Linking and Intrusive /r/

Language in Transition presents:

Intrusive and Linking /r/

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INDEX

Rhotic accents

Accents of English

The two r's

Where did it come from?

Non-rhotic accents

Intrusive /r/

Linking /r/

Thanks

The difference

'R' or 'r' is the 18th letter of the English alphabet, in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) represented by the symbol /r/

The symbol /r/ can represent: a) aveolar trill - the rolling r we know from, for example, Polish b) rhotic consonant - an r-like sound, like in English and German

Accents of English

English accents can be divided into two groups: the rhotic and the non-rhotic.

1. Rhotic accents pronunce the letter 'r' as an r-sound in all positions in a morpheme.
2. Non-rhotic accents do not pronounce /r/ when it is immediately after a vowel and not followed by another vowel.

Examples of rhotic accents in English

• Rhotic accents include most varieties of Scottish English, Irish, North American English, Barbadian English, Indian English, and Pakistani English.

• Rhotic accents of England:

Examples of non-rhotic accents in English

• Non-rhotic accents include most varieties of English English, Welsh English, New Zealand English, Australian English, South African English and Trinidadian and Tobagonian English.

• Non-rhotic accents in England (green):

Where did it come from?

"Throughout most of the nineteenth century, non-rhotic pronunciations continued to be condemned, but by the time the first pronouncing dictionary was published in 1917, non-rhotic pronunciations had become characteristic of RP. The spread of non-rhotic pronunciation can thus be seen as a change 'from below,' beginning in nonstandard London English and spreading geographically northwards and socially 'upwards' until, in the early twenty-first century, it is the rhotic pronunciations that are marked as nonstandard in England. Even within rhotic areas, there is evidence that younger people are less likely to pronounce /r/ in words such as arm. In other words, rhoticity is a recessive feature in England." Joan C. Beal, Introduction to Regional Englishes: Dialect Variation in England. Edinburgh University Press, 2010

Timeline of rhoticity

1800-1900

Rhoticity is considered standard. Non-rhoticity is condemned and considered characteristic to nonstandard English

Rhoticity is slowny dropped and becoming less standard, while non-rhoticity is building its way up the social ladder, working its way to Received Pronunciation.

1900-2000

Nowadays, language prescriptivists consider non-rhoticity as standard, and rhoticity --> non-standard.

Now

Do you think globalization and a growing number of speakers of English as a second language will have an impact on its non-rhoticity?

The future?

Linking /r/

• Linking /r/ is something we can observe in standard, non-rhotic English.
• It appears between two words, when the first one ends with the letter 'r', and the second starts with a vowel.
• In standard, non-rhotic English, you do not pronounce the final 'r'. If you do - that is the linking /r/.

Intrusive /r/

We talk about intrusive /r/ when we can hear the sound, but it is not in orthographic transcription of the word - it is said, but not spelled.

Intrusive /r/ appears between two words, same as linking /r/, but with the intrusive, the 'r' in NOT in the spelling of the word. See, if you can hear it here:

The difference

Both linking /r/ and intrusive /r/ refer to the pronounciation of the sound /r/ where, theoretically, it should not be pronounced. The difference is in the spelling. Linking /r/ appears when the first word ends with the letter 'r', but the 'r' is not pronounced by the rules of standard, non-rhotic English. Intrusive /r/ appears when there is no 'r' in sight, but we throw it in anyway.

Examples

Intrusive /r/

Linking /r/

• Law and order /lɔːr ænd ˈɔːdə/
• Media attention /ˈmiːdiər əˈtɛnʃən/
• I saw a film /aɪ sɔːr ə fɪlm/
• tuna oil /tjuːnər ɔɪl/
• supernova in the sky /suːpə'nəʊvər ɪn ðə skaɪ/
• hosanna in the highest /hosannar ɪn ðə ˈhaɪɪst/
• the spa is open /ðə spɑːr ɪz ˈəʊpən/

• four apples /fɔːr ˈæplz/
• My brother is younger /maɪ ˈbrʌðər ɪz ˈjʌŋə/
• their age /ðeər eɪʤ/
• far away /fɑːr əˈweɪ/
• father-in-law /ˈfɑːðər ɪn lɔː/
• your eyes /jɔːr aɪz/
• a tower over there /ə ˈtaʊər ˈəʊvə ðeə/

Practice

Write down your own examples of: 1. Linking /r/ 2. Intrusive /r/

THANKS!

Teacher Effect