3. Pronunciation of 'o'

3. Pronunciation of 'o'

The pronunciation of the o in such words as not, lot, hot, top, dog, hod,pot is also noticeably different. In England, this is still an open o pronounced with the lips rounded and the tongue at the back of the mouth. In America, however, except in parts of New England, it has commonly lost its rounding and in most words has become a sound very similar in quality to the a in father, only shorter. This illustrates a general tendency in American speech towards the neutralisation of vowel sounds. Non-essentials are dropped so that words like don and dawn are pronounced identically. In England vowels tend to retain their sharpness.