Hi everyone.
May I ask you what happens with the "r" in the following words (in non-rhotic accents like RP): beware /bɪˈwɛə/, care /kɛə/, dare /dɛə/, there /ðɛə/, share /ʃɛə/, compare /kəmˈpɛə/, careful /ˈkɛəfʊl/, sphere /sfɪə/, figure /ˈfɪɡə/, and so on? In all of these cases the “r” is neither at the end of the word nor before consonant (rules that many BrE teachers teach for silent "r") – still, it is silent. Are there any rules that can be applied in these cases? What about: very, necessary, arbitrary, and so on - here the "r" is pronounced, but, even though in the middle of the word, there's no consonant before it (other rule BrE teachers teach for non-silent "r")? What's the rule here? What about the words: order, separate and the like? In "order", for example, the "r" is before a consonant - still, it is silent. On the other hand, in "separate" the "r" is in middle position, but there's no consonant before it - still, it is pronounced and therefore non-silent. What I am trying to learn is whether (or not) there are 2 separate rules for the “r”: one telling me when the “r” must be pronounced and one telling me when the “r” is silent. Am I missing something here? Thank you!<o:p></o:p>
As I have spoken with other BrE experts, I would also like to ask you if the following conclusions are accurate enough and could be considered a rule for the pronunciation of the "r" sound (in British RP and non-rhotic accents of English):<o:p></o:p>
1. "r" is silent in the following words: car, star, sister, mother, word, person, bird (/kɑː/, /stɑː/, /ˈsɪstə/, /ˈmʌðə/, /wɜːd/, /ˈpɜːsn/, /bɜːd/) because it is not followed by a vowel sound.<o:p></o:p>
2. "r" is pronounced in the following words: read, write, red, Rome, grass, green, very, separate (/riːd/, /raɪt/, /rɛd/, /rəʊm/, /grɑːs/, /griːn/, /ˈvɛri/, /'sepərət/) and also in berry, carry, arrange (ˈ/bɛri/, /ˈkæri/, /əˈreɪnʤ/) because it is followed by a vowel sound. <o:p></o:p>
Or, to sum up: "the /r/ sound (the phoneme, i.e. the sound as in red) occurs only before a vowel phoneme (in British RP and non-rhotic accents of English). In every other case, it is silent." Is this ehough to be considered a rule?
Thank you! <o:p></o:p>
I agree with you. Remember also that a vowel sound in the next word may follow in linked speech and so the /r/ would be uttered.
e.g. I have a car and bike (say /r/)
I have a bike and car (don't say /r/)
I'm a British RP speaker, and yes, your rule seems to make sense.
You must have in mind that the R sound isn't pronounced when in syllable coda, that is at the end of a syllable.
So, in words like "word", where the syllable coda is formed by the consonants -rd, the R sound doesn't exist.
In words like "compare", despite there's a vowel after the R, this vowel doesn't form a new syllable (this word has two syllables) and, therefore, is mute. So, the R is still in coda position. It's as if the E weren't there.
In words like "very", the -y form a new syllable and, therefore, the R belongs to this second syllable, not to the first. That's why it has to be pronounced.
1. "r" is silent in the following words: car, star, sister, mother, word, person, bird (/kɑː/, /stɑː/, /ˈsɪstə/, /ˈmʌðə/, /wɜːd/, /ˈpɜːsn/, /bɜːd/) because it is not followed by a vowel sound.
Hmmm, I'm not sure about this, but I'm no phoneme expert.
The 'r' is not silent in car or star to me. The r just makes the vowel pronounced differently
In the other examples the sound of R is 'er', no matter that is spelled in those word as er/or/ir.
