House M.D.

House M.D. Off topic: the British "a" sound

darkmana posted on Sep 03, 2008 at 02:15PM
Sorry, I know this got nothing to with House, but it has been bothering me for quite a long time; and I really want to know.

I know there are some differences between American and British English, and one of them is the pronounciation of the letter "a" in some words, like in "class" (I hope you know what I mean, because I can't think of an example right now).
My question is: how do I know which words are spelled with this "British 'a'" sound? (no offence intended)

Any links are appreciated or maybe we could start a word list?

House M.D. 7 replies

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over a year ago cocacola said…
I'm not sure but I think that when Brits say "a" its slighter, I guess....hard to explain in text...
over a year ago darkmana said…
Here is a link to the leo dictionary and if you click on the first speaker on the list (left side) it pronounces the word class in American and British English.

link

But I would like to know WHICH WORDS are pronounced that way in BE. Maybe some people from the UK can help me out?
over a year ago babybell said…
* UK person comes*

over a year ago babybell said…
what is it you wanted to know?
over a year ago darkmana said…
Umm, I explained it at the beginning *points at her first entry*
over a year ago Chandlerfan said…
Hmmmm, oh there's actually one word that bugs me.
Patronising.
In UK English it's Pa(h)tronising
In USA English it's Pa(y)tronising
*tries to think of another word*
Data.
In UK English it's Da(y)ta(h) but a soft sound
In USA English it's Da(h)ta(h) the first 'a' is harsh sound though.

Does that help much? If I got the wrong end of the stick, let me know! =]
over a year ago cocacola said…
chandlerfan I think you're right about that...but I'm not sure...I haven't really ever used that patronizing out of text...
oh and about the "day" thing, it doesn't specifically happen to me on that word, but sometimes I find that my old Harry Potter obsession has cursed me into saying some a-sounds with a british accent. Whenever I'm talking to my brother Dan, he always gets so mad at me with my accidental british sounds!
last edited over a year ago
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