Today in my English class (at college), we saw that the British pronounce "can" with the "a" like "e" in "fender"; and "can't like the Brazilian (or Portuguese) sound "ã" (I was not able to figure one out in English). It is, a little different.
I know that this is almost nothing. And you can be sure that I ain't looking for having a native-like accent. Not at all. It's just knowledge and curiosity.
Tnx in antecipation.
Ie - B r a z i l
2006-11-03 01:50:04 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
can is pronounced [kæn] (diagraph) when it's stressed (like in a short answer, yes I can), and [kən] (with schwa) when unstressed (as in "I can play tennis") and it works for both varieties of English
The negative is different for British and American English since in BE it's pronounced [ka:nt] (with a latin a) and in AE [kænt] (with a diagraph)
2006-11-03 02:16:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
CAN and CAN'T are in American English pronounced the same - the only difference (obviously) is the contraction 'T in the end which signifies the negative. Can't is short for CAN NOT and is just CAN T.
Some people with accents do pronounce them differently, and they may be correct but the standard way is to spell and pronounce them the same.
2006-11-03 01:56:32 · answer #2 · answered by localgod208 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, they are pronounced not differently. Well, if you seek for the pronunciation it could vary if we compare the American and typical British English pronunciation. In American English "can" and "can't" and "cannot" ( meaning exactly the same) is with sound "a",which is pronounced as "a" in cat,hat,etc.( that is between "a" and "e"). While in British English the sound "a" is very near to the clear/ a/ as in Spanish, Italian languages, for example as in the word "bath" and then "can't " is pronounciated /'ka:nt/and "can" /'kan/. In brief, there is difference if we envisage American and British English.
Have a great day!
2006-11-03 01:59:38 · answer #3 · answered by sunflower 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You are right in saying that the British pronounce "can't" differently from Americans and you are right about how it sounds. In American English the "a" in "can't" is like the "a" in "cat". In general, if you can barely hear it, it's affirmative, and if you can hear it slightly better it's negative! LOL.
2006-11-03 03:44:12 · answer #4 · answered by custers_nemesis 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In British English "can’t" is pronounced /ka:nt/, while in American English it is pronounced /kænt/ .
2006-11-03 18:10:30 · answer #5 · answered by Isis 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We pronounce them both exactly the same. We use the "short" a sound, found in apple, cat, pat, hat, etc.
(If this is the answer that you are looking for, please rate it at the end of the discussion. )
2006-11-03 01:59:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
no its pronounced the same except with a "t" at the end of can't which stands for can-not
2006-11-03 01:56:33 · answer #7 · answered by jenni p 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Americans pronounce them the same.
2006-11-03 04:45:24 · answer #8 · answered by Taivo 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
yes, the "can" is the same , on "can't" just add a t as in "tip"
2006-11-03 10:40:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
come again
2006-11-03 01:53:11 · answer #10 · answered by lubomirbotev 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋