General American Accent: A Complete Guide
general-americanamerican-accentpronunciationguide
General American (GenAm) is the accent you hear from most US newscasters, and it's the most widely understood American accent worldwide. It's a great target if you want to sound clearly American without a strong regional flavour.
GenAm pronounces every /r/, including after vowels: "car", "hard", "water". This is the defining feature.
Between vowels, /t/ becomes a quick flap that sounds like a soft /d/: "water" → "wader", "better" → "bedder", "city" → "cidy".
Words like "hot", "stop", "father" use a single open vowel /ɑ/. There's no separate rounded "o" as in British English.
GenAm has a relatively stable vowel system. The "r-coloured" vowels (bird, butter, teacher) are distinctive.
Key features
1. Rhoticity
GenAm pronounces every /r/, including after vowels: "car", "hard", "water". This is the defining feature.
2. The flapped T
Between vowels, /t/ becomes a quick flap that sounds like a soft /d/: "water" → "wader", "better" → "bedder", "city" → "cidy".
3. The LOT-PALM merger
Words like "hot", "stop", "father" use a single open vowel /ɑ/. There's no separate rounded "o" as in British English.
4. Clear vowels
GenAm has a relatively stable vowel system. The "r-coloured" vowels (bird, butter, teacher) are distinctive.
How it differs from British RP
The biggest giveaways are rhoticity (GenAm keeps the /r/), the flapped T, and the unrounded LOT vowel.
Practice
Browse the [American sounds](/sounds) in our reference, then [practise](/practice) with our GenAm reference audio. You can also hear real GenAm speakers in our [clip search](/search).
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