Is there any dialect of English in America which marks a distinction between “you’re” and “your” in pronunciation?
I feel like I pronounce them differently, with “your” being slightly elongated. Terrible phrasing, I know - but that’s all I’ve got.
I grew up in Upstate NY, fwiw.
Personally, I pronounce the two slightly different, and this is also how I most commonly hear others (that are locals) say them.
The first one kind of sounding like ‘yooer’, and the second sounding like ‘yur’, or maybe ‘yer’, now that I think about it.
Houston, Texas (born and raised) 
Thanks so far. I’m hoping for an answer with some evidence from linguistics, as I am asking this question due to a person who claims he pronounces them differently, but in whom I can detect no difference in pronunciation during natural speech.
The “yer” thing is pretty widespread I think.
When I’m not thinking about it, this NY/NJ native pronounces them both as “yawr”.
But sometimes I make the effort to pronounce “you’re” as “yoor”. Similar to “you-er”, but with no pause in the middle.
I absolutely detest the modern use of “UR”. It would be a lot easier to sight-read if “UR” consistently meant one or the other. But people use it both ways, so I have to actually read it out loud until I can decipher it.
Another non-helpful anecdote.
I pronounce your like yore. I pronounce you’re like yewer, with the second e clipped so short it’s probably difficult for most people to hear it.
[Bolding mine] You don’t. You think there is a spoken difference because you know there is a written difference, but there isn’t, and you wouldn’t be able to pick your and you’re out of a line-up even if it was your own voice saying them. The Language Log had an interesting entry about this a while ago (link)
“You’re” is pronounced differently, for me, when stressed. “You” followed by a vocalic R (which is my take on what everyone else says above). To put it differently, like “you were” without the -w-.
In general speech, they’re exactly the same: your / yore / you’re. The main difference is the /u/ vs /o/ vowel. Obviously, when the phrase is really stressed, it goes back to “you are”.
Edit: just to respectfully disagree with Švejk, at least in this particular case. The distinction is not due to the different spelling.
“Yer” is common (see :“yer out!”), but I personally use it the same for both “you’re” and “your” (like, “where’s yer coat?”)
So, for me, any alternate pronunciations I may use for “your” or “you’re” I will also use for the other, so far as I can tell (but being accurately able to gauge how you speak and the exact sounds you make is tricky.)
Interestingly enough, Merriam-Webster online does list an extra pronunciation for “you’re” that they don’t for “your.” It’s a two-syllable pronunciation, /yü-ər/. So that should suggest that there are some dialects that have a two-syllable vs. one-syllable distinction for “you’re” vs “your.”
Also, dictionary.com confuses the issue by only giving two pronunciations for “you’re” (namely, /yʊər/ and /yər/ in unstressed positions) but four for “your” (/yʊər/, /yɔr/, /yoʊr/; unstressed /yər/). So, for those who don’t read IPA, /yʊər/ is roughly “yoo+r” or the word “you” with an “r” tacked on. /yər/ is the “yer” referred to above. /yɔr/ is a little trickier. It’s basically “yawr,” but that transliteration won’t work in dialects where “caught” and “cot” is pronounced the same. /yoʊr/ is basically “your” with what we usually call a “long o” in English, like the “o” in “open.”
So, that might suggest that some dialects pronounce “you’re” as the word “you” with the “r” tacked onto it, and the word “your” with a different vowel. This, as well as the m-w pronunciations, agrees with how JBDibmstr and Mosier differentiate the two words.
I don’t pronounce them differently, but I do hear people say “you-er” or “ure” for “you’re”, while still pronouncing “your” as “yore”. But I think most people say them the same in one of the variations including “yer”, and up here in Ningland also “yuh” and “yah” and “yar”.
This is exactly how I pronounce them both, for an additional data point. The way I say them, they are not homonyms.
Another data point from the midwest US for you.
You’re: Yoo-er
Your: Yore
= = =
When I am thinking about it, I pronounce you’re to rhyme with yure and your to rhyme with yore, but I suspect that in casual speech, I tend to say yer for both words.
I pronounce them like that too, although I don’t really separate the syllables in the first one. More like “yoor” or “yure”.
Yes to all, including the midwest part.
I’m from the South, and I say them differently. Not sure I can explain HOW they’re different, but sitting here saying them a few times I can definitely say my mouth moves differently for each word. (I also say ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ differently from each other, and from ‘there’.)
(bolding mine)
I don’t? :dubious:
Please, refresh my memory.
When was it that we met, and you actually heard me speak. :rolleyes:
Is that the right link? I don’t see anything about you’re/your in it.