# British add an "r" sound **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223 "2011-02-13T17:41:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/141 "2012-08-28T19:16:09Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Except that where I from (New England) the intrusive r in a word like China will show up even when it’s the last word in a sentence and even when it’s the last word uttered. Not intrusive, then. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/142 "2012-08-28T19:21:33Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Pretty difficult to glide between those two sounds without a _slight_ stop, no? No, not difficult. I do it several times a day without trouble. All you’re doing is changing your lip and tongue position while maintaining the voicing. It’s really not much different than gliding from consonant to vowel or vowel to consonant. > [@](#): > > While making it distinct from “toonoil”? “Toonoil” would be ['tun ɔɪl]. I say ['tu nə 'ɔɪl]. No insertion. > [@](#): > > And what about the Captain Pickard example, “Data and I”? There has to be some kind of gap between the two words, a slight interruption of breath. Nope, no gap. ['deɪ tə ɪn 'aɪ] or ['deɪ tə:n 'aɪ] ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/143 "2012-08-28T19:27:18Z")
And if I were to enunciate, it would be even easier ['deɪ tə ænd 'aɪ] ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/144 "2012-08-28T19:40:51Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > No, not difficult. I do it several times a day without trouble. All you’re doing is changing your lip and tongue position while maintaining the voicing. It’s really not much different than gliding from consonant to vowel or vowel to consonant. But how do you avoid voicing the in-between vowels? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/145 "2012-08-28T19:54:24Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > But how do you avoid voicing the in-between vowels? There is no in-between. You glide from one to another, the same way you glide from vowel to vowel when you say “Ian.” ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/146 "2012-08-28T19:54:33Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Nope, no gap. ['deɪ tə ɪn 'aɪ] or ['deɪ tə:n 'aɪ] OK, so you change the vowel. That makes it not much of an example. Forget the "Data and I " example - how do you deal with repetitions of the same vowel sound, if not with a stop? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/147 "2012-08-28T19:59:18Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > OK, so you change the vowel. That makes it not much of an example. Forget the "Data and I " example - how do you deal with repetitions of the same vowel sound, if not with a stop? Give me an example. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/148 "2012-08-28T20:02:28Z")
Pasta arrabiata ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/149 "2012-08-28T20:08:23Z")
The vowels just merge into a long vowel. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/150 "2012-08-28T20:12:15Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Pasta arrabiata In my American accent, it’s not elongated into a single vowel, but something that sounds like “uh-uh”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/151 "2012-08-28T20:15:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > In my American accent, it’s not elongated into a single vowel, but something that sounds like “uh-uh”. That would probably be the famous glottal stop. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/152 "2012-08-28T20:18:19Z")
My understanding of phonology is limited but as I recall, that pause between the two uhs that’s you’ve delineated with a hyphen is a glottal stop. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/153 "2012-08-28T20:21:43Z")
How about the difference between “Iron Eagle” and “Irony Eagle”, assuming you say the “iron” part the same? I think I would naturally put in a stop for “Irony Eagle”, but it’s hard to tell what’s natural when I’m thinking about it. If I glide it, there’s a differentiation where the “e” in “eagle” gets accented – slightly louder and maybe higher toned. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/154 "2012-08-28T20:22:37Z")
JFK always pronounced Cuba as “Cuber”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/155 "2012-08-28T20:26:47Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > My understanding of phonology is limited but as I recall, that pause between the two uhs that’s you’ve delineated with a hyphen is a glottal stop. Yes–sorry, I actually articulated this a year and a half ago when the thread was fresh (post #69), that I use a glottal stop (or something very similar.) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/156 "2012-08-28T20:35:25Z")
You’re all getting a bit silly now /grahamchapman. I still say there has to be something, be it a stop (possibly glottal), an R sound, or god knows what else, between repetitions of the same vowel. Because otherwise there’s just no way to distinguish between two separate sounds and one long sound. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/157 "2012-08-28T20:37:31Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > You’re all getting a bit silly now /grahamchapman. I still say there has to be something, be it a stop (possibly glottal), an R sound, or god knows what else, between repetitions of the same vowel. Because otherwise there’s just no way to distinguish between two separate sounds and one long sound. Didn’t I just say that they merge into one long vowel? Why is that so hard to believe? And there are actually other ways, such as placing of emphasis. “Iron Eagle” is like AIroneagle. Whereas “Irony Eagle” is like ironeeEEagle. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/158 "2012-08-28T20:46:35Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Didn’t I just say that they merge into one long vowel? Why is that so hard to believe? Because others said that they do not make it one long vowel, and instead put a stop between two vowels, as you seemed to acknowledge. I thought that what followed was some kind of in-joke, but it appears that you are still deadly serious. So anyway, you are saying that you would pronounce “pasta arrabiata” with no discernible gap between the two words, instead stretching them out to something like “pastaaaarabbiata”? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/159 "2012-08-28T20:53:46Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Because others said that they do not make it one long vowel, and instead put a stop between two vowels, as you seemed to acknowledge. Is it unbelievable that two Americans might have different ways of pronouncing a phrase? > [@](#): > > I thought that what followed was some kind of in-joke, but it appears that you are still deadly serious. Um. Okay. > [@](#): > > So anyway, you are saying that you would pronounce “pasta arrabiata” with no discernible gap between the two words, Yes. > [@](#): > > instead stretching them out to something like “pastaaaarabbiata”? Unlikely. Just eyballing it, four _A_s looks too long. My _pasta arrabbiata_ is probably only a smidgen different from _pastarrabbiata_. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223/160 "2012-08-28T20:59:14Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > So anyway, you are saying that you would pronounce “pasta arrabiata” with no discernible gap between the two words, instead stretching them out to something like “pastaaaarabbiata”? I doubt he stretches anything. Remember that just because we write things down with spaces between each word, that doesn’t mean that when we speak they are similarly isolated. Phonemes are affected by preceding and following sounds even in final and initial positions on words and it’s quite possible that Acsenray, and many others would most accurately represent their pronunciation as pastarrabiata. Your mind is agile enough to hear the two different concepts and insert the division where no such split actually occurred. Surely you’ve noticed listening to people speaking in a language you don’t know that it’s hard to determine when words end and begin? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-add-an-r-sound/571223.md?page=9)