Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

American English

/əˈmɛɹɪkən ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/ proper noun, adjective

  1. proper noun The form of the English language that is chiefly used in the United States, contrasted with British English or Canadian English and that of other places.
  2. proper noun The form of the English language that is chiefly used in North America, contrasted with Commonwealth English (British English and that of other places).
  3. adjective Of or relating to, or spoken or written in American English.

Synonyms

AmE AE AmEng Americanese United States English USEng North American English NAmE NAE American language American

Etymology

From American + English. First use appears c. 1806, in a dictionary by Noah Webster; as an adjective, c. 1892.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “American English”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details