EXERCISE 1 New England r-lessness (adapted by permission from Walt Wolfram) In New England and a number of other dialects of English, the r sound in words like car or poor may be reduced to a vowel sound or not pronounced at all, so that these words sound like [ca:] and [po ə ]. This phenomenon is sometimes called r-lessness. However, it is not the case in r-less dialects that all r’s are unpronounced. Instead, r is not pronounced in certain places in words but is pronounced in others. By comparing lists of words where the r may be unpronounced with lists of words where it may be pronounced, we can figure out a pattern for r-lessness. An Introduction to Language and Linguistics Chapter 9 Dialect Variation by Natalie Schilling-Estes © Cambridge University Press

List A gives words where the r may be unpronounced. Click on the sound icon to hear its pronunciation in an r-less New England dialect. LIST A1. car 2. father 3. card 4. bigger 5. cardboard 6. beer 7. court

List B gives words where the r sound must be pronounced. Again, click on the sound icon to hear its pronunciation. LIST B 1. run 2. bring 3. principal 4. string 5. okra 6. approach 7. April

To find a pattern for r-lessness, look at the type of sound that comes before the r in List A and in List B. Does a vowel or a consonant come before the r in List A? What comes before the r in List B? How can you predict where an r may or may not be deleted?

In List C, pick those words in which r may be unpronounced and those in which r must be pronounced. Use your knowledge of the r-lessness pattern that you learned by comparing List A and List B. When you have finished, click on each sound icon to check and then reveal the answers. LIST C. ____1. bear ____2. program ____3. fearful ____4. right ____5. computer ____6. party ____7. fourteen r-less r pronounced r-less r pronounced r-less Click below for answers

Think of two new words where the r may be unpronounced and two new words where r must be pronounced. _____________

More about r-lessness patterns We have just seen that r-lessness only takes place when the r is preceded by a vowel. Now we are going to look at the kinds of sounds that may come after the r in some dialects of English. Let's see if we can figure out the pattern.

Here are some words where the r must be pronounced even when it comes after a vowel. Click on the sound icon to hear the list spoken by a New England speaker. LIST A 1. bear in the field 2. car over at the house 3. garage 4. caring 5. take four apples 6. pear on the tree 7. far enough What kinds of sounds come after the r in List A? Are they vowels or consonants?

In List B the r may be unpronounced. What kind of sounds come after the r in this list? LIST B 1. bear by the woods 2. car parked by the house 3. parking the bus 4. fearful 5. take four peaches 6. pear by the house 7. far behind How does this pattern or rule for r-lessness work in terms of sounds that come after r?

Use your knowledge of the rule for r-lessness to pick the r's that may and may not be pronounced in the sentence given below – then listen to the sound file. 1. The teacher picked on three students for an answer. 2. Four cars parked far away from the fair.

A final note on r-lessness patterns Some speakers of generally r-less dialects in the U.S. and Britain actually add r’s to the ends of words that are not typically considered to contain a final -r. For example, a speaker from Boston or London might exhibit the following pattern for additional, or epenthetic, r’s: 1. The idear of it… 2. The idea behind it… Given your knowledge of the rules governing r-lessness in New England speech, can you state the rule governing where speakers may add epenthetic r? Is r-epenthesis related to r-lessness? If so, how?