How do you pronounce ''car''?

Robert   Sat Dec 03, 2005 4:45 am GMT
How do you pronounce ''car''? I'm from the Caribbean and I pronounce it /kja:r/ i.e. ''cyar''.
Pete   Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:05 am GMT
Oh man, that depends on the accent.

I myself always pronounce it like /ka:/ and sometimes add a very weak /r/ when the next word starts with a vowel sound, like this:

car near /ka: nI@/
car over /ka:r '@Uv@/

But in rothic accents they normally pronounce it allways like /ka:r/, I guess. I don't know much about rothicity rules.
Robert   Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:09 am GMT
I always pronounce it /kja:r/, no matter where it is in the sentence. And yes, there is a y-sound in my pronunciation of the word.
Guest   Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:11 am GMT
Pete where are you from BTW? Obviously not from the US/CANADA? Heading towards AU or NZ I think.
Tiffany   Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:12 am GMT
My parents are both from Jamaica and pronounce "car" are "cya" or "cyar". It is similar (and perhaps the same) to the way they pronounce "can't".

In my own dialect (from Miami, FL), I pronounce it /ka:r/
Guest   Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:14 am GMT
I myself would pronunce it /ka:/ no matter what unlike Pete as he explained in his post.
Robert   Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:19 am GMT
When you all write that you have /a:/ in ''car'', do you mean that you actually have a real /a:/ in the word or are you referring to /A:/? Because I actually have a real /a:/ sound in the word.
Robert   Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:21 am GMT
<<It is similar (and perhaps the same) to the way they pronounce "can't".>>

I myself pronounce ''can't'' as /kjan/, which is distinct from ''can'' /kan/ by the presence of the y-sound.
Kirk   Sat Dec 03, 2005 6:15 am GMT
I always pronounce it /kAr/ --> [k_hAr\]
Robert   Sat Dec 03, 2005 6:24 am GMT
<<car near /ka: nI@/
car over /ka:r '@Uv@/>>

For me, those are:

car near /kja:r ne:r/
car over /kja:r o:v@`/
Uriel   Sat Dec 03, 2005 6:28 am GMT
Carrr
Guy   Sat Dec 03, 2005 10:24 am GMT
I pronounce it /k_hA:@`/, and believe it is the most common pronunciation around my area. (South Western United States)
Lazar   Sat Dec 03, 2005 3:27 pm GMT
I pronounce it [kAr\], although the pronunciation for non-rhotic people here in New England would be [ka:].
Robert   Sat Dec 03, 2005 3:35 pm GMT
How do you all pronounce the ''a'' in ''father''? Do you use /a:/ or /A:/? I use /a:/, /fa:d@`/.
Lazar   Sat Dec 03, 2005 4:39 pm GMT
I pronounce the "a" in "father" as [A], but in the traditional (non-rhotic) accent here, "father" would be pronounced with an [a].