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English pronunciation can present a number of problems for ESL learners. Unlike some languages such as Spanish and Tagalog, English has a high number of vowels. It also has an unstressed vowel in words such as "ago" and "garden" which some find difficult to reproduce. In its consonant inventory, English has the voiced "th" of "this" and the voiceless "th" of "thanks". Other consonants which can present difficulties for learners are the aspirated stops (k, p, t) in "keep", "park", "time" versus the unaspirated ones in "school", "spark" and "stop". Also, English has regional variants which will be explained here.

A number of features help to distinguish English dialects from one another.
Although differences can be observed in vocabulary and spelling, many differences can also be observed in pronunciation. In fact, English pronunciation can vary considerably from one dialect to another.

For example, South Africans are unique in their pronunciation of "South Africa"- in the pronunciation of their country they pronounce the "th" as in the words "the", "this" and "that". Some Irish speakers pronounce the "th" in "three" and "throw" the same as the "t" in "tongue" and "tomato". For these speakers, the word "three" is pronounced the same as the word "tree". In parts of New York, the "th" in words such as "they" and "those" is pronounced as a "d". For these speakers, the words "day" and "they" sound the same.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of British English and American English is considered to be the pronunciation of the "r" when it occurs at the end of a syllable. Most Americans pronounce the "r" in "sport" and "car" while most Brits do not. However, in certain parts of the United States, the "r" is dropped in syllable-final position, New York and Boston are two cities which are known for this particular pronunciation. Also, not all British speakers drop the "r" at the end of a syllable. Many Scottish and Irish speakers pronounce the "r" in all positions and in southwestern England, speakers also maintain it.

Although Canadian English and American English, particularly as spoken near their borders, are considered similar, two small differences can be noted. In words such as "westerner", "easterner" and "governor", most Canadians pronounce every "r". Many Americans, though, drop the first one in each word. Also, in words such as "international" and "winter" and "identical", Americans have a greater tendency to drop the "t" than do Canadians.

Besides differences

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