R-dropping

Tony   Monday, January 24, 2005, 19:29 GMT
In non-rhotic accents, if a word that ends in a dropped -r is followed by a word that begins with an -h or a -u as in "for his" and "are you", is the -r still dropped or is it preserved?

Would the phrase become "fo his" or "fo-rhis?" For -u, would the phrase become "ah-you?" or "a-ryou?"
Ori   Monday, January 24, 2005, 21:22 GMT
What the heck is rhotic?
Nigel   Monday, January 24, 2005, 23:10 GMT
It does not matter if the initial letter after a final-r word is an "h" or a "u". What matters is if the initial SOUND is a vowel sound or not.

"fo(r) him", "fo(r) her", "thei(r) home" - final-r word is followed by an "h" sound, therefore, the "r" is dropped. (This rule of course changes if your dialect does not pronounce the initial "h" in words like "him" and "her")

"your honor", "four hours", "her hors d’oeuvres" – final-r word is followed by silent "h", initial vowel sound, therefore the "r" (linking-r) is articulated.

"a(re) you" (btw, this one starts with a "y" not "u"), "fou(r) unicorns", "thei(r) universe" – final-r word is followed by "y" or [j] sound, therefore "r" is dropped.

"four umbrellas", "her underwear", "batter up" – final-r word is followed by initial vowel sound [u], therefore, the "r" is articulated.
Joe   Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 03:37 GMT
I'm a non-rhotic speaker however I normally use an "r" sound to avoid hiatus between adjacent vowels; It's sounds more aesthetic in my accent. e.g. My idea-r-of a good time; China-r-and Korea-r-and Japan.

For those who don't understand what I'm talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhotic
Jim   Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 03:44 GMT
What about "I am", "he is", "boy are", "they are", "you are", "know of", "how about", etc.?
Joe   Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 04:19 GMT
"I am", "he is", "boy are", "they are": Don't need an "r" for those; I use the "y" that's already in between them.

"know of", "how about": a "w" sound between these words.
Joe   Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 04:23 GMT
Really, the "y" sound falls at the end of the vowels in "I" and "he" just as in "boy" and "they".
Joe   Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 04:26 GMT
and "y" and "w" are consonants.
Joe   Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 04:30 GMT
I forgot "You-w-are".
Ori   Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 14:35 GMT
Thanks, Joe.
Mxsmanic   Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 00:44 GMT
I just pronounce an 'r' when I see one, like virtually all Americans.
Joe   Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 01:51 GMT
So do I, but my "r" is often a vowel or vowel extension, not strictly a consonant.
Jim   Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 01:57 GMT
That's what the heck rhotic is: pronouncing a /r/ if and only if there exists an "r" in spelling.

Of course you don't see an "r" if you're not reading ... but now I'm just being a smart-arse.

In a non-rhotic accent /r/ can only occur before a vowel. If there is an "r" in spelling, it's pronounced /r/ if and only if the following sound is a vowel. An /r/ sound can also occur where there is no "r" in spelling.

Between vowels the non-rhotic speaker will insert /r/, /w/ or /j/ (depending on the first vowel).

"I am" = /aij@m/
"he is" = /hi:jiz/
"boy are" = /boija:/
"they are" = /THeija:/
"you are" = /ju:wa:/
"know of" = /nOuwov/
"how about" = /hauw..baut/
"care of" = /ke..rov/
"idea about" = /aidi..r..baut/
"pure ice" = /pju..rais/
"sofa is" = /sOuf..riz/
"car is" = /ka:riz/
"drawing" = /dro:riN/
"her aunt" = /he:ra:nt/
Gary   Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 03:10 GMT
''Between vowels the non-rhotic speaker will insert /r/, /w/ or /j/ (depending on the first vowel).''

Jim, I just insert a glottal stop everywhere. I never pronounce /r/ where there's no ''r'' in the spelling.
Adam L.   Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 05:43 GMT
I've always found the -ar sound to be vastly awkward. I find rhotic accents to be acceptable only when spoken by minorities who speak languages with a short -r sound, such as Russian.

There are 335 million native speakers of English in the world with about 120 million of them being nonrhotic speakers in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, New England, New York, and Southeastern U.S. The remaining 215 million includes 25 million English-speaking Canadians. The 100 million German speakers and 70 million French speakers would naturally have nonrhotic accents when speaking English. In addition, the 1.4 billion speakers of Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese would naturally have nonrhotic English accents.

I'm assured that Europe, Africa, and the Middle East are instructed in British English, which would ensure a nonrhotic accent from these regions.