clause, should is used mainly by older
speakers and writers of BritEng. Otherwise, the most common way of
expressing this idea is by using would both in BritEng and USEng.

Older BritEng BritEng/USEng

I should enjoy living here if I could afford to. I would enjoy living here if…

• Would

13
In USEng would can be used to express a characteristic or habitual activity in
the past. In BritEng either the simple past or the verb with the modal used to are
used. Note that this is also possible in USEng.

BritEng USEng
I went there every day when I was young. I would go there every day
when…
I used to go there every day when... I used to go there every day
when...

• Use(d) to

In USEng is only treated as a lexical verb in constructions such as questions

and negative sentences. BritEng can use this verb either as a modal auxiliary or
a lexical verb.

BritEng USEng/BritEng
Used he to go there? (modal aux.) Did he use to go there?
He used not to go there. (modal aux.) He didn’t use to go there.

• Ought to

This modal verb is rarely used to form questions and negatives in USEng.
Should is used instead. In BritEng its use in questions is restricted to the older
generations.

BritEng USEng
You ought not/oughtn’t to have said that.(aux.) You shouldn’t have said that.

• Dare and Need

Both these auxiliaries are rare in USEng and only occur in set phrases, e.g.
Need I say more?, Persons under 18 need not apply, I dare say… .

BritEng USEng/BritEng
Need you be so rude? (modal aux.) Do you need to be so rude.
You needn’t be so rude. (modal aux.) You don’t need to be so rude.
Dare I tell the truth? (modal aux.) Do I dare (to) tell the truth?
I daren’t tell the truth. (modal aux.) I don’t dare (to) tell the truth.

4.2.2 Auxiliary Do

Do can be used in BritEng for polite commands or requests, implying

encouragement, as in: Do sit down, Do go on. This use is much less common in
USEng where please is used instead.

4.2.3 Have and Have Got

A commonly accepted grammatical difference between BritEng and USEng lies

in the disparate use of these forms to indicate possession. This situation has

14
changed over the last few decades, so that what once was exclusively used in
each variety is no longer so.

‘Have you got coffee?’ can be heard on both sides of the Atlantic in more
informal styles.

The only noticeable difference in the usage of these forms at present is when
have is used to express usual possession. This use is restricted to BritEng.

BritEng USEng
Do you have fresh cod? Do you usually/ever have fresh cod?

4.2.4 Verb Phrases

• In structures with a direct object and indirect object where both are
pronominal, BritEng allows the direct object to precede the indirect object.

BritEng USEng/BritEng
John gave me it. John gave it to me.

• Copulative verbs seem, act, look and sound can be followed directly by an
indefinite noun phrase in BritEng.

BritEng USEng/BritEng
It seemed a long time. It seemed like a long time.
He acted a real fool. He acted like a real fool.
That sounds a bad idea. That sounds like a bad idea.

• The verb want can be followed directly by the adverbs in and out in USEng.
In BrtiEng want must be followed by an infinitive.

BritEng/USEng USEng
I wanted to come in. I wanted in.

This very verb can be used in the sense of need with an inanimate object in
BritEng. This would not be the case in USEng. E.g. The house wants
painting.

• There are a few verbs, which collocate with different prepositions or

prepositional adverbs in USEng and BritEng.

BritEng USEng
to battle with/against (the enemy) to battle
to check up on to check out
to fill in (a form) to fill out
to meet to meet with
to prevent to prevent from
to protest at/against/over (a decision) to protest
to stop to stop from
to talk to to talk with/to

15
 to visit to visit with

4.3 Articles

There are a number of count nouns in both varieties which do not require an
article when used in an abstract-generic sense, usually with certain verbs or
prepositions: e.g. in spring, to go by car, to be at church. However, there are a
few such nouns which have this property in one variety but not in the other:

BritEng USEng

to be in hospital to be in the hospital

to be at/go to university to be at/go to a university

4.4 Order of attributes

Usually, in the written form, especially in newspapers, BritEng places personal

attributes after the person named whereas in USEng they tend to precede the
name, often without a definite article:

BritEng USEng

John Smith, the lanky Californian Lanky Californian teenage tennis star
tennis star, won another major John Smith won another major
tournament today. tournament today.

Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, British Prime Minister Tony Blair
arrived in Washington today. arrived in Washington today.

Something similar can be found in the naming of rivers.

BritEng USEng

The River Thames the Mississippi River

The River Avon the Hudson River

4.5 Subordinators

• The complex subordinators as………as and so…………….as are

used with different frequencies in the two varieties. So……as is fairly
infrequent in USEng, mainly used at the beginning of a clause, while in
BritEng it is more frequent than as……as.

BritEng USEng

It is not so far as I thought it was It is not as far as I thought it was

So long as you’re happy, we’ll stay As long as you’re happy, we’ll stay
Now we don’t go there so much Now we don’t go there as much
(as we used to) (as we used to)

16
That one isn’t so nice (as the other) That one isn’t as nice (as the other)

• In cases where as………as may be preferred in BritEng and used at the

beginning of a clause, the first as may be dropped:

BritEng USEng

Strange as it may seem,………… As strange as it may seem,……

Much as I would like to go,…….. As much as I would like to go,…..

• In BritEng, the adverbs immediately and directly can function as

subordinators, the use of after would be appropriate in these cases in
USEng.

BritEng USEng

Immediately we went, it began to rain Immediate after we went. It began to

rain
Go to his office directly you arrive Go to his office directly after you arrive

4.6 Prepositions

Knowing that these are one of the last and most difficult features of the
language to master, one must be aware of the variations in their usage.

4.6.1

Some differ in form maintaining the same meaning and context.

BritEng USEng

behind in back of as in: I put it behind the shed.

in back of
out of out as in: He threw it out of the window.
Out
round around as in: She lives just round the corridor.
Around

4.6.2

Others are used identically in most contexts both in BritEng and USEng, yet
vary in specific ones. The majority of such cases occur in expressions of time.

a- duration of time.

BritEng/USEng USEng

I haven’t seen him for weeks in weeks

17
 for ages in ages

b- BritEng speakers use the preposition at, meaning ‘time when’ with
holiday seasons, as in at the weekend, at Christmas (the season, not
the day), whereas USEng speakers generally use over in such cases as
well as on the weekend.

c- In expressing clock time, BritEng uses the preposition to and past the
hour while USEng also can use of, till and after.

BritEng/USEng USEng only

twenty to three twenty of three

twenty till three

five past eight five after eight

4.6.3 Other differences which are not related to time also should be taken into
account.

a- In non-temporal contexts, the use of in and on, also differs.

BritEng USEng

to be in a team to be on a team
to live in a street to live on a street
to be in a sale to be on a sale
(to be on sale means simply
for sale)

b- The presence or not of a specific preposition.

• on is usually omitted before a specific date or day of the week that

indicates a time removed from the present in USEng.

BritEng USEng

The seminar started on Aug 23rd. The seminar started Aug 23rd.
I’ll do it on Sunday. I’ll do it Sunday.

• at is generally absent before temporal nouns indicating repetition or

habitual action. In these cases, the noun must be in the plural.

BritEng USEng

He works by day and studies at night. He works days and studies

nights.

18
 On Saturdays we go to church. Saturdays we go to church.

• In BritEng temporal prepositional phrases, inversion of the noun and the

words this, that, next or last, can occur in formal styles: on Sunday
next, during January last. These do not appear in USEng, and the
preposition is deleted in the uninverted forms: next Sunday, last January.

• Yet in phrases denoting a period of time from or after a given one, the
preposition from is often deleted in BritEng, not being the case in
USEng.

BritEng USEng

a week this Tuesday a week from this Tuesday

5. PHONOLOGICAL VARIATION

Differences at the phonological level are both systemic –in phonemes and
allophones-.and non-systematic –in the choice of phonemes for particular
words-.

5.1 Differences in the phonemic inventory & phonetic realizations

• No /ó ó/ in GA∗.
• EU/
EU vs. /oU
/EU U/
• /aUU/ more front in GA
• /eII/ more close in GA
• flapped /t/
• /l/ always dark in American English

5.2 Differences in the use of phonemes in words

5.2.1 Vowels

• RP∗∗ /ó
ó/ vs. GA /å8
å8/.
å8 E.g.: Hot, top, lot.

• ó/ vs. GA /ØØ8/
RP /ó

In GA, /Ø8/ is likely to occur when orthographic “o” and “au” are followed by
fricatives, the velar nasal or /r/. E.g. dog, long.

• RP /EE/ vs. GA /ØØ8/ for spelling “-ory”. E.g. acclamatory, auditory,

category, laboratory.

∗
GA stands for General American.
∗∗
RP stands for Received Pronunciation

19
• RP /EE/ vs. GA /e/ for spellings “-ary” and “-ery” or “-erry”. E.g.
antiquary, arbitrary, February; cemetery, monastery, presbytery,
stationery; blackberry, strawberry.

• å8/
å8 vs. GA /æ/ (orthographic "a" generally followed by two consonant
RP /å8
letters). E.g. brass, class, example, command

• RP /aII/ vs. GA /EE/. E.g. mobile, reptile, versatile.

• RP /antII-/, /semII-/ vs. GA /antaII-/, /semaII-/. E.g. anticommunist,

semicircle.

• RP /EE/ vs. GA /oU

U/. E.g. ceremony, testimony.

• RP /II/ vs. GA /aII/. E.g. simultaneous, privacy, vitamin.

• EU/
RP /EU å8/.
EU vs. GA /å8
å8 E.g. progress, process, docile.

• RP /æ/ vs. GA /eII/. E.g. patronize.

• RP /i88/ vs. GA /e/. E.g. evolution, centenary.

• å8/
RP /å8 ~8r/.
å8 vs. GA /~8
~8 E.g. Clerk, Derby, Berkshire.

5.2.2 Consonants

• RP ‘r’ pronounced only before a vowel, GA ‘r’ pronounced in all contexts.

E.g. card, board, mirth, tour, mere.

• RP /dj/ vs. GA /dZZ/. E.g. education, module.

• /j/-dropping in GA. E.g. stew, new, enthusiastic.

5.2.3 Differences in stress.

• In some words of foreign (esp. French) origin, GA keeps the original

(final) stress while RP has fronted stress.

RP GA

ballet ballet
debris debris
garage garage

• Some words have first-syllable stress in GA but stress elsewhere in RP.

RP GA

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 address address
adult adult
magazine magazine

• Many words ending in –ary, -ory and –ery have reduced or compressed
pronunciations in RP. In GA, apart from not being reduced, there is
secondary stress on such syllables (see ‘Differences in the use of
phonemes in words’ above).

A few of these words have different stress patterns.

RP GA

laboratory laboratory
capillary capillary

• Some eponyms (place names) bear a secondary stress in GA.

Birmingham Birming,ham
Portsmouth Ports,mouth

6. FINAL REFLECTION

All what we have seen so far leads us to a simple question that we should all
ask ourselves:

“How should we as teachers deal with varieties of the English language in the
classroom?”

Although it is preferable to adopt one variety and be consistent with it, we need
to be aware of others and acknowledge them all as having equal status. Being
aware of the major areas where differences lie is essential to fulfil this goal. We
hope this scant guide will help you work along these lines.

Bibliography

BARBER, Charles, The English Language: A Historical Introduction, Cambridge

University Press, 1993.

HUGHES, Arthur, TRUDGILL, Peter, English Accents and Dialects, Arnold,

1996.

MARKWARDT, A. H., QUIRK, R., A Common Language – British and American

English, BBC, 1964.

MOTT, Brian, English Phonetics and Phonology for Spanish Speakers, Edicions
Universitat de Barcelona, 2000.

21
PROCTER, Paul(ed.), Cambridge International Dictionary of English,
Cambridge University Press, 1995.

SWAN, Michael, Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, 1980.

TRUDGILL, Peter, HANNAH, Jean, International English, Edward Arnold, 1994.

WELLS, J. C., Accents of English, Cambridge University Press, 1982.

WELLS, J. C., Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, Longman, 1990.

English Teaching Forum, July 1989.

The Economist Style Guide, Hamish Hamilton/The Economist Books, 1996.

Online Resources

http://www.effingpot.com/index.html

Julie Pelto and Juan Carlos Boyadji

Both are IPA graduates and teacher trainers in Phonetics and Phonology as well as teachers in
private and public education. Julie is American and holds a certificate in Linguistics (Cornell)
and is an MA Ed. candidate (UCUDAL). Juan Carlos has studied in England and holds a TCL
Cert.

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