Pronunciation in British v. American English

Question

Why are words like privacy pronounced like /ˈprɪv.ə.si/ in British and /ˈpraɪ.və.si/ in American English (short vowel in the first case, long in the latter one)?

I read that determining whether a vowel is short or long, one must split the word in syllables, and then if that vowel is the only one in the syllable and is not succeded by a consonant is long, but if that vowel is still the only one in the syllable but is followed by a consonant in the same syllable is short. In the case of privacy I think it is because of the different spellings (priv-a-cy in British and pri-va-cy in American). If so, do you know other words that have different spellings in British than in American?

The word is spelled the same in both languages. In priv-a-cy, for example, the hyphens have nothing to do with spelling. They are merely phonetic guidelines indicating syllables used (and, thereby, suggestive of pronunciation). So, you've almost answered your own question: refer to regional dictionaries. — Jason Bassford, Jul 07 '18 at 19:04
A previous question about this topic on the ELU Stack Exchange site: Pronunciation of “priv-” in British English and American English — sumelic, Jul 07 '18 at 19:16
@JasonBassford: I meant "syllabled" if there is such a terminology — Alex S, Jul 07 '18 at 19:35

Void · Answer 1 · 2021-01-14T13:38:50.787

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As far as I remember, 'privacy' was an exception to Trisyllabic Laxing (TSL) in American English. It was a phonological process that shortened certain tense vowels when they were followed by two or more syllables.

Privacy → /ˈpraɪ.və.si/

The first syllable is stressed, has a tense vowel and is followed by two syllables, so it should, by TSL, yield:

/ˈprɪ.və.si/ (we know that /aɪ/ gets shortened to /ɪ/)

It's true in British English whereas in American English, TSL doesn't apply.

Another exception is 'dynasty', which, in American English, is:

/ˈdaɪ.nə.sti/ — TSL doesn't apply

In British English, it is:

/dɪ.nə.sti/

edited Jan 14 '21 at 13:38

answered Jan 14 '21 at 12:29

Void

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Some Brits do say /ˈpraɪ.və.si/ - Lexico gives both variants for British English. Whether it is an imported pronunciation or a survival I'm not sure. (I have never heard a Brit say /ˈdaɪ.nə.sti/ , though.) – rjpond Jan 14 '21 at 14:57
@rjpond: Probably Americanisation. – Void Jan 14 '21 at 15:02
@rjpond: And now /ˈdaɪ.nə.sti/ has made its way into BrE (he says /ˈdaɪ.nə.sti/ throughout the video.) – Void May 30 '21 at 19:08

DoneWithThis. · Answer 2 · 2018-07-08T07:09:44.240

There are many - but lists don't make good SE questions, I'm afraid.
Basil, oregano, cigarette, Bernard, advertisement, garage, gourmet, ballet, brochure, address...

bazil bayzil
origarno oreggano
cigarette cigarette
Berna'd Bernaard
advertissment advertizement
garage [or even garridge] garahge
etc

The British have a joke about it, they say that
Americans put the emph-ah-sis on the wrong syll-ah-ble.

One thing I've noticed, though never researched, is that the main differences would tend to be in 'newer' words; words that more likely came though French than early Germanic/Nordic or directly from Latin.

I also found this - 22 Words with British and American Pronunciations that may Confuse you - which includes a lot of even single syllable words where the pronunciation changes even if the emphasis doesn't. Too many to list here.

Pronunciation in British v. American English

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