Everything about Intrusive R totally explained
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/ doesn't 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 wouldn't be pronounced in
here they are (because it's 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's 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 didn't 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, as it's 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")
- "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")
- In many recordings, Paul McCartney (former Beatle) would pronounce "Linder" when saying the name of his late wife, Linda McCartney.
- "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)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Intrusive R'.
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