While this video is somewhat tongue-in-cheek (or finger-in-throat), the basic idea is apparently that the typical North American /r/ is pronounced further back in the throat than is typical of most UK accents. It’s understood, of course, that word-final /r/ is usually not pronounced as such in the UK. But IIRC if the next word begins with a vowel, the /r/ is sounded, and if one word ends with and the next word begins with a vowel, an /r/ is introduced between the two words, so that “Becka and I” sounds like “Becker and I”.
The woman in this video says she has to go to considerable lengths to emulate the American /r/ sound, namely forcing down spoonfuls of Marmite in order to nearly induce vomiting. This is a classic case of parallel evolution, since few Americans would be able to get that near to a spoonful of Marmite.
Be that as it may, I find this very curious. I’ve never lived in another English-speaking country, but for most of my life I’ve been exposed to various UK accents of one sort or another. I’ve never noticed that intervocalic or word-final /r/ sounds that much different in either dialect group, even though there are several other obvious differences. But I am well aware that the /r/ phoneme is realized by a whole spectrum of related sounds that vary depending on where in the mouth they are articulated.
I’d be interested in hearing if anyone else here has noticed this difference.
Whenever she does that ‘urrrrrl’ sound, I can’t help but think of Joe Anderson playing Mason Verger in the Hannibal series.
Anyway, I’ve noticed the ‘r’ sound in Geordie sounding similar to how the Americans do it.
Perhaps there is a correlation between accents that sound drawn out - so American, Brummie, Geordie etc might have that sort of ‘r’, whereas accents with more plosives or shorter, snappier word sounds, such as ‘Queens English’, or South African may sway towards the other type of ‘r’.
Not only does the US “R” sound originate further down the throat, it also appears where no R was meant to be (consider “bath” and “past”) and it takes over those words that it does appear in (consider “the orange forest squirrel quarter”).
Americans put an “r” in the word “bath”? That must be a regional thing.
I’ve heard really old people put Rs in funny places; I had a very old neighbor who referred to a washing machine as a “warshing machine.” But, honestly, I’ve never met a person born after the Second World War do that.
??? 55+ years within an hours drive of the western shore of Lake Michigan and I don’t know a single person that says that. And that includes weeks with relatives in Iowa and Minnesota and their friends and neighbors. Plus going to college in western Wisconsin with all the border hopping students.
That’s a regional thing, mostly in the midwest. My dear mother always talked about doing the “warsh,” and the first president was George “Warshington.” But nobody I know, even people who pronounce “wash” as “warsh,” has ever put an “r” sound in the words “bath” or “past.” I have no earthly idea what antechinus is referring to.
British and American speakers do seem to hear the “r” sound very differently, though. It does seem like when British people want to imitate an American accent, they will insert an “r” sound at apparently random places, and kind of act as if that makes it sound “American.”
The lady in the video seems to be going for comedy, at least a bit, although it’s not particularly funny. She wins herself no friends by comparing the American accent to “vomiting.” She also doesn’t know how to spell the word “forest.”
I the bit of video I listened to, I noticed she clearly pronounced the /r/ in “for a moment.” Does the pronunciation of the /r/ depend on what word follows?
Come visit St. Louis. People here warsh their clothes and get stuck in traffic on highway farty or farty-far (40 & 44). Intrusive r shows up through most of Missouri and into Arkansas, but there’s also a collision with the North Midland accent going on. Also, read down in that wiki article to the South Midland accent.
Well, in fairness, her reference is Forrest as in Forrest Gump, and the character’s name is spelled that way.
It is perhaps wise not to trust the opinion of someone who implicitly is saying that there is one British and one American accent, both of which are, of course, preposterous claims.
“Warsh” would be an intrusive R. But how is “farty” an intrusive R? There really is an R in the middle of the word “forty.” That would be changing the vowel sound, but not intriducing a new R.
Depends on where you are. If you hear me talking, there’s no r sound in bath. If you hear me talking after a few drinks or if I’ve been around my relatives, there’s still no r sound, but it’s two syllables: bay-uth. It happens.
I’ve heard more than a few Englishmen put an extra r in strawberry: strorberry.
“but there’s also a collision with the North Midland accent going on.” The “farty” is actually from the South Midland accent, which in St. Louis the North Midland overrides in many other words. But not the 4s & 40s.
(St. Louis also has r-related weirdness with ‘quarter’ that I don’t know what it’s related to.)
She’s… not as funny as she thinks she is. She’s not all that successful at an American accent. And apparently she vomits oddly too (vomiting doesn’t get me an “r” sound. Not even a little).
That said, when I want to really overemphasize my "r"s, it isn’t further back in my throat - it’s actually way further forward and down. When I’m pretending to be British, “r” is higher and a little further back than my normal “r” is.
I’ve also never heard an “r” in the middle of “bath” or “past.”
I’ll be blunt: no American English dialect pronounces “bath” or “past” as “barth” or “parst”. – that is, with a sound that an American English-speaking listener would interpret as an “r”. Does not happen.
No you haven’t. I live in new York and have never *ever *heard anyone say “carfee” or “carl.” Considering you also think Americans say “barth” and “parst” I wonder what sound you are actually trying to write. It is definitely *not *an R sound.
