1.7.2. Differences in Quality of the Phonemes

The chief consonant which may be noticeably different in realization in two accents is /r/. In General American English there is a strong tendency for /r/ to be retro-flex, i.e. pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned back.

Sound /l/ differs as General American English tends to use a dark /l/ in most positions where Received Pronunciation has clear /l/ before vowels and dark /l/ before consonants and at word ends (e.g. sale) and where /l/ is syllabic (e.g. bottle).

Among the vowels there are far more of different articulation. The first element of /qu/ is a central vowel /q/ (schwa) in RP, but a back vowel in General American /ou/ or /ow/. In fact the degree of diphthonganization in General American English /ou/ may be non-existent and it turns into /O/. The same with /ei/ that turns into /F:/.

/A/ is more or less midcentral in General American English but it is front Received Pronunciation.

Both General American English and Received Pronunciation have a 1ong midcentral vealization of /W/. However, in Received Pronunciation this vowel is never followed by /r/ except for “furry” while in General American English it is often followed by /r/. In General American English /x/ is longer than in Received Pronunciation. /x/ in General American English is often subject to nasalization before a nasal consonant, e.g. bank /bxNk/ > /bxk/