Questions tagged [american-english]
This tag is for questions related to the English language as used in the United States of America.
3,624 questions
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Is there a minimal set of words distinguishing all (or at least more than ten) vowel sounds in American English?
For example, this set distinguishes ten vowels (for those without the cot/caught merger; nine otherwise).
sit / seat / soot / suit / set / sate / sat / sot / sought / sight
But there are still a few ...
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Bivouacs made by the homeless
I am just marking a private student's writing where he says
Reports of nightly anti-social behaviour, vandalism, and unregulated bivouacs under the porticoes create a hostile environment.
I had to ...
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The meaning and cultural context of "popped his membrane" in GTA San Andreas dialogue
I encountered an unusual expression while playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. During this dialogue exchange, The characters say:
– Hey, Old Reece still run the barber shop?
– Like a ragged-assed ...
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Why are most English learning resources are written in or focused on British English? [closed]
For example, have a look at popular or big modern grammar books:
(Advanced) English Grammar in Use - British
Practical English Usage - British
Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide - ...
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What is the meaning of “mantle” in this sentence?
In a visual novel written in American English, I have found the following passage, as a character is describing the contents of his room, which is themed around car racing (emphasis is mine):
Damon: ...
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Loss of /tə/ between nonrhotic and nasal: 'certainly' /ˈsɜ:n.li/
Certainly /ˈsɜːn.li/
https://youtu.be/gV4e9ownkAY?si=cpb0NvcE9YUw2Nza
Bear in mind this is a further step from the common trisyllabic [ˈsɜː.ʔn̩.li] or even [ˈsɜː.t̚n̩.li].
Is this a specific ...
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Flapped final n: /ɾ̃/
"Why not"
https://youtu.be/BCJvJvczvqk?si=G7MISNhERiBXJETS
(1:51) "grabbing a mic" https://youtu.be/wrsOYUUbR7U
Other than context, how to distinguish them from (nasalized) ...
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'Does that': devoicing [tsaet]
Here are two examples thereof
Does that feel OK, comfortable?
min 09:02:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdLB3udjOR0&feature=youtu.be&t=530
Does that sound good?
min 1:02 https://youtu.be/...
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Why do Americans call it an "exclamation point" instead of "exclamation mark"?
I wonder why the "!" symbol is called exclamation point instead of exclamation mark in American English. Is it American or British?
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Where does the expression “roll with it” come from?
Dame Helen Mirren in a recent interview on aging said:
“It’s much better to age disgracefully! Take it on the chin, and roll with it. You die young, or you get older. There is nothing in between! You ...
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Mrs and Mmes: plurals of Mrs (missus /ˈmɪsəz/) [duplicate]
Mrs /ˈmɪsəz/ (pl Mrs, Mesdames)
A title used before the name(s) of a married woman
Collins Concise English Dictionary
Mrs. was originally, like Miss, an abbreviation of Mistress (the plural of which ...
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British English declarative tags: 'Likes her cappuccino, Mary does'
According to Swan's Practical English (BrE), info can be spaced out by putting some of it in a complete sentence and then adding more details at the end in a ‘tag’, where the pronoun is often elided ...
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Are these two examples of a Boston or Chicago accent?
I just recently watched a video and realised a person sounded just like the e-sports personality DJWHEAT. I wondered if it was a Chicago or Boston accent. Maybe somebody who knows the American accent ...
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Is this an Americanism: "All [X] are not [Y]", meaning the same as "Not all [X] are [Y]"?
In the opening of The Mother Tongue (1990), Bill Bryson writes:
To be fair, English is full of booby traps for the unwary foreigner. Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying ...
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Which parts of the US and when did (some) Americans pronounce "Vicarious" as /vaɪˈkɛɹi.əs/?
Is the i in the first syllable in "vicarious" pronounced as a diphthong or a short vowel?
I would have placed a wager on short because the letter "i" in the words “vicar” and “...
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"Can you change me?"
I was at a retail store buying some stuff. As I was standing at the counter to check out, a foreign military person, whom I suspect was with the U.N., walked in, held up a U.S. dollar bill, and asked ...
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Why is muscle cramp called a “charley horse”?
In a short YouTube video, what seems to be lifeless duck in a public pond, is prodded gently by its two duck-friends. The duck remains unresponsive, its head flopped to one side until unexpectedly it ...
- 95.1k
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When did "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" first appear in print with its current figurative meaning?
Christine Ammer, The Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés, second edition (2006) has the following entry for the phrase "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed"
bright-eyed and bushy tailed Lively and ...
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'Coffee': American English pronunciation
According to the Longman Pronunciation Dict., in American English:
57% /ɔː/
6% /ɑː/
37% no distinction.
What does "no distinction made" exactly mean?
Free variation? If so, interspeaker ...
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Why are burn degrees 1 to 3 as least severe to most severe but murder degrees as the opposite
Note that first-degree murders are the most severe, as intentional and planned, while third-degree murders are the least severe, as unintentional.
However, first-degree burns are the least severe, as ...
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Why do some American speakers have [ʊ] for /ʌ/ before /l/ in words like ultimate and culture?
In several American accents I hear a back, rounded vowel before /l/ in words that dictionaries transcribe with STRUT /ʌ/. For example:
ultimate often as [ˈʊl.tə.mət] rather than /ˈʌl.tə.mət/
culture ...
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Is BrE pronunciation of the word "better" becoming more AmE-ized?
It seems like there is an uptick in AmE accented pronunciations of the word "better" in BrE. This would hardly be surprising with the amount of pure entertainment that is curated in the ...
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Lucky there's a family guy [duplicate]
https://genius.com/Family-guy-main-title-from-family-guy-lyrics
Is lucky here a sentential adverb (like honest) or is the sentence elliptical for It's lucky that...?
I'm interested in finding general ...
- 4,151
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Does clipping (also rhythmic) still work for flap /t/ in modern General American accent?
In Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (LPD), Wells states that the vowel immediately preceding the flap /t/ experiences clipping. However, many recent speeches on Youglish shows that this doesn't seem ...
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Is "bunk bed" or "bunk beds" used to refer to the whole structure holding the two bunks in American English?
I am sorry but I still have doubts regarding this. I am still not sure whether I should use the singular form bunk bed or the plural form bunk beds to refer to the entire structure containing both ...
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School is to a BMOC as a village/small town is to what? [closed]
In a small community, what do you call a man who stands out in terms of popularity, influence, and female attraction, and is therefore the local Casanova?
I'm trying to translate the French expression,...
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Pronunciation of "routing" [duplicate]
Electronic boards contain traces made of copper, like flat wires, layed on their surface.
The process of designing and choosing the best path for every trace is called routing.
Now, I have a question ...
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Is “I’ll take a look” too casual to say to a boss?
I’m an ESL speaker, and I had a situation at work that I don’t quite fully understand. My boss sent me some work related pdf files through Slack DM. I responded with “Thank you, I’ll take a look,” and ...
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'If' = 'even if... have to'
You're finishing the chowder (even) if you sit there all afternoon!
Swan's Practical English (BrE)
Isn't a deontic verb, such as have to, missing?
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Origins and history of "on tomorrow", "on today", "on yesterday" (used as "tomorrow", "today", "yesterday")?
I have been poking around wondering about the colloquial usage of on tomorrow in Southern American English and wondering about its origins. I can find some records of official usage of the phrase in ...
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What is the colloquial American English contraction or informal form of 'What do you think?'
What is the colloquial or spoken American English (AmE) form of 'What do you think?'?
Is it "What'you think" or "What'ya think?"?
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The earliest instance is 1914 “Are you kidding me?”
According to Etymonline
kid (v.)
"tease playfully," 1839, earlier, in thieves' cant, "to coax, wheedle, hoax" (1811), probably from kid (n.), via notion of "treat as a child, ...
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Why do New Englanders (specifically, Connecticut people) say the word "bring" and almost never use "take"?
Why do New Englanders (specifically, Connecticut people) say the word bring and never use the word take? I've lived in Connecticut for a long time.
I grew up in the Midwest and Deep South and people ...
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Leading zeros and punctuation in American date format [closed]
Americans write the month first because I know. Today is a beautiful date—05/05/2025. Would that be the proper way? In my language, I’d write 5.5.2025, and that’s how some style guides recommend (e.g. ...
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Should I use leading zeros and a colon in American English?
I know it’s a matter of style, but I’d like to know the common one.
In the 12-hour system, I know it’s not recommended to use leading zeros, but I’m not sure about the punctuation. 4:00, 4.00, just 4? ...
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Contrasted can vs. can't with equal emphasis in American English pronounciation
In the following sample, American TV anchor Chris Cuomo contrasts the words can and can't with equal emphasis, in the phrase
Amen, my brothers and sisters! That's Ameri-CAN, not Ameri-CAN'T!
https://...
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NASA: pronunciation /ˈnæsə/
Why is the 1958 acronym NASA pronounced /ˈnæsə/?
Generally, the rule goes
Stressed vowel + consonant + vowel = vowel's name + consonant + schwa
Thus, we get NATO /ˈneɪt̬oʊ/.
Howver, NASA ...
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'Fit' versus 'fitted' [duplicate]
I have been noticing in American YouTube videos a lot of use of the word 'fit' recently where I would have used 'fitted'.
For example: 'The suit fit him like a glove' or 'the key fit the lock ...
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Clarification of the verb 'do' and 'perform'
Why is "do" considered grammatically incorrect in the context below? What is the meaning of "do" and "perform" in this context? One thing that also confuses me is that if ...
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Why isn't the T in "incapacitated" flapped?
Usually, when a T comes between two vowels and is the beginning of an unstressed syllable, it is flapped.
So, both Ts in "incapacitated" meets this requirement: it's between 2 vowels, and &...
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Summarily /səˈmErəli/
According to the LPD, the primary AmE pronunciation of summarily is /səˈmerəli/.
What's the pronunciation of summariness?
edited
There other examples of stress displacement with the addition of ...
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What is the current politically correct term for a Caucasian person to use without offending in reference to a negro/black/African American/?? person?
I was corrected (by my teenager) when I said negro in
reference to a friend of his. He looked at me as though
I had said the N-word.
I apologized and asked, then black? He shook his
head, rolled his ...
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How to verbalize fractions? [duplicate]
Fractions are a confusing thing in the English language, so I need someone to make it clear for me please.
Is it "half" or "a half"? What about quarter or third?
Do we need "...
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What does the phrase "not so in between" mean?
I've heard a song that was in a movie called Hundred Grand, the lyrics are:
We filled the boxes of picture books
Of Memories of fun and happy
And not so in between
Do you remember that ...
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How and when did 'performant' enter common usage in the United States?
Performant is a French word without an exact equivalent in English as is sportive.
performant
adjective computing specialized
(of technology, etc.) working in an effective way:
We found it ...
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Can /ɑː/ have different pronunciations in General American? [duplicate]
Is /ɑː/ in "got" /gɑːt/ and "long" /lɑːŋ/ the same sound in General American?
Are there any variety of General American anywhere where "long" rhymes with "park"?...
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Are rescind and resend homophones?
Rescind and resend are homophones and easily confused words.
The following sentence uses both words correctly:
Cilla was beside herself with anxiety: had Tyler rescinded his interest taking her to the ...
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Is "somewhat of a" an Americanism or an archaism that's become popular again?
In the last few years as I've begun watching more YouTube I've noticed many people saying "somewhat of a ".
To my 57-year-old native Australian English speaker ears this sounds wrong. I've ...
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Is "Nothing special" a natural response to "What did you do this weekend?"
Does the answer "Nothing special" to the question "What did you do this weekend?" sound natural? For example, a more detailed version:
"Nothing special, just stayed at home.&...
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What is a concise equivalent or synonym for the idiom "Shooting one/him/herself in the foot" in context of this dialogue between mother and daughter?
I am, ideally, looking for concise phrases and terms that are equivalent in meaning (i.e., synonyms) for an English idiom. The English idiom is "Shooting oneself in the foot."
To include ...
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