Why American say can't differently than British?

Question

British say can't like that: /ka:nt/ and American say /kaen't/. Why?

Answer 1

Just a thing about accents... we say a lot of words differently from the British. And not all Americans say [kaent]. Go to the Northeast and you'll hear [ka:nt] all over the place. Go to parts of Texas and you'll hear [keint]. Just accents... I don't believe there's a specific reason for why we pronounce that word differently, beyond the general reason that our accents have developed differently.

Answer 2

Ok...so stereotypically, British people think American's are uneducated....am I correct to assume this?

I am American, and I don't care....I love British people. I will make you sit on the phone with me for hours just to hear the accent and the different adjectives that you use.

This question though - kind of lame. Seriously, if you think about it, is that the ONLY word that we say differently? No, we say words like "bathroom", you call it "the loo". We say "drunk" you call it "pissed" which in America, if you're "pissed" you're mad.
We use "elevators", you use "lifts." Um....lift is a verb, not a noun.

So, there are A LOT of words that we pronounce differently, and the really sad part is that ka:nt, and can't sound more alike than any of them.

So, my cloud covered friend, i guess my answer to your question is...I don't kn:ow. Its a mystery. :oP

Answer 3

Different dialects of English have different pronunciations. Most of the differences between the dialects of English are in the vowels. Surely, if you think about your native language, you can think of groups of people who pronounce differently from you. It's the same with American English and British English.

By the way, most Americans don't learn the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) unless they have studied linguistics, so most people won't be able to understand the characters you've used in your question.

Answer 4

I am not ether American or British but always I tried to understand according to the situation...I don't know myself how do I say "can't"
I am a poor man who use English for communication for everything.

Answer 5

I'm American and I definitely don't say kaen't...so I don't know what to tell you.

Oh, but here's the answer I'm sure you were looking for: You Brits are just SO MUCH better than us stupid, uneducated Americans!

Answer 6

Differnent accents its like dorrset people talking differnetly to londoners!

Answer 7

I don't know.....I'm just another stupid american....

Hey...I can do you 1 better.....

I'M A REDNECK.......so "YA'LL" know I can't...."KAEN'T" talk!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
**ROF while LMAO****

Answer 8

Could you please restate your question...in English?