In Britain, the "o" vowel, [ɒ], in words like dog, hod, pot, is pronounced with rounded lips and the tongue back in the mouth. Americans do not have this vowel, instead pronouncing the same words using the "ah" vowel, [ɑ], with the lips unrounded and the tongue back but more relaxed. This is the same vowel in card or bard. In some cases in the US the "o" is pronounced using the "or" vowel in words like long (Central East Coast) and horrid (especially in the western US).
The "plummy" quality of some RP speakers is probably due to an exaggeration of this "o" vowel, and other vowels, by pushing the tongue as far back as possible, accomplished by speaking whilst imagining a mouth full of plums.
Vowel Shifts
Long vowels in Middle English were pronounced as they were in Latin but, during the 15th and 16th centuries, they changed to what we have in general today. This change is called the Great Vowel Shift. In major cities around the Great Lakes area, linguists have noted since the 1970s what they call the Northern Cities Chain Shift. On the West Coast you hear many vowel shifts, notably in younger people, and sometimes words are spelled to match (sense → since, pen → pin). My daughter growing up pronounced it MickDonalds.
- hot (haht) → hat
From American and British Pronunciation Differences
After American–British split, up to the 20th century: (This period is estimated to be c. AD 1725–1900.)
- The father–bother merger: /ɒ/ as in lot, bother merges with /ɑ/ as in father, so that most North American dialects only have the vowel /ɑ/.
The father–bother merger: /ɒ/ as in lot, bother merges with /ɑ/ as in father, so that most North American dialects only have the vowel /ɑ/.
- Exceptions are accents in Eastern New England, such as the Boston accent, and New York City.
Exceptions are accents in Eastern New England, such as the Boston accent, and New York City.
