Linking R and intrusive R are phonological phenomena that occur in many non-rhotic dialects of English. In all non-rhotic dialects, the phoneme /ɹ/ does not appear in the coda of a syllable (so spar is pronounced the same as spa); in dialects with linking and/or intrusive R, however, /ɹ/ may appear at a word boundary before a vowel-initial word.
Linking R
The linking R occurs in most (but not all) non-rhotic dialects of English. In dialects that possess linking R, if a word that ends with /ɹ/ precedes a word that begins with a vowel, /ɹ/ will be realized at the onset of the next word. Thus, for example, the R in here would not be pronounced in here they are (because it is followed by a consonant), but it would be pronounced in here I am. Likewise, the R at the end of far would only be pronounced if the next word begins with a vowel, as in far away or far off. In other words, in a non-rhotic dialect with linking R, [ɹ] is retained only if it is followed by a vowel, including across word boundaries.
Intrusive R
Some (but not all) dialects that possess linking R also possess intrusive R. In a dialect with intrusive R, an epenthetic [ɹ] is added after a word that ends in a non-high vowel or glide if the next word begins with a vowel, regardless of whether the first word historically ended with /ɹ/ or not. For example, intrusive R would appear in Asia[ɹ] and Africa or the idea[ɹ] of it: Asia and idea did not historically end in /ɹ/, but the [ɹ] is inserted epenthetically to prevent a hiatus. Intrusive R also occurs within words before certain suffixes, such as draw[ɹ]ing or withdraw[ɹ]al. This is now so common in England that by 1997 the linguist John C. Wells considered it objectively part of Received Pronunciation, but he noted that it was still stigmatized as an incorrect pronunciation,1 as it is or was in some other standardized non-rhotic accents.
Examples of intrusive R
- "I saw(r) a film today, oh boy" (The Beatles, "A Day in the Life")
- "All of a sudden I saw(r) a new morning" (Bee Gees, "Saw a New Morning")
- "His face is a sad sight, vodka(r) and snake bite. (The Streets, "The Irony Of It All")
- "The law(r) is the law!" (Nigel Terry as King Arthur in the 1981 film Excalibur)
- "Brenda(r) and Eddie" (Billy Joel, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant")
- "When Joanna(r) is here" (McFly, "Little Joanna"}
- "Vodka(r) and tonics" (Elton John, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road")
- "The idea(r) of perfection holds me" (The Cure, "Faith")
- "In a champagne supernova(r) in the sky" (Oasis, "Champagne Supernova")
- "Casanova(r) in Hell" (Pet Shop Boys, "Casanova in Hell")
- "There's an orchestra(r) in May (The Servant, "Orchestra")
- "I wanna(r) I wanna(r) I wanna be adored" (The Stone Roses, "I Wanna Be Adored")
- "Brimful of Asha(r) on the 45" and "Illuminate the main streets and the cinema(r) aisles" (Cornershop, "Brimful of Asha")
- "It's Santana(r) again, steppin', steppin' out." Rapper Juelz Santana in singer Chris Brown's 2006 single, Run It.
- "Look, mama(r), I love you" (Howard Jones, "Look Mama")
- "She's coming up from Florida(r), isn't she?" (Michael Caine in the movie Dressed To Kill)
- "To push too far your dreams are, china(r) in your hand" (T'Pau China in your hand)
References
See also
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