Week 7 Flashcards
Hiatus
Languages don’t like when two vowels occur together. Elision is used to avoid such problems, which often happens in French.
Rhotic accents
Accents of English that have retained the pronounced /r/ as in /starr/.
- Scottish
- Irish
- Most accents of Canadian
- American English
- South-west England
- North-west England
Non-Rhotic
Australia, South Africa, eastern and central England.
/sta:/
/r/ liaison
In non-rhotic accents of England, the sound that is most commonly added between vowels is /r/.
Types of /r/ liaison are;
• Linking /r/
• Intrusive /r/
Linking /r/
When a word ending in a vowel is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, an /r/ can be inserted between the words.
Linking /r/ is optional and primarily occurs in rapid speech, but can be avoided by the speaker (might as well use a glottal stop).
An example is the comparison between non-rhotic /bɔ:/, but becomes /bɔ:rɪŋ/ when -ing is added.
Intrusive /r/
Non-rhotic speakers will find that some sentences are easier pronounced with an intrusive /r/ (also optional). The /r/ can be inserted before a word that starts with a vowel.
‘gnaw’ /gna:/ does not have an /r/
‘gnaw (r)a bone’ has intrusive /r/
Difference linking and intruding /r/
If the first word has an /r/ in the spelling, we call this process linking /r/. If there is no orthographic /r/ in the first word, we call it instructive.
Do rhotic accents use /r/ liaison?
No, neither of the processes apply. There is no intrusive /r/ because rhotics already produce /r/ when it is in the spelling.
Another form of liaison in English; ‘the’ rule
There is a difference when pronouncing ‘the’. Before words starting with a consonant, the vowel is likely to be schwa /ðə/. Before words starting with a vowel, the pronunciation is likely to be /ði:/.
The /ðə/ pear.
The /ði/ orange.
Insertion
Sounds may sometimes be absent in citation forms. Insertion is less common than elision. An example is linking r which is found in SSBE and other non-rhotic varieties of English.
/bɔ:/ bore
/bɔ:rɪŋ/ boring
/dɪə ɹ æn/ dear Anne
Phonetic realisation of /ɹ / or /r/ and which articulations do speakers employ for this sound?
SSBE /ɹ / or /r/ is realised as a post-alveolar central approximant [ɹ].
Speakers employ two distinct articulations: retroflex and bunched. Both have a similar effect, which is close to schwa.
Difference rhotic and non-rhotic /ɹ /
Rhotic:
Before a vowel
Word-initial (red)
Word-internal (very)
Word-final (dear Anne)
Before a consonant
Word-internal (card)
Word-final (dear John)
Before a pause
(Before, poor)
Non-rhotic:
Before a vowel
Word-initial (red)
Word-internal (very)
Word-final (dear Anne)
Non-rhotic dialects have no /ɹ / before a pause and consonant, but does have one before a vowel.
Distributional variation
Rhotic and non-rhotic systems both have /ɹ /, but the distribution of /ɹ / in these systems is different.
For example;
Rhotic dialects: free distribution of /ɹ /
Non-rhotic dialects: /ɹ / is banned from two positions, before a pause and consonant.
Rough and smooth ‘r’
The rough ‘r’ is formed by jarring the top of the tongue against the roof of the mouth near the fore teeth. The smooth ‘r’ is a vibration of the lower part of the tongue, near the entrance of the throat.
Principle of uniformity
We can ‘use the present to explain the past’; a modern language with a rough and smooth ‘r’ may give us better insight into the phonetic factors behind the historical loss of /ɹ / in English.
