Rhoticity in English

For the quality of realization of English phoneme /r/ among dialects, see Pronunciation of English /r/.

Rhoticity in English refers to the pronunciation by English speakers of the historical rhotic consonant /r/, and is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. The historical English /r/ sound is preserved in all pronunciation contexts in what are termed the "rhotic varieties", primarily including the English dialects of Scotland, Ireland, and most of the United States and Canada. However, the historical /r/ is not pronounced except before vowels in "non-rhotic varieties", including most of the dialects of modern England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and, variably, some parts of the eastern (particularly northeastern) 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 phrase "butter and jam" (the linking R), since the /r/ is followed by a vowel in this case.

Evidence from written documents suggests that loss of postvocalic /r/ began sporadically during the mid-15th century. However, these /r/-less spellings were uncommon and were restricted to private documents, especially ones written by women. In the mid-18th century, postvocalic /r/ was still pronounced in most environments, but by the 1740s to 1770s it was often deleted entirely, especially after low vowels. By the 1790s, fully non-rhotic pronunciation had become common in London and surrounding areas, and was being increasingly used even in more formal and educated speech. By the early 19th century, the southern British standard was fully transformed into a non-rhotic variety, though some variation persisted as late as the 1870s. This loss of postvocalic /r/ in British English influenced southern and eastern American port cities with close connections to Britain, causing their upper-class pronunciation to become non-rhotic while the rest of the United States remained rhotic. Non-rhotic pronunciation continued to influence American prestige speech until the 1860s, when the American Civil War began to shift America's centers of wealth and political power to rhotic areas with fewer cultural connections to the old colonial and British elites. The advent of radio and television in the 20th century established a national standard of American pronunciation that preserves historical /r/, with rhotic speech in particular becoming prestigious in the United States rapidly after the Second World War.

History

Red areas indicate where rural English accents were rhotic in the 1950s.

Red areas are where English dialects of the late 20th century were rhotic.

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 in many eastern and southern port cities such as New York City, Boston, Alexandria, Charleston, and Savannah to become non-rhotic. 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. This largely removed the prestige associated with non-rhotic pronunciation in America, such that when the advent of radio and television in the 20th century established a national standard of American pronunciation, it became a rhotic variety that preserves historical /r/.

Modern pronunciation

In most non-rhotic accents, if a word ending in written "r" is followed immediately 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 (RP) 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 (and some rhotic speakers as well) 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 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 England's 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 today, stemming from a trend towards this in southeastern England accelerating in the very late 1700s onwards, rhotic accents are still 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 1800s non-rhotic accents were common throughout much of the Eastern U.S. and through much of the South along the Gulf Coast. In fact, non-rhotic accents were established in all major U.S. cities along the Atlantic coast except for the Delaware Valley area around Philadelphia and Baltimore. This trend reversed during the early to mid-1900s. Non-rhotic accents have increasingly been perceived by Americans as sounding foreign or less educated with rhotic accents increasingly seen as sounding more "General 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 (AAVE for short) 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. This also occurred for many older non-rhotic Southern speakers.

Typically, even non-rhotic modern American English varieties do pronounce the /r/ in /ɜr/ (as in "bird," "work," or "perky"), realizing it, as in most of the U.S., as [ɝ] or [ɚ] .

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). The lack of consonant /r/ in Cantonese also contributes to the phenomenon (although rhoticity started to exist due to the handover in 1997 and influence by US and East Asian entertainment industry). 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's 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.

Africa

The English spoken in Africa (excluding South Africa) is based on British RP and is officially non-rhotic. Pronunciation and variation in African English accents are largely affected by native African language influences, level of education and exposure to western influences. The English accents spoken in the coastal areas of West Africa is primarily non-rhotic as are the underlying varieties of Niger-Congo languages spoken in that part of West Africa. Rhoticity may be present in English spoken in areas where rhotic Afro-Asiatic or Nilo Saharan languages are spoken across northern West Africa and in the Nilotic regions of East Africa. More modern trends show an increasing African-American influence on African English pronunciation particularly among younger urban affluent populations, where the American rhotic 'r' may be over-stressed in informal communication to create a pseudo-Americanised accent. By and large official spoken English used in post colonial African countries is non-rhotic. Standard Liberian English is also non-rhotic because liquids are lost at the end of words or before consonants.

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.
Anna	honor	ˈɑːnə	With father-bother merger and trap-bath split.
area	airier	ˈɛəriə
Basia	basher	ˈbæʃə	Without trap-bath split.
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
FEMA	femur	ˈfiːmə
Ghana	Garner	ˈgɑːnə
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	ˈmɪə
miner	myna(h); mina(h)	ˈmaɪnə
minor	myna(h); mina(h)	ˈmaɪnə
Mona	moaner	ˈmoʊnə
Nia	near	ˈnɪə
Palma	palmer; Palmer	ˈpɑːmə
panda	pander	ˈpændə
parka	Parker	ˈpɑːkə
Parma	palmer; Palmer	ˈpɑːmə
Patton	pattern	ˈpætən
PETA	peter; Peter	ˈpiːtə
pharma	farmer	ˈfɑːmə
Pia	peer	ˈpɪə
Pia	pier	ˈpɪə
pita	peter; Peter	ˈpiːtə	"pita" may also be pronounced ˈpɪtə and therefore not merged
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
Sia	sear	ˈsɪə
Sia	seer	ˈsɪə
seven	Severn	ˈsɛvən
soda	solder	ˈsoʊdə	"solder" may also be pronounced ˈsɒdə(r) and therefore not merged
soya	sawyer	ˈsɔɪə
Stata	starter	ˈstɑːtə	With trap–bath split.
taiga	tiger	ˈtaɪɡə
terra; Terra	terror	ˈtɛrə
Tia	tear (weep)	ˈtɪə
tuba	tuber	ˈt(j)uːbə
tuna	tuner	ˈt(j)uːnə
Vespa	vesper	ˈvɛspə
via	veer	ˈvɪə
Wanda	wander	ˈwɒndə
wanna	Warner	ˈwɔːnə
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.
Ana	Arne	ˈɑːnə
balmy	barmy	ˈbɑːmi
calmer	karma	ˈkɑːmə
Chalmers	charmers	ˈtʃɑːməz
Dahmer	dharma	ˈdɑːmə
fa	far	ˈfɑː
father	farther	ˈfɑːðə
Ghana	Garner	ˈgɑːnə
Hamm	harm	ˈhɑːm	With trap–bath split.
Jahn	yarn	ˈjɑːn
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
Stata	starter	ˈstɑːtə

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. However, Labov et al. suggest that, in New York City English, this merger is present in perception not production. As in, although even locals perceive themselves using the same vowel in both cases, they tend to produce the force higher and more retracted than the vowel of thought.

Homophonous pairs

/ɔː/	/oʊr/	IPA	Notes
aw	oar	ˈɔː
aw	ore	ˈɔː
awe	oar	ˈɔː
awe	ore	ˈɔː
baud	board	ˈbɔːd
baud	bored	ˈbɔːd
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
passed	parsed	ˈpɑːst
past	parsed	ˈpɑːst

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
raw	Ruhr	ˈrɔː
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
load	lord; Lord	ˈloʊd
lode	lord; Lord	ˈloʊd
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
Thoth	tort	ˈtoʊt	With th-stopping.
toad	toward	ˈtoʊd
toe	tore	ˈtoʊ
toed	toward	ˈtoʊd
tone	torn	ˈtoʊn
tote	tort	ˈtoʊt
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	Boer	ˈboʊ
beau	boor	ˈboʊ
bow	Boer	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
roe	Ruhr	ˈroʊ
row	Ruhr	ˈroʊ
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
boss	bourse	ˈbɔːs
hoss	horse	ˈhɔːs
moss	Morse	ˈmɔːs
off	Orff; orfe; orf	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
pock	pork	ˈpɒːk
posh	Porsche	ˈpɒːʃ
pot	port	ˈpɒːt
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
spot	sport	ˈspɒːt
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
wanna	Warner	ˈwɒːnə
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 of non-rhotic dialects on orthography

Certain words have spellings derived from non-rhotic dialects or renderings of foreign words through non-rhotic pronunciation. In rhotic dialects, spelling pronunciation has caused these words to be pronounced rhotically anyway. Examples include:

• Er, used in non-rhotic dialects to indicate a filled pause, which most rhotic dialects would instead convey with uh or eh.
• 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 is a concept in several Asian religions, not a god).
  • Hindustani काग़ज़ / کاغذ kāghaz ("paper") spelled as kargaz.
• Burma and Myanmar for Burmese [bəmà] and [mjàmmà].
• Transliteration of Cantonese words and names, such as char siu (Chinese: 叉燒; Jyutping: caa¹ siu¹) and Wong Kar-wai (Chinese: 王家衛; Jyutping: Wong⁴ Gaa1wai⁶)
• The spelling of schoolmarm for school ma'am, which Americans pronounce with the rhotic consonant.

See also

• English-language vowel changes before historic /r/

References

Works cited

• Fisher, John Hurt (2001). "British and American, Continuity and Divergence". In Algeo, John (ed.). The Cambridge History of the English Language, Volume VI: English in North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 59–85. ISBN 0-521-26479-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Labov, William; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2006). The Atlas of North American English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-016746-8.
• Lass, Roger (1999). "Phonology and Morphology". In Lass, Roger (ed.). The Cambridge History of the English Language, Volume III: 1476–1776. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 56–186. ISBN 0-521-26476-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Pollock, Bailey, Berni, Fletcher, Hinton, Johnson, Roberts, & Weaver (17 March 2001). "Phonological Features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE)". Retrieved 8 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Trudgill, Peter (1984). Language in the British Isles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Wells, J. C. (1982). Accents of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)