When English is your second language and you watch both British and American TV shows, you end up pronouncing things weirdly.

I’m from an African country which was colonized by the British , watched a lot of American movies growing up and now live in Canada.., go figure how confused I am about accents😃

I grew up in New England and use the British version of "aunt", "adult", "either", "neither", "address", "fiancee", "defense", and "semi." and "route." I think you'll find that the pronunciations of words is very region-dependent when it comes to American accents, much like in Britain.

Your American accent is impressive! You definitely have a bit of a Midwestern accent in your American, but most Brits doing an American accent sound Canadian to American speakers. You sound very authentic. I’m from the American south and I say as many of half of these words with your “British” pronunciation (route, aunt, address, World Cup, defense.) But I do hear your American pronunciations commonly in my area of the US.

On the "tomatoes" section. I'm American and I feel like that waiter was just dumb.

So a linguist was asking an Irishman whether they said proncounced "either" as eether or eye-ther. He replied, "ah, sure, ayther will do"

When I was learning english, I thought the difference in stress was just because it meant differently. For example, àddress meant the “location” while addréss meant “to speak about, to write to, etc”

1:00 water 1:46 tomato 2:44 adult 3:03 advertisement 3:28 either 3:57 neither 4:07 schedule 4:37 mobile 5:01 address 5:14 massage 5:32 fiancé 5:54 aunt 6:32 herb 6:57 world cup 7:22 defence 7:44 garage 8:01 mayonnaise 8:22 semi 8:52 route 9:20 zebra

That moment you realise how much of American English you speak when you thought you spoke fully British English

I'm American and I'm amazed by how good your American English is.. You sound so British then suddenly American comes out! lol

Totally with you on American pronunciation of 'aunt', always takes me a minute to realise they're not tallking about a tiny crawly insect 😄

I'm an American linguist and English teacher. I was blown away with your American accent! Just one word really gave you away -- it was your pronunciation of the American "either". You still kept the British "tha" at the end instead of the very American "errrr". So eeeeetherrrr instead of eeeetha. Also, I thought you might enjoy knowing that many of us Americans say "Man-nayz", making it a 2-syllable word. I really enjoyed your video. Well done.

The American pronunciation of "aunt" is not always as you indicated. We pronounce it different ways if we were brought up in different regions of the country. I personally pronounce it the way you indicate as British English. As for the word "address" it depends on whether it is the noun or the verb. For instance if you say, someone is going to "address" the group, we pronounce it the way you indicate as the pronunciation for British English.

As an American, I find myself pronouncing “defense” differently depending on the context. If you’re speaking about someone playing defense in sports, then I would pronounce it “dee-fence”, stressing the first syllable, but in any other context, like military defense, I would pronounce it “duh-fence” (A.K.A the British way). A lot of American pronunciation can be conditional. Thanks for making the video! Interesting stuff.!

Two words I find interesting... “Laboratory” - I have heard Brits pronounce it as “la-BORE-uh-tree” but in the US we say “LAB-rah-tor-e” I have also heard Brits call the severe headache “ME-grain” and in the US it’s “MY-grain”

I never knew the word zebra was pronounced differently in England. I actually thought we pronounce that one the same, I learned something today.

It honestly doesn't matter how you pronounce tomato. The waiter was just dumb😂

🇺🇸For Address, I say as a noun, ADdress as a verb, adDRESS

When I learned English back in my country Dom, Rep. they taught me with British English. Now that I live in the USA, I understand why Americans sometimes cannot understand my pronunciation. In addition to my Latino accent. Good video.

As someone who has lived in both the USA and the UK, this was a reminder of the fun times I've had in both. Although I will admit that a couple of the above words depend on where you are in the states. For example, the word "Semi": there are two different use cases, each with the their own pronunciation. While in the "New England States" I was taught to call the semi-finals the "seh-mee"-finals, but when we see a large truck and trailer (AKA a Lorry) we call them a "seh-mie". Just a bit of excess information from someone who has lived all the way from San Francisco, CA to Newport, RI, and almost a dozen places in between. I've also spent a long while in the Cambridge area.

The word "address" pronunciation also depends on the usage. For example, "What is your address?" and "Your comment did not address the issue.". Same goes for many other words.

I'm really impressed how experienced and proficient you are at the standard American accent. Well done bro. Bonus points!

Me, a Singaporean, speaking both ways at different points because we learn British English but is exposed to a lot of American media online.

As an American I think you do a great American accent. interestingly most of the words you just showed were used interchangeably when I was growing up. I grew up in Delaware with a family who had deep roots there. at 9 years old we moved to Arizona and it was really like a different language, I learned to pronounce "water" wooder. Hard to ask for a drink. I was also taught when you had to go to the restroom you asked to use the hopper...imagine the frustration on a 4th grader who needed to pee. those people had no idea what was wrong with me🤣

Your waiter must have been a bit slow in the head if they couldn´t make out the word tomato regardless of accent.

In Canada, we have a mix of the two. Some words use British prononciation. Some American. And some both, interchangeably.

I've noticed and I think its been mentioned by some professionals that we, in America, change the stress of a word depending on if it is a noun or verb. For example I would use a different stress on the word defense depending on if I'm using it as a noun or a verb. Also, depending on where you live you may say "route" and "either" either way or both ways. I myself use both ways and I live closer to the West Coast.

One thing i noticed , being French Canadian, is that due to the proximity between UK and France, the pronunciation of words are closer between British English and French than in the US, which are not much influenced by French...Like Tomato(tomate), Route ,Massage,Mayonnaise,Zebra(zebre)

Being from the Caribbean, when I first came to NA, I felt that I was pronouncing everything wrong. I was not. I was using the British English pronunciation. Glad to see this video. I still use my British pronunciation for most words. Now I feel more confident.

For “address” in American English, it really depends on if you are using it as a noun or a verb. British English “address” is used as a verb, as in you address the person you are speaking to.

I ran across this since I've been interested in the differences in English for decades. For most of these differences, what he says is kinda-sorta true, but with many exceptions. For reference, I am an American Midwesterner, so I have the most well-known American accent. First: either-neither. You'll hear both pronunciations in the US, and I use both. Americans rarely say DEE-fense, although you will hear it in certain contexts (sports) and expressions ("The best DEE-fense is a good offense" is one). The "semee" and "sem-eye" difference isn't clear cut either. We use both. We also say both "root" and "rowt" for route with no preference for either. I go back and forth. The British also use the American pronunciation of garage and schedule sometimes, but tend to use the ones he mentioned. We also change the stress on address freely, sometimes using the "British" stress, sometimes the "American" one. I think a more helpful video would cover common patterns of differences that occur in words like direct and dimension, berry (strawberry, blueberry), and -ary (military and functionary). These individual word differences are only very rough generalizations.

In Canada we use a combination of both pronunciations for the majority of these words. Also, in the US in some areas they pronounce "aunt" the British way. The reason for the different pronunciation of garage is due to the French influence on some N. American words. In Canada we pronounce Z as zed, although we hear zee daily on TV so zee is creeping into Canadian English as well. The rest of the words in your list can pretty much go either way in Canada. (BTW: Another word that can go either way in Canada is lieutenant. In the US they pronounce it Loo-tenant and in Canada it is properly pronounced Lef-tenant.)

For the word defense, it's more of a certain situation thing. If you said "defense" pertaining to sports, the stress would be on the first syllable. Meanwhile, if you said a phrase like "In my defense," the stress would be on the second syllable.

As a Filipino, I used to believe that we used American English. But after watching your video, I got to know that we used both the American and British English. Thank you for this amazing video.

Your American accent is actually really good - as far as aunt goes in America you hear as many people saying “aunt” as you hear “ant” that changes a lot over here…depending on the person really. Auntie - pronounced the British way but adding a “eee” to the end is also very common.

I suppose the pronunciations of some of these words depends on where in the US you live. For example, NJ we say Aunt like the Brits and herb with the h. And route is like root as well as roof with oo and not pronounced as in rough.

American: “I need a battery” Brit: *knocks him out*

In America, I think we say "either" both ways depending on what we're feeling is right at the moment lol. For me, it's like how I sometimes say "data" different ways. But maybe that's just me.

Great content. Glad to be led here, I really love this material. So glad, thank you so much. Never too late to learn. Happy to subscribe

I believe herb is an example where American has preserved the French pronunciation. Also, defense depends on whether you are taking Sport or Military. Sport: DEfense, Military: deFENSE.

Nah dude I think your American accent is pretty spot on!!

The waiter who didn’t know tomato with a long ‘a’ is just not a smart person.

A correction and an addition: in New England, we pronounce route like you do, to rhyme with root not rout. In America, the word shone rhymes with bone. I was born in England, moved to Canada as a baby, and then the US at 6. I never realized I pronounced shone differently until I was an adult singing in our community choir. We were doing a piece composed by an expat Brit. I noticed I was pronouncing it differently and asked how we should pronounce it. Of course, they said the American pronunciation. They said, "Why would you pronounce it like that?" and I said,"How would you pronounce g-o-n-e?" When the composer came to listen to our rehearsal, I asked him how he would say it, and of course he used the British pronunciation. He'd never realized Americans said shone differently either. So we ended up using the British shone, which was good, because otherwise it wouldn't have rhymed with the word it was supposed to.

Truly appreciated! I’ve subscribed mate!

In America both pronounciations of "adult" are used. Both "eithers" and "neithers" are used. Both versions of "aunt" are used. Both versions of "semi" are used. Both versions of "route" are used (for example you say *"root"* 66, not *"rowt"* 66) for the most part the differences in pronounciation for these is dependant on what region you're from, but can also differ based on the context. We use both versions of "address" and this one relies almost entirely on context, someone's home bears an ADDress, when you speak to a large group of people you are adDRESSing them.

5:10 We use both forms of the word here in the U.S. We use the British version when using it as a verb “The teacher had to address the issue.” We use the American version when talking about the location of a home “What is your home address?”

Growing up in the New England, I pronounce many words you reviewed the same way the British do. I always said “aunts”, but my friends with Irish grandparents or parents always used “ants”. Sounded very weird to me.

In America "defense" can be pronounced with different stresses depending on how it's used. "DEfense" as a noun is indeed stressed on the first syllable but "DeFEnse" as a verb has its stress on the second syllable.

I'm a native of the US and we use both pronunciations of defense. In sports we always say defense, but anything related to military or national security is defence (as in Defence department or on the news talking about the National Defence). So context is equally as important with this word. Great video, and great American English pronunciations!

Route is said 2 ways in America. A highway is pronounced root (Route 66 is Root 66). A delivery type of pattern is pronounced "raowt": as in newspaper delivery or postal service deliver is a "paper raowt" or "postal raowt". At least this is true in California and much of the west coast.

My experience is that in "Water" and " tomato" the "T" is always pronounced as a "T", not as a "D" as you suggest. That may be due to regional differences, because in North Carolina (one of the original colonies) many of our words are pronounced more like our British cousins than in other areas of the U.S.

Love all your videos Tom, always incredibly interesting content!

Never seen this man before... My first thoughts are... Danial Radcliffe.

Yes, props on your American accent!

Great video, I realize I am writing a bit after it first appeared, but I have just found your channel (which I enjoy immensely). As you note at the start of the video, there are many accents in both countries, so there are a variety of ways or pronouncing some of the words you chose. For instance, where I grew up (Northern New Jersey) we pronounce "water" to rhyme with "oughter". The "aw" sound you find in raw. I found your discussion of "semi" very interesting; it is true that most Americans will pronounce semi as you note, but if it is part of a compound word, say "semiconductor", the first part is usually pronounced the British way (se mee conductor). Growing up in New Jersey, we pronounced aunt as you describe (like the insect), but when I went to college in New England, everyone who grew up there pronounced it the British way. Finally, Americans will pronounce "route" both ways (rout and root). If you are not familiar with it, there is a well known American song about a famous highway, Route 66, and in that song, you get your kicks on "root" 66, not on "rout" 66. Anyway, I love your videos and find language and the many ways we express it to be endlessly fascinating. Thank you for your great work.

Great job on your analysis!

OMG how did ALUMINIYUM not make this list? 😂

Address, fiancé, aunt, either, defense, and route can be pronounced both ways in American English. Some of them depend on where you live in the US, but most of them either way would be accepted without anyone questioning it. I'm from Texas and this is just my observation. :)

Thank you so much ! So helpful

All your videos are great and helpful. This one was rather entertaining. Thanks a lot ! 👍🏻

It should be noted that in the U.S., when we are referring to a mobile device (cellular phone), we don't call it a "mobile". Generally, we say "cell phone" or simply, "cell".

British, it is torch, American, it is Flashlight. British, fire brigade American, fire Department.

I'm a New Englander, and we use the UK pronunciation of aunt. We also use the UK pronunciation of route, except when we're talking about routers in a network.

I'm really liking this channel, and I just subscribed. Thank you, Tom

7:34 We Americans pronounce "Dee-fense " only applicable in sporting events, esp. BASKETBALL. Other than that we say "Defense" normally. We don't say Secretary of "Dee-fense" , coz that sounds ridiculous!!!!!

I'm american and i say both eithers too!

Im going to do a presentation on the UK and this was very helpful! Thank you!

For me, the stress of address depends on the meaning. When referring to your street address or Internet address, the stress is on the first syllable, but for address as in speech (Gettysburg Address) the stress is on the second.

I’m American and I find myself using the British version of many of these words. I guess it depends on what part of the nation your from. Good video though.

I lived in the UK (Beds) from age 15 through 18. I still use both pronunciations for many of these. You've done an excellent job of differentiating the pronunciations here. I still say "root" and am corrected to "route". To those who give this correction, I say "wanker".

Thank you, mate! You solved the "EITHER conundrum" for my Russian mind.

There are regional differences with "aunt" in the US. Where I live, in the New England region, we pronounce it the way you would describe as British. "Herb" is a loan word from French, which explains why we don't pronounce the "h". We do this with a lot of French loan words in the US. For a few others on your list, like "semi" and "route", you'll definitely find a lot of Americans using what you have characterized as British pronunciations as well.

I‘m Swiss and I‘ve just realized that I‘m speaking a mix between British and American english😂🤷🏻‍♀️

One that always makes me smile is the word: buoy. In UK it's pronounced 'boy' but in US it' pronounce buee. Ha, ha, love it.

Basil and aluminum are very different. Coming from the southeastern U.S. we frequently use both the British and American version of the words you listed. Except for zebra, tomato, and schedule.

Excellent explanation and comparison. Perfect sounds man, I'm going to apply this comparison in my classes, if you let me...hehe. A hug for you buddy from Argentina

In american English (but possibly just California English aka "TV English"), the pronunciation of "Defense" actually changes based on the definition you're using. As a strategy, where "defense" is the opposite of "offense", you exaggerate the different syllable between the two words. This is so that you can hear your coach yell "'DEfense! Fall back!" and be more certain that he didn't say "OFFense". "Watch out, these guys are known to have strong DEfense players." "I'm better on DEfense than on OFFense." In politics, it's pretty much always "deFENSE", because there's no "Secretary of Offense" to cause misunderstandings. It's pronounced this way to more fluidly transition into "deFENSive" because any time a politician talks about "defense" as a noun, it's shorthand for "a defensive position/strategy". This difference is to mimic the difference between "OFFense", as an attribute, and "offENSE", as the intention to hurt someone's feelings. "In my deFENSE, nobody told me I couldn't do that." "Would the deFENSE attorney please make a statement." "Try to say it with less offENSE in your words." Third is video games, where "defense" is a stat or a strategy that helps your characters take less damage when attacked. As the opposite of "atTACK", "deFEND and deFENSE" mimic the same pronunciation. Still, online games are so globalized that everyone gets used to hearing and saying both, and games made from all over the world with have both versions voiced into the game's programming. "When you see the enemy atTACK, press [L] to switch to deFENSE mode." "You'll never survive the boss fight without at least 20 more points in your deFENSE." "Make sure you have armor with at least 100 DEfense." (either works)

The "address" one is kinda weird here in America, when we are talking about a house address we say it A-ddress but when talking about paying attention to a subject we say we address it! So we say both ;)

I'm an American that spends a lot of time in England, and I have to applaud you for well your American English sounds.

Thanks, very useful!

I'm American and have lived in Britain for nearly 20 years and I've noticed that in the main, whatever one does, the other does the opposite. Swap stressed syllables, swap short a sound for ah sound... RENaissance, reNAYsahnce. Tahco, tacko. GarAGE, GARage. Almost always a straight swap. It's funny.

"Route" is pronounced both ways is the US as well as in Canada, " Root and Rowt".

In the U.S., defense is pronounced differently depending on whether it is a noun or a verb. Also, I apparently have several British pronunciations. Curiously, when I was growing up - at least from 7th grade and above - I kept "misspelling" several words. I later learned that I spell them the British way. For example, harbour vs. harbor.

It’s interesting to see where Canada falls. Somewhere in between

I'm American and the only time I've heard people pronounce "defense" with the strong "d" sound is in the context of Defense in sports. In every other use of the word, most people pronounce the first syllable with a schwa sound.

American English: America England: Former colony

A lot of those British pronunciations are commonly used in America too. The British pronunciation of “Aunt” is most commonly used in parts of the American north east. In America, we say both “deFENSE” and “DEfence” depending on the context. “aDULT” is the most common pronunciation in America, though “ADult” is commonly used as well. Same with “ADDress” and “addRESS”. A lot of it depends on the region of America as well.

I'm from the US Midwest and I also use both pronunciations of "either" and "neither." I'm not even sure when I switch.

90% of these we use both pronunciations in America.

WTH!! "zed"?? As a kid at school, in Italy, my english teacher taught me "zed", but then my american friends would tease me for that, so I thought I was taught wrong! I'm so happy I was right all time long! Long live British English!

Thank you, Tom, for another great video. I always learn something from you.

Dunno how atypical my accent is, but I tend to switch up some of those. "In defense of" & prefix "semi-" tend to UK's, "on the defense" or "semi truck" tend to US's. Both & get used where I am in PA, as do & for a stream. But then, we're right where 3+ isoglosses meet & used to get Canadian BBC TV in the 70s.

I say address (British way) like "address this problem" and address (american way) like "give me your address"

I'm American and I don't even pronounce Mayonaise all the way. I say manaise

Thank you for your very interesting and great video. Believe or not I learned a lot from it. Now I understand why people pronounce words differently at times. Without realizing it, they are combining both forms of pronunciations in a sentence. Your pronunciation is fantastic on both!

Other ones I've noticed where the stress is different: premiere, detail, debris, oregano. I always wondered why the song Route 66 pronounces it 'root'.

I didn't know I was speaking both accents 😂 edit: 95 likes lmaoo thanks

Depending on the region in the US, aunt is pronounced "ant" or "aunt".

How you mastered the American one! 😍 I’ve been working on improving my British pronunciation and it’s extremely hard to try to say with an American one now 😅

As an American with a degree in linguistics, I appreciate the use of IPA. I wish it was used more widely in discussions about language.