Ailian, Which of the words are you talking about when you say [vowel and length difference].
For me, ''core'' and ''corps'' are pronounced the same like ''kor''. and ''poor'' and ''pour'' are pronounced the same.
What about these words,
''shore'' and ''sure''
''more'' and ''moor'', ''moore''
''for'' and ''four''
There is a difference in both the vowel that I say for "corps" and "core" as well as the length in which in pronounce those vowels ("corps" takes a longer time to say).
"shore" and "sure" - Same.
"more" and "moor" - Different, "moor"= "moo-er", or sometimes even "mer" in rapid speech.
"for" and "four" - Same, except in rapid speech, in which "for" becomes "fer".
(My speech is non-rhotic, i.e. I don't curl my tongue for the "r" at the end of a syllable.)
Even though I pronounce "tore" and "tour" differently, the 'tour' in "tournament" isn't pronounced "tour" but "tore". ie. "torenament".
:)
I dont know if this is supposed to be correct or incorrect, but I generally say "poor person" or "poor people" differently than "the decision reflected poorly on the company" With the last example, its more like an oooo, just like the so called french sound that somone else pointed out a few posts ago.
the first two... yes.
the last two... no, tour and poor rhyme for me and so do tore and pour.
Damian,
I thougt the French r was very different from the English r... how can u compare these two?
To Guy:
The people in Normandy (and Edith Piaf too, from a recording I heard some time ago) pronounce their r's a bit like the Russians and Spanish do. I forgot whether it's called a tapped r, a rolled r, or a trilled r. Well, that happens to be exactly the way I pronounce the r's in certain words: "America", "barrister", "RAF", and "Edinburgh" for example.
And the surprising thing is that I really am English.
I've been searching the web for an accurate description of the "r" described in my above post. Here it is...
"A single flap of the tongue against the roof of the mouth."
So that's how I pronounce the "r" in "America", "barrister", "RAF", and "Edinburgh".
<<Damian,
I thougt the French r was very different from the English r... how can u compare these two? >>
Guy:
I was comparing the vowel rather than the "r" in the French word "pur" when I pronounced "poor" in my Lallans (Lowland) Scots accent. You are correct when you say the French and Scottish "Rs" are different..one is trilled and the other rolled.
I'm awa noo to hae a wee dram. Guid nicht.
What exactly is the difference between a trilled "r" and a rolled "r"? What would you call the way I pronounce the "r" in "America", "RAF", and "Edinburgh" (see my post above)?
There really isn't any difference between a trilled "r" and a rolled "r", assuming that the person is talking about the alveolar trilled/rolled "r". (There is also an alveolar flap/tap "r", which is the "r" of Japanese and Spanish as well as being found in various English accents as "t" or "d". This also sounds similar to the "r" that you [Random Chappie] describe using.)
The French "r" is usually an uvular "r", which is sometimes rolled (trilled) as well. In parts of Quebec and Louisiana, the alveolar flap/tap "r" is sometimes used.
I really wish that I could use IPA on here. :(
http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/fullchart.html