Rhoticity: Everything to Do with /r/

The Silent /r/

In standard Southern British English,  /r/ is not normally pronounced before a consonant or at the end of a word.

Examples :
Fi(r)st             ca(r)               hai(r)                borde(r)                mo(r)e              fou(r)

/r/ is not pronounced when it occurs in the following combinations :

          /er/             her                     refer                   nerd
          /ir/              thirst                 first                     bird
         /ur/             burn                  turn                    churn
         /or/             ford                   north                  form
         /ear/           learn                 earn                    yearn

The Linking /r/

When a word ends with /r/ and the following word begins with an open sound(or a vowel sound), irrespective of the actual letter—the sound is what is important —/r/ is pronounced.(Note for actors : This is also correct in RP.)

To make the linking /r/ sound, add a small ‘R’ sound, but not too heavy.

Examples :

                  ever after      (eveR after)
                  mother and father        (motheR and father)
                  her eyes          (heR eyes)

But also :
                 The doctor examined her x‐ray (…heR[e]x‐ray)

(Note the pronunciation of ‘x’starts with the /e/ vowel sound.)

              They wrote a letter to their MP (…the iR [e] MP)

(Note the pronunciation of ‘MP’ starts with the /e/  vowel sound.)

           This is my car. The car is blue (…caRis blue)

         One hour. After hours (afteR [h] ours) (the ‘h’ is silent)

The Intrusive /r/

So if a word ends in /a/ (pronounced as /a/ or / ə /, the schwa sound) or in /aw/ (the /oh/ɔ: /sound) and the following word starts with any vowel or vowel sound, then an / r / is added by the speaker, even though there is no / r / in the spelling. (Note for actors : This is not done in RP.)

Examples :

                     India and Pakistan    (IndiaRand Pakistan)

                    Vodka and tonic   (vodkaRand tonic)

                    Law and order    (lawRand order)

You will find this phenomenon most often with the word ‘and’ if preceded by a word ending in one of the sounds mentioned above.

Other examples :

                     Has Leah ever been here?     (leahRever been)

                    I like the idea of visiting Japan      (ideaRof)

Please note, it is not absolutely necessary to add the intrusive / r /, but it is very common and is an authentic key sound of the Modern standard British English accent.

Bonus Exercises

Linking /r/

Peter in the store over at our old but rather amazing street corner in our area has the air of a more aggressive and better equipped salesman, as he and the other owner Oscar are known for all their amazing goods and their awfully hateful proclamations on sight of business competitors: ‘There are our enemies!’

Intrusive /r/

Maria and Leah and I, talked about the idea of studying law in London over a vodka and tonic