Consonant sounds

 

The pronunciation of consonants is practically the same in American and British English with two big exceptions:

THE LETTER - R -

In BrE they only pronounce the R when it is followed by a vowel. In American English the R is pronounced in all positions.

sorry   /sɒrɪ/
teacher /ti:tʃə/       /ti:tʃər/
park  /pɑ:k/         /pɑrk/ 

 

THE CONSONANT -T-

In BrE this consonant sounds / t / in front of a vowel or between vowels. In American English it sounds / t / in front of a vowel, but it is flapped when it goes between vowels, like a quick / d / (we'll use the special symbol: / ʀ / ) [it sounds like the Spanish flapped R, as in "cara"]

tourist /tɔ:rɪst/        /tɔ:rɪst/
Peter /pi:tə/        /pi:ʀər/

But in colloquial BrE that also happens. The difference is that the sound / ʀ / occurs only in colloquial BrE, but in AmE that is the only possibility when the T goes between vowels (it is not optional, it's mandatory).

PRONUNCIATION VIDEOS

Now, here are all the English consonants, symbol and pronunciation. Watch the videos and repeat.

ENGLISH CONSONANTS PART 1

ENGLISH CONSONANTS PART 2

LINKS

Consonant symbols with sound

The Phonetic Chart (vowels and consonants)