How To Pronounce Background

In British English, background is pronounced /ˈbæk.ɡraʊnd/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈbæk.ɡraʊ̃nd̚]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈbæk.ɡraʊnd/.

Background has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first syllable. British and American speakers say it the same way.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.