PHONETIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN VARIANTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS THE FEATURE OF TRANSLATION ACTIVITY

The article in question deals with phonetic differences between British and American variants of the English language. The aim is to reveal and compare the phonemic peculiarities of British and American English. The novelty of the research consists in the fact that it is one of the first attempts to explore the above differences along the lines of detailed vowel, consonant and stress interchange, and other, more subtle, variations, based on the personal cross-cultural communication experience of the writer of this article, his colleague-interpreters, and those linguists who delved into this problem. Despite the fact that due to the process of globalization and ensuing interpenetration the above phonetic differences are often blurred, the major typicalities are always there, necessitating the study for both theoretical and practical ends. Apart from the review of the differences the article outlines practical aspects of the pertinent knowledge aimed at helping prospective and present-day working interpreters to further develop and hone their listening comprehension, vocal pronunciation and rhetorical skills, which, in its turn, will promote the interpreters' self-assessment and prestige.