Rhoticity in English

Rhoticity in English refers to the situations in which English speakers pronounce the historical rhotic consonant /r/, and is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. The English dialects of Scotland, Ireland, and most of the United States and Canada preserve historical /r/, and are thus termed the rhotic varieties. The non-rhotic varieties, in which historical /r/ has been lost except before vowels, include all the dialects of England—except the South West, the southern West Midlands, and parts of West Lancashire—as well as the English dialects of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and some parts of the southern and eastern coastal United States.

In non-rhotic varieties, speakers no longer pronounce /r/ in postvocalic environments – that is, when it is immediately after a vowel and not followed by another vowel. For example, a rhotic English speaker pronounces the words hard and butter as /ˈhɑːrd/ and /ˈbʌtər/, whereas a non-rhotic speaker "drops" or "deletes" the /r/ sound, pronouncing them as /ˈhɑːd/ and /ˈbʌtə/. A non-rhotic speaker usually still pronounces the /r/ in the continuously spoken phrase butter and jam (the linking R), since in this case the /r/ is followed by a vowel.

Loss of postvocalic /r/ began sporadically in informal speech in the 15th century, and by the 17th century postvocalic /r/ was weakened but still universally present. In the mid-18th century it was still pronounced in most environments, but may occasionally have been deleted entirely, especially after low vowels. By the 1790s, postvocalic /r/-less pronunciation had become common in London and surrounding areas, and was increasing in use. By the early 19th century, the southern British standard was fully transformed into a non-rhotic variety.

History

Red areas indicate where rural accents were rhotic in the 1950s. Based on H. Orton et al., Survey of English Dialects (1962–71). Some areas with partial rhoticity (for example parts of the East Riding of Yorkshire) are not shaded on this map.

Red areas are where English dialects of the late 20th century were rhotic. Based on P. Trudgill, The Dialects of England.

The earliest traces of a loss of /r/ in English appear in the early 15th century and occur before coronal consonants, especially /s/, giving modern "ass (buttocks)" (Old English ears, Middle English ers or ars), and "bass (fish)" (OE bærs, ME bars). A second phase of /r/-loss began during the 15th century, and was characterized by sporadic and lexically variable deletion, such as monyng "morning" and cadenall "cardinal". These /r/-less spellings appear throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, but are uncommon and are restricted to private documents, especially ones written by women. No English authorities describe loss of /r/ in the standard language prior to the mid-18th century, and many do not fully accept it until the 1790s.

During the mid-17th century, a number of sources describe /r/ as being weakened but still present. The English playwright Ben Jonson's English Grammar, published posthumously in 1640, records that /r/ was "sounded firme in the beginning of words, and more liquid in the middle, and ends." Little more is said regarding /r/ until 1740, when one Mather Flint, writing in a primer for French learners of English, said: "...dans plusieurs mots, l’r devant une consonne est fort adouci, presque muet & rend un peu longue la voyale qui le precede." ("...in many words r before a consonant is greatly softened, almost mute, and slightly lengthens the preceding vowel.")

By the 1770s, postvocalic /r/-less pronunciation was becoming common around London even in more formal, educated speech. The English actor and linguist John Walker uses the spelling ar to indicate the long vowel of aunt in his 1775 rhyming dictionary. In his influential Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language (1791), Walker reported, with a strong tone of disapproval, that "...the r in lard, bard, [...] is pronounced so much in the throat as to be little more than the middle or Italian a, lengthened into baa, baad...." Americans returning to England after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 reported surprise at the significant changes in fashionable pronunciation. By the early 19th century, the southern British standard was fully transformed into a non-rhotic variety, though it continued to be variable as late as the 1870s.

The adoption of postvocalic /r/-less pronunciation as the British prestige standard in the late 18th and early 19th centuries influenced American port cities with close connections to Britain, causing upper-class pronunciation to become non-rhotic in many eastern and southern port cities such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Alexandria, Charleston, and Savannah. Like regional dialects in England, the accents of other areas in America remained rhotic in a display of linguistic "lag" that preserved the original pronunciation of /r/. Non-rhotic pronunciation continued to influence American prestige speech until the 1860s, when the American Civil War shifted America's centers of wealth and political power to areas with fewer cultural connections to the British elite. By 1870, New York City had become America's national center of commerce and entrepreneurship, and its political and economic leaders were increasingly self-made men with little connection to the old colonial elites and British non-rhotic pronunciation. This largely removed the prestige associated with non-rhotic pronunciation in America, such that when the advent of radio and television in the early 20th century established a national standard of American pronunciation, it became a rhotic variety that fully preserves historical /r/.

Modern pronunciation

In most non-rhotic accents, if a word ending in written "r" is followed closely by a word beginning with a vowel, the /r/ is pronounced—as in water ice. This phenomenon is referred to as "linking R". Many non-rhotic speakers also insert an epenthetic /r/ between vowels when the first vowel is one that can occur before syllable-final r (drawring for drawing). This so-called "intrusive R" has been stigmatized, but nowadays many speakers of Received Pronunciation frequently "intrude" an epenthetic /r/ at word boundaries, especially where one or both vowels is schwa; for example the idea of it becomes the idea-r-of it, Australia and New Zealand becomes Australia-r-and New Zealand, the formerly well-known India-r-Office and "Laura Norder" (Law and Order). The typical alternative used by RP speakers is to insert a glottal stop where an intrusive R would otherwise be placed.

For non-rhotic speakers, what was historically a vowel plus /r/ is now usually realized as a long vowel. This is called compensatory lengthening, lengthening that occurs after the elision of a sound. So in Received Pronunciation (RP) and many other non-rhotic accents card, fern, born are pronounced [kʰɑːd], [fɜːn], [bɔːn] or similar (actual pronunciations vary from accent to accent). This length may be retained in phrases, so while car pronounced in isolation is [kʰɑː], car owner is [ˈkʰɑːɹəʊnə]. But a final schwa usually remains short, so water in isolation is [wɔːtʰə]. In RP and similar accents the vowels /iː/ and /uː/ (or /ʊ/), when followed by r, become diphthongs ending in schwa, so near is [nɪə] and poor is [pʰʊə], though these have other realizations as well, including monophthongal ones; once again, the pronunciations vary from accent to accent. The same happens to diphthongs followed by R, though these may be considered to end in /ər/ in rhotic speech, and it is the /ər/ that reduces to schwa as usual in non-rhotic speech: tire said in isolation is [tʰaɪə] and sour is [saʊə]. For some speakers, some long vowels alternate with a diphthong ending in schwa, so wear may be [wɛə] but wearing [wɛːɹɪŋ].

Even General American speakers commonly drop the /r/ in non-final unstressed syllables when another syllable in the same word also contains /r/; this may be referred to as R-dissimilation. Examples include the dropping of the first /r/ in the words surprise, governor and caterpillar. In more careful speech, however, the /r/ sounds are all retained.

Distribution

Final post-vocalic /r/ in farmer in English rural dialects of the 1950s
GREEN – [ə] (non-rhotic)
YELLOW – [əʴ] (alveolar)
ORANGE – [əʵ] (retroflex)
PINK – [əʵː] (retroflex & long)
BLUE – [əʶ] (uvular)
VIOLET – [ɔʶ] (back & rounded)

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

Non-rhotic accents include most English English, Welsh English, New Zealand English, Australian English, and South African English.

Semi-rhotic accents have also been studied, such as Jamaican English, in which r is pronounced (as in even non-rhotic accents) before vowels, but also in stressed monosyllables or stressed syllables at the ends of words (e.g. in "car" or "dare"); however, it is not pronounced at the end of unstressed syllables (e.g. in "water") or before consonants (e.g. "market").

Variably rhotic accents, in which speakers often sporadically waver between rhoticity and non-rhoticity without any particular rules of context, are also widely documented. Variably rhotic accents comprise much of Caribbean English, for example, as spoken in Tobago, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Bahamas. They also include current-day New York City English, New York Latino English, and some Boston English.

Non-rhotic accents in the Americas include the rest of Caribbean and Belize.

England

Though most English varieties in England are non-rhotic, rhotic accents are found in the West Country (south and west of a line from near Shrewsbury to around Portsmouth), the Corby area, some of Lancashire (north and west of the centre of Manchester), some parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and in the areas that border Scotland. The prestige form, however, exerts a steady pressure towards non-rhoticity. Thus the urban speech of Bristol or Southampton is more accurately described as variably rhotic, the degree of rhoticity being reduced as one moves up the class and formality scales.

The red dots show major U.S. cities where Labov, Ash, and Boberg (2006:48) found 50% or higher non-rhotic speech among at least one white resident. African American Vernacular English's non-rhotic speech may be found among working- and middle-class African Americans throughout the country.

United States

American English is predominantly rhotic today, but at the end of the 19th century non-rhotic accents were common throughout much of the Eastern U.S. and through much of the South along the Gulf Coast. This trend reversed during the mid-20th century, in large part due to the influence of more western-influenced television, as well as the increasing political influence of states to the west (the Upper Midwest, and then California and Texas). Non-rhotic pronunciations have increasingly been perceived by Americans as sounding foreign with rhotic accents increasingly seen as sounding American.

Today, non-rhoticity in the American South is found primarily among older speakers, and only in some areas such as central and southern Alabama; Savannah, Georgia; and Norfolk, Virginia, as well as in the Yat accent of New Orleans. The local dialects of eastern New England, especially Boston, Massachusetts, extending into the states of Maine and New Hampshire, are largely non-rhotic, as well as the traditional Rhode Island dialect; however, this feature has recently been receding. The New York City dialect is traditionally non-rhotic, though William Labov more precisely classifies its current form as variably rhotic, with many of its sub-varieties now fully rhotic, such as in northeastern New Jersey.

African American Vernacular English is largely non-rhotic, and in some non-rhotic Southern and AAVE accents, there is no linking r, that is, /r/ at the end of a word is deleted even when the following word starts with a vowel, so that "Mister Adams" is pronounced [mɪstə(ʔ)ˈædəmz]. In a few such accents, intervocalic /r/ is deleted before an unstressed syllable even within a word when the following syllable begins with a vowel. In such accents, pronunciations like [kæəˈlaːnə] for Carolina, or [bɛːˈʌp] for "bear up" are heard. This pronunciation also occurs in AAVE.

Typically, even non-rhotic modern American English varieties do pronounce the /r/ in /ɜːr/ (as in "bird," "work," or "perky"), realizing it, as in most of the U.S., as [ɝ] or [ɚ] <phonos file="en-us-er.ogg">listen</phonos>.

Canada

Canadian English is entirely rhotic except for small isolated areas in southwestern New Brunswick, parts of Newfoundland, and the Lunenburg English variety spoken in Lunenburg and Shelburne Counties, Nova Scotia, which may be non-rhotic or variably rhotic.

New Zealand

Although New Zealand English is predominantly non-rhotic, Southland and parts of Otago in the far south of New Zealand's South Island are rhotic from apparent Scottish influence. Some Māori speakers are semi-rhotic although it is not clearly identified to any particular region or attributed to any defined language shift. The Māori accent varies from the European-origin New Zealand accent.

Asia

The English spoken in Asia is predominantly rhotic. Many varieties of Indian English are rhotic owing to the underlying phonotactics of the native Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages whilst some tend to be non-rhotic. In the case of the Philippines, this may be explained because the English that is spoken there is heavily influenced by the American dialect. In addition, many East Asians (in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan) who have a good command of English generally have rhotic accents because of the influence of American English. This excludes Hong Kong, whose RP English dialect is a result of its almost 150-year-history as a British Crown colony (later British dependent territory). However, many older (and younger) speakers among South and East Asians speak non-rhotic.

Other Asian regions with non-rhotic English are Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. A typical Malaysian English would be almost totally non-rhotic due to the nonexistence of rhotic endings in both languages of influence, whereas a more educated Malaysian's English may be non-rhotic due to Standard Malaysian English being based on RP (Received Pronunciation).

A typical teenager's Southeast Asian English would be rhotic, mainly because of prominent influence by American English. Spoken English in Myanmar is non-rhotic, but there are a number of English speakers with a rhotic or partially rhotic pronunciation. Sri Lankan English may be rhotic.

Mergers characteristic of non-rhotic accents

Some phonemic mergers are characteristic of non-rhotic accents. These usually include one item that historically contained an R (lost in the non-rhotic accent), and one that never did so. The section below lists mergers in order of approximately decreasing prevalence.

Panda–pander merger

In the terminology of John C. Wells, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets commA and lettER. It is found in all or nearly all non-rhotic accents, and is even present in some accents that are in other respects rhotic, such as those of some speakers in Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Homophonous pairs

/ə/ /ər/ IPA Notes Ana honor ˈɑːnə With father-bother merger. area airier ˈɛəriə Carla collar ˈkɑlə With god-guard merger. Carta Carter ˈkɑːtə cheetah cheater ˈtʃiːtə Darla dollar ˈdɑlə With god-guard merger. Dinah diner ˈdaɪnə coca coker ˈkoʊkə coda coder ˈkoʊdə cola coaler ˈkoʊlə coma comber ˈkoʊmə custody custardy ˈkʌstədi data dater ˈdeɪtə Easton eastern ˈiːstən Helena Eleanor ˈɛlənə With h-dropping. Outside North America. eta eater ˈiːtə eyen iron ˈaɪən feta fetter ˈfɛtə formally formerly ˈfɔːməli geta getter ˈɡɛtə ion iron ˈaɪən karma calmer ˈkɑːmə kava carver ˈkɑːvə Lena leaner ˈliːnə Lima lemur ˈliːmə Lisa leaser ˈliːsə Luna lunar ˈl(j)uːnə Maia Meier ˈmaɪə Maia mire ˈmaɪə Maya Meier ˈmaɪə Maya mire ˈmaɪə manna manner ˈmænə manna manor ˈmænə Marta martyr ˈmɑːtə Mia mere ˈmiə miner myna(h); mina(h) ˈmaɪnə minor myna(h); mina(h) ˈmaɪnə Mona moaner ˈmoʊnə Palma palmer; Palmer ˈpɑːmə panda pander ˈpændə parka Parker ˈpɑːkə Parma palmer; Palmer ˈpɑːmə Patton pattern ˈpætən PETA peter; Peter ˈpiːtə pharma farmer ˈfɑːmə pita peter; Peter ˈpiːtə Rhoda rotor ˈroʊɾə With intervocalic alveolar flapping. Rita reader ˈriːɾə With intervocalic alveolar flapping. Roma roamer ˈroʊmə rota rotor ˈroʊtə Saba sabre; saber ˈseɪbə schema schemer ˈskiːmə seven Severn ˈsɛvən soya sawyer ˈsɔɪə taiga tiger ˈtaɪɡə terra; Terra terror ˈtɛrə tuba tuber ˈt(j)uːbə tuna tuner ˈt(j)uːnə Vespa vesper ˈvɛspə via veer ˈvɪə Wanda wander ˈwɒndə Weston western ˈwɛstən Wicca wicker ˈwɪkə

Father–farther merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets PALM and START. It is found in the speech of the great majority of non-rhotic speakers, including those of England, Wales, the United States, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It may be absent in some non-rhotic speakers in the Bahamas.

Homophonous pairs
/ɑː/ /ɑːr/ IPA Notes ah are ˈɑː ah (h)our ˈɑː With smoothing. alms arms ˈɑːmz alms harms ˈɑːmz With H-dropping. balmy barmy ˈbɑːmi calmer karma ˈkɑːmə Chalmers charmers ˈtʃɑːməz Dahmer dharma ˈdɑːmə fa far ˈfɑː father farther ˈfɑːðə kava carver ˈkɑːvə lava larva ˈlɑːvə ma mar ˈmɑː pa par ˈpɑː Palma Parma ˈpɑːmə palmer; Palmer Parma ˈpɑːmə ska scar ˈskɑː spa spar ˈspɑː

Pawn–porn merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets THOUGHT and NORTH. It is found in most of the same accents as the father–farther merger described above, but is absent from the Bahamas and Guyana.

Homophonous pairs

/ɔː/ /ɔːr/ IPA Notes alk orc ˈɔːk auk orc ˈɔːk aw or ˈɔː awe or ˈɔː awk orc ˈɔːk balk bork ˈbɔːk bawn born ˈbɔːn caulk cork ˈkɔːk cawed chord ˈkɔːd cawed cord ˈkɔːd draw drawer ˈdrɔː gnaw nor ˈnɔː hawk orc ˈɔːk With H-dropping. laud lord ˈlɔːd lawed lord ˈlɔːd lawn lorn ˈlɔːn pawn porn ˈpɔːn sought sort ˈsɔːt stalk stork ˈstɔːk talk torque ˈtɔːk taught tort ˈtɔːt taut tort ˈtɔːt taw tor ˈtɔː thaw Thor ˈθɔː

Caught–court merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets THOUGHT and FORCE. It is found in those non-rhotic accents containing the pawn–porn merger that have also undergone the horse–hoarse merger. These include the accents of Southern England, Wales, non-rhotic New York City speakers, Trinidad and the Southern hemisphere. In such accents a three-way merger awe-or-ore/oar results.

Homophonous pairs

/ɔː/ /ɔər/ IPA Notes aw oar ˈɔː aw ore ˈɔː awe oar ˈɔː awe ore ˈɔː bawd board ˈbɔːd bawd bored ˈbɔːd bawn borne ˈbɔːn bawn bourn; bourne; Bourne ˈbɔːn caught court ˈkɔːt caw core ˈkɔː daw door ˈdɔː draw drawer ˈdrɔː flaw floor ˈflɔː fought fort ˈfɔːt gaud gored ˈɡɔːd haw whore ˈhɔː law lore ˈlɔː maw more ˈmɔː maw Moore ˈmɔː paw pore ˈpɔː paw pour ˈpɔː raw roar ˈrɔː sauce source ˈsɔːs saw soar ˈsɔː saw sore ˈsɔː sawed soared ˈsɔːd sawed sword ˈsɔːd Sean shorn ˈʃɔːn shaw shore ˈʃɔː Shawn shorn ˈʃɔːn taw tore ˈtɔː yaw yore ˈjɔː yaw your ˈjɔː

Calve–carve merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets BATH and START. It is found in some non-rhotic accents with broad A in words like "bath". It is general in southern England (excluding rhotic speakers), Trinidad, the Bahamas, and the Southern hemisphere. It is a possibility for Welsh, Eastern New England, Jamaican, and Guyanese speakers.

Homophonous pairs
/aː/ /ɑːr/ IPA Notes aunt aren't ˈɑːnt calve carve ˈkɑːv cast karst ˈkɑːst caste karst ˈkɑːst fast farced ˈfɑːst

Paw–poor merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets THOUGHT and CURE. It is found in those non-rhotic accents containing the caught–court merger that have also undergone the pour–poor merger. Wells lists it unequivocally only for the accent of Trinidad, but it is an option for non-rhotic speakers in England, Australia and New Zealand. Such speakers have a potential four–way merger taw-tor-tore-tour.

Homophonous pairs
/ɔː/ /ʊər/ IPA Notes gaud gourd ˈɡɔːd haw whore ˈhɔː law lure ˈlɔː With yod-dropping. maw moor ˈmɔː maw Moore ˈmɔː paw poor ˈpɔː shaw sure ˈʃɔː taw tour ˈtɔː tawny tourney ˈtɔːni yaw your ˈjɔː yaw you're ˈjɔː

Batted–battered merger

This merger is present in non-rhotic accents which have undergone the weak-vowel merger. Such accents include Australian, New Zealand, most South African speech, and some non-rhotic English speech (e.g. Norfolk, Sheffield).

A large number of homophonous pairs involve the syllabic -es and agentive -ers suffixes, such as merges-mergers and bleaches-bleachers. Because there are so many, they are excluded from the list of homophonous pairs below.

Homophonous pairs

/ɪ̈/ /ər/ IPA Notes batted battered ˈbætəd betted bettered ˈbɛtəd busted bustard ˈbʌstəd butches butchers ˈbʊtʃəz butted buttered ˈbʌtəd charted chartered ˈtʃɑ:təd chatted chattered ˈtʃætəd founded foundered ˈfaʊndəd humid humo(u)red ˈhjuːməd masted mastered ˈmæstəd, ˈmɑːstəd matted mattered ˈmætəd modding modern ˈmɒdən With G-dropping. patted pattered ˈpætəd patting pattern ˈpætən With G-dropping. satin Saturn ˈsætən scatted scattered ˈskætəd splendid splendo(u)red ˈsplɛndəd tatted tattered ˈtætəd tended tendered ˈtɛndəd territory terror tree ˈtɛrətriː With happy-tensing.

Dough–door merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets GOAT and FORCE. It may be found in some southern U.S. non-rhotic speech, some speakers of African American Vernacular English, some speakers in Guyana and some Welsh speech.

Homophonous pairs

/oʊ/ /oʊr/ IPA Notes beau boar ˈboʊ beau bore ˈboʊ bode board ˈboʊd bode bored ˈboʊd bone borne ˈboʊn bone Bourne ˈboʊn bow boar ˈboʊ bow bore ˈboʊ bowed board ˈboʊd bowed bored ˈboʊd chose chores ˈtʃoʊz coast coursed ˈkoʊst coat court ˈkoʊt code cored ˈkoʊd doe door ˈdoʊ does doors ˈdoʊz dough door ˈdoʊ doze doors ˈdoʊz floe floor ˈfloʊ flow floor ˈfloʊ foe fore ˈfoʊ foe four ˈfoʊ go gore ˈɡoʊ goad gored ˈɡoʊd hoe whore ˈhoʊ hoed hoard ˈhoʊd hoed horde ˈhoʊd hoed whored ˈhoʊd hose whores ˈhoʊz lo lore ˈloʊ low lore ˈloʊ moan mourn ˈmoʊn Moe Moore ˈmoʊ Moe more ˈmoʊ Mona mourner ˈmoʊnə mow Moore ˈmoʊ mow more ˈmoʊ mown mourn ˈmoʊn O oar ˈoʊ O ore ˈoʊ ode oared ˈoʊd oh oar ˈoʊ oh ore ˈoʊ owe oar ˈoʊ owe ore ˈoʊ owed oared ˈoʊd Po pore ˈpoʊ Po pour ˈpoʊ Poe pore ˈpoʊ Poe pour ˈpoʊ poach porch ˈpoʊtʃ poke pork ˈpoʊk pose pores ˈpoʊz pose pours ˈpoʊz road roared ˈroʊd rode roared ˈroʊd roe roar ˈroʊ rose roars ˈroʊz row roar ˈroʊ rowed roared ˈroʊd sew soar ˈsoʊ sew sore ˈsoʊ sewed soared ˈsoʊd sewed sored ˈsoʊd sewed sword ˈsoʊd shone shorn ˈʃoʊn show shore ˈʃoʊ shown shorn ˈʃoʊn snow snore ˈsnoʊ so soar ˈsoʊ so sore ˈsoʊ sow soar ˈsoʊ sow sore ˈsoʊ sowed soared ˈsoʊd sowed sored ˈsoʊd sowed sword ˈsoʊd stow store ˈstoʊ toad toward ˈtoʊd toe tore ˈtoʊ toed toward ˈtoʊd tone torn ˈtoʊn tow tore ˈtoʊ towed toward ˈtoʊd woe wore ˈwoʊ whoa wore ˈwoʊ With wine–whine merger. yo yore ˈjoʊ yo your ˈjoʊ

Show–sure merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets GOAT and CURE. It may be present in those speakers who have both the dough–door merger described above, and also the pour–poor merger. These include some southern U.S. non-rhotic speakers, some speakers of African American Vernacular English and some speakers in Guyana.

It can be seen in the term "Fo Sho", an imitation of "for sure".

Homophonous pairs

/oʊ/ /ʊːr/ IPA Notes beau boor ˈboʊ bow boor ˈboʊ goad gourd ˈɡoʊd hoe whore ˈhoʊ lo lure ˈloʊ With yod-dropping. low lure ˈloʊ With yod-dropping. Moe moor ˈmoʊ Moe Moore ˈmoʊ mode moored ˈmoʊd mow moor ˈmoʊ mow Moore ˈmoʊ mowed moored ˈmoʊd Po poor ˈpoʊ Poe poor ˈpoʊ shew sure ˈʃoʊ show sure ˈʃoʊ toad toured ˈtoʊd toe tour ˈtoʊ toed toured ˈtoʊd tow tour ˈtoʊ towed toured ˈtoʊd yo your ˈjoʊ yo you're ˈjoʊ

Often–orphan merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets CLOTH and NORTH. It may be present in old-fashioned Eastern New England accents, New York City speakers and also in some speakers in Jamaica and Guyana. The merger was also until recently present in the dialects of southern England, including Received Pronunciation—specifically, the phonemic merger of the words often and orphan was a running gag in the Gilbert and Sullivan musical, The Pirates of Penzance.

Homophonous pairs
/ɔː/ /ɔːr/ IPA Notes hoss horse ˈhɔːs moss Morse ˈmɔːs off Orff ˈɔːf often orphan ˈɔːfən "Often" is pronounced with a sounded T by some speakers.

God–guard merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets LOT and START. It may be present in non-rhotic accents that have undergone the father–bother merger. These may include some New York accents, some southern U.S. accents, and African American Vernacular English.

Homophonous pairs

/ɑ/ /ɑr/ IPA Notes bob; Bob barb; Barb ˈbɑb bock bark ˈbɑk bocks barks ˈbɑks bocks Berks ˈbɑks bod bard ˈbɑd bod barred ˈbɑd boff barf ˈbɑf bot Bart ˈbɑt box barks ˈbɑks box Berks ˈbɑks clock Clark; Clarke ˈklɑk clock clerk ˈklɑk cob carb ˈkɑb cod card ˈkɑd collar Carla ˈkɑlə collie Carlie ˈkɑli cop carp ˈkɑp cot cart ˈkɑt dock dark ˈdɑk dollar Darla ˈdɑlə dolling darling ˈdɑlɪŋ don; Don darn ˈdɑn dot dart ˈdɑt god garred ˈɡɑd god guard ˈɡɑd hock hark ˈhɑk holly; Holly Harley ˈhɑli hominy harmony ˈhɑməni With weak vowel merger. hop harp ˈhɑp hot hart ˈhɑt hot heart ˈhɑt hottie hardy ˈhɑɾi With intervocalic alveolar flapping. hottie hearty ˈhɑti hough hark ˈhɑk hovered Harvard ˈhɑvəd knock narc ˈnɑk knock nark ˈnɑk knocks narcs ˈnɑks knocks narks ˈnɑks Knox narcs ˈnɑk Knox narks ˈnɑk lock lark ˈlɑk Locke lark ˈlɑk lodge large ˈlɑdʒ lop larp ˈlɑp mock mark; Mark ˈmɑk mocks marks; Mark's ˈmɑks mocks Marx ˈmɑks mod marred ˈmɑd modge Marge ˈmɑdʒ moll; Moll marl ˈmɑl molly; Molly Marley ˈmɑli mosh marsh ˈmɑʃ nock narc ˈnɑk nock nark ˈnɑk nocks narcs ˈnɑks nocks narks ˈnɑks Nox narcs ˈnɑk Nox narks ˈnɑk ox arcs ˈɑks ox arks ˈɑks pock park; Park ˈpɑk pocks parks; Park's ˈpɑks polly; Polly parley; Parley ˈpɑli pot part ˈpɑt potch parch ˈpɑtʃ potty party ˈpɑti pox parks ˈpɑks shod shard ˈʃɑd shock shark ˈʃɑk shop sharp ˈʃɑp shopping sharpen ˈʃɑpən With weak vowel merger and G-dropping. sock Sark ˈsɑk sod Sard ˈsɑd Spock spark ˈspɑk spotter Sparta ˈspɑtə stock stark ˈstɑk tod tard ˈtɑd tod tarred ˈtɑd Todd tard ˈtɑd Todd tarred ˈtɑd top tarp ˈtɑp tot tart ˈtɑt yon yarn ˈjɑn

Shot–short merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets LOT and NORTH. It may be present in some Eastern New England accents.

Homophonous pairs

/ɒ/ /ɒr/ IPA Notes bon born ˈbɒːn box borks ˈbɒːks cock cork; Cork ˈkɒːk cocks corks; Cork's ˈkɒːks cops corpse ˈkɒːps cox corks; Cork's ˈkɒːks cod chord ˈkɒːd cod cord ˈkɒːd con corn ˈkɒːn dock dork ˈdɒːk fox forks ˈfɒːks dom dorm ˈdɒːm mog morgue ˈmɒːɡ mot Mort ˈmɒːt odder order ˈɒːdə otter order ˈɒːɾə With intervocalic alveolar flapping. ox orcs ˈɒːks pond porned ˈpɒːnd posh Porsche ˈpɒːʃ scotch; Scotch scorch ˈskɒːtʃ shoddy shorty ˈʃɒːɾi With intervocalic alveolar flapping. shot short ˈʃɒːt snot snort ˈsnɒːt sob Sorb ˈsɒːb solder sorter ˈsɒːɾə With intervocalic alveolar flapping. sot sort ˈsɒːt Spock spork ˈspɒːk stock stork ˈstɒːk swan sworn ˈswɒːn swat swart ˈswɒːt tock torque ˈtɒːk tot tort ˈtɒːt tox torques ˈtɒːks wabble warble ˈwɒːbəl wad ward ˈwɒːd wad warred ˈwɒːd wan warn ˈwɒːn wand warned ˈwɒːnd watt wart ˈwɒːt whap warp ˈwɒːp With wine–whine merger. what wart ˈwɒːt With wine–whine merger. whop warp ˈwɒːp With wine–whine merger. wobble warble ˈwɒːbəl yock York ˈjɒːk

Bud–bird merger

A merger of /ɜː(r)/ and /ʌ/ occurring for some speakers of Jamaican English making bud and bird homophones as /bʌd/. The conversion of /ɜː/ to [ʌ] or [ə] is also found in places scattered around England and Scotland. Some speakers, mostly rural, in the area from London to Norfolk exhibit this conversion, mainly before voiceless fricatives. This gives pronunciation like first [fʌst] and worse [wʌs]. The word cuss appears to derive from the application of this sound change to the word curse. Similarly, lurve is coined from love.

Homophonous pairs

/ʌ/ /ɜːr/ IPA Notes blood blurred ˈblʌd bub burb ˈbʌb buck Burke ˈbʌk Buckley Berkeley ˈbʌkli bud bird ˈbʌd bud burred ˈbʌd budging burgeon ˈbʌdʒən With weak vowel merger and G-dropping. bug berg ˈbʌɡ bug burg ˈbʌɡ bugger burger ˈbʌɡə bugging bergen; Bergen ˈbʌɡən With weak vowel merger and G-dropping. bummer Burma ˈbʌmə bun Bern ˈbʌn bun burn ˈbʌn bunt burnt ˈbʌnt bused; bussed burst ˈbʌst bust burst ˈbʌst but Bert ˈbʌt but Burt ˈbʌt butt Bert ˈbʌt butt Burt ˈbʌt button Burton ˈbʌtən buzz burrs ˈbʌz chuck chirk ˈtʃʌk cluck clerk ˈklʌk colo(u)r curler ˈkʌlə coven curving ˈkʌvən With weak vowel merger and G-dropping. cub curb ˈkʌb cub kerb ˈkʌb cud curd ˈkʌd cud curred ˈkʌd cud Kurd ˈkʌd cuddle curdle ˈkʌdəl cuff you curfew ˈkʌfju cull curl ˈkʌl culler curler ˈkʌlə cunning kerning ˈkʌnɪŋ cuss curse ˈkʌs cut curt; Curt ˈkʌt cutting curtain ˈkʌtɪn With G-dropping. dost durst ˈdʌst doth dearth ˈdʌθ duck dirk ˈdʌk ducked dirked ˈdʌkt ducks dirks ˈdʌks duct dirked ˈdʌkt dust durst ˈdʌst dux dirks ˈdʌks fud furred ˈfʌd fun fern ˈfʌn fussed first ˈfʌst fuzz furs ˈfʌz gull girl ˈɡʌl gully girly ˈɡʌli gutter girder ˈɡʌɾə With intervocalic alveolar flapping. hub herb ˈ(h)ʌb With or without H-dropping. huck Herc ˈhʌk huck irk ˈʌk With H-dropping. huddle hurdle ˈhʌdəl hull hurl ˈhʌl hum herm ˈhʌm Hun earn ˈʌn With H-dropping. Hun urn ˈʌn With H-dropping. hush Hirsch ˈhʌʃ hut hurt ˈhʌt love lurve ˈlʌv luck lurk ˈlʌk lucks lurks ˈlʌks lunt learnt ˈlʌnt luxe lurks ˈlʌks much merch ˈmʌtʃ muck merc ˈmʌk muck mirk ˈmʌk muck murk ˈmʌk muddle myrtle ˈmʌɾəl With intervocalic alveolar flapping. mudder murder ˈmʌdə mull merl ˈmʌl mutter murder ˈmʌɾə With intervocalic alveolar flapping. mutton Merton ˈmʌtən oven Irving ˈʌvən With weak vowel merger and G-dropping. puck perk ˈpʌk pudge purge ˈpʌdʒ pup perp ˈpʌp pus purse ˈpʌs pussy (pus) Percy ˈpʌsi putt pert ˈpʌt scut skirt ˈskʌt shuck shirk ˈʃʌk spun spurn ˈspʌn stud stirred ˈstʌd such search ˈsʌtʃ suck cirque ˈsʌk suckle circle ˈsʌkəl suffer surfer ˈsʌfə sully surly ˈsʌli Sutton certain ˈsʌtən With weak vowel merger. thud third ˈθʌd ton(ne) tern ˈtʌn ton(ne) turn ˈtʌn tough turf ˈtʌf tuck Turk ˈtʌk tucks Turks ˈtʌks Tuttle turtle ˈtʌtəl tux Turks ˈtʌks us Erse ˈʌs wont weren't ˈwʌnt

Oil–earl merger / coil–curl merger

In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets CHOICE and NURSE preconsonantally (so that "stir" and "boy" never rhymed). It was present in older New York and New Orleans regional accents, but became stigmatized and is sharply recessive in those born since the Second World War. This merger is known for the word soitanly, used often by the Three Stooges comedian Curly Howard as a variant of certainly in comedy shorts of the 1930s and 1940s.

Homophonous pairs

/ɔɪ/ /ɜr/ IPA Notes adjoin adjourn əˈdʒɜɪn boil burl ˈbɜɪl Boyd bird ˈbɜɪd Boyle burl ˈbɜɪl Boyd bird ˈbɜɪd coil curl ˈkɜɪl coin kern ˈkɜɪn coitus Curtis ˈkɜɪtəs With weak vowel merger. foil furl ˈfɜɪl goitre; goiter girder ˈɡɜɪɾər With intervocalic alveolar flapping. hoist Hearst ˈhɜɪst hoist hurst; Hurst ˈhɜɪst Hoyle hurl ˈhɜɪl loin learn ˈlɜɪn oil earl ˈɜɪl poil pearl ˈpɜɪl poise purrs ˈpɜɪz toyed turd ˈtɜɪd voice verse ˈvɜɪs Voight vert ˈvɜɪt

Other mergers

In some accents, syllabification may interact with rhoticity, resulting in homophones where non-rhotic accents have centering diphthongs. Possibilities include Korea–career, Shi'a–sheer, and Maia–mire, while skua may be identical with the second syllable of obscure.

Effect on spelling

Spellings based on non-rhotic pronunciation of dialectal or foreign words can result in mispronunciations if read by rhotic speakers. Examples include:

• "Er", to indicate a filled pause, as a British spelling of what US-Americans would render "uh".
• The Korean family name 박 (Bak/Pak) usually written "Park" in English.
• The game Parcheesi.
• British English slang words:
  • "char" for "cha" from the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of 茶 (= "tea" (the drink))
• In Rudyard Kipling's books:
  • "dorg" instead of "dawg" for a drawled pronunciation of "dog".
  • Hindu god name Kama misspelled as "Karma" (which refers to a concept in several Asian religions, not a god).
  • Hindustani काग़ज़ / کاغذ "kāg͟haẕ" (= "paper") spelled as "kargaz".
• "Burma" and "Myanmar" for Burmese [bəmà] and [mjàmmà].
• Transliteration of Cantonese words and names, such as char siu (叉燒, Jyutping: caa1 siu1) and Wong Kar-wai (王家衛, Jyutping: Wong4 Gaa1wai6)
• The spelling of "schoolmarm" for "school ma'am".
• The slang word "nark" for "informant", from Romany language" nāk = "nose".

References

Footnotes

Works cited