THE TWO PLANETS
IN THIS CHAPTER…
When it comes to accents the world divides into two planets:
Rhotic – People who always say an ‘R’ whenever it is written.
right √ harry √ bring √ hero √
here √ cart √ mother √
Non-Rhotic – People who only say an ‘R’ if there is a vowel sound spoken after it:
right √ harry √ bring √
hero √ here x cart x mother x
ALL varieties of Standard English Accents live on Planet Non-Rhotic.
So what planet is your accent on, and can you learn the rules to pass as a local on planet Non-Rhotic?
Look at the phrase: ‘Law and Order’.
How many ‘Rs’ do you see? Two!
Now speak it out loud: ‘Law and Order’.
How many ‘Rs’ do you say?
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Some of you will be saying two ‘Rs’, both in the word Order: if so, your accent is Rhotic |
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Some of you will be saying no ‘Rs’ at all, while others of you may be saying one ‘R’, and you’ll be saying it where there isn’t even one written, like this: ‘law r-and awduh’: if so, your accent is Non-Rhotic. |
And to make doubly sure:
Say the name of this letter the way you normally would when reciting the alphabet:
‘R’
Do you feel your tongue move to shape an ‘R’? Then your accent is Rhotic.
Does it stay flat, making an ‘AH’? Then your accent is Non-Rhotic.
That’s what we mean by different planets!
If your own accent is Rhotic, the Non-Rhotic patterns can present some interesting challenges, and it will be vital that you read, absorb and practise the following chapter.
Even if your own accent is Non-Rhotic, it is still not all plain sailing. Jump to How To Do ‘R’ (page 44).
ALL varieties of Standard English Accents live on Planet Non-Rhotic. They are what we call Non-Rhotic accents. On Planet Non-Rhotic there are two rules:
Only ever say an ‘R’ if it is followed by a vowel sound.
Never say an ‘R’ if it is followed by a consonant.
See It:
Look at this word: Cargo
Although there’s an ‘R’ written, it’s followed by a consonant, so don’t say it!
And this word: Order
There are two ‘Rs’ written here; the first ‘R’ is followed by a consonant (‘d’) and the second ‘R’ ends the word, so don’t say them!
Now look at this word: Hero
This ‘R’ is followed by a vowel sound, so do say it!
And what about this word? Hairy
Although the ‘Y’ looks like a consonant it is spoken here as a vowel sound, meaning this ‘R’ is followed by a vowel, so do say it!
And these teasers? Here Care
It may look like the ‘R’ is followed by a vowel, but it isn’t a spoken vowel so bang goes the ‘R’: don’t say it!
How to DROP ‘R’ on Planet Non-Rhotic
Hear It: Track 18.
Listen to this NSEA speaker saying the following words without pronouncing the ‘Rs’:
Park Stern Court
Here There Pure
Poor Hair Ear
Water Mother Actor
Feel It:
- Say the words yourself, losing the ‘Rs’ completely.
- Instead of an ‘R’, lengthen the vowel.
- Keep the tip of your tongue behind your bottom teeth during the vowel.
See It:
Look in the mirror. Check that you are not contracting any muscles for that non-existent ‘R’.
Be careful: your tongue may think it’s not doing an ‘R’, and maybe it doesn’t sound like an ‘R’ to you, but is your tongue still moving? Even a little bit? Even the slightest movement of the tongue, however small, will still be heard as an ‘R’ by a Non-Rhotic speaker. It really does need to be dropped completely. Watch your lip muscles too. These need only shape the vowel, not the ‘R’!
Now practise this little sentence. Remember the rule: if it’s followed by a spoken vowel sound you say it; if it’s not you don’t!
Margaret, Rhys and Richard poured water all over the flowers; they loved pouring water.
Top Tip
We have found that it can really help Rhotic people to rewrite the words without an ‘R’ in the spelling, and to see the words this way:
Mahgret pawed the watuh, Richud loved flowuh powuh
How to DO ‘R’ on Planet Non-Rhotic
Non-Rhotic ‘R’ is only said when followed by a vowel sound. It is no longer just a letter in a word, it has a special job to do: it’s a springboard off which the next vowel can jump, giving a bounce to the start of syllables.
The result is these three potential features of Non-Rhotic accents:
The linking and intrusive bounces are only ever used in rapid, flowing speech. When the pace slows down, those ‘Rs’ disappear. And although the linking bounce is a feature of all styles and varieties of Standard English Accent, the intrusive bounce has issues!
On Planet Non-Rhotic the ‘R’ is used to bounce into the next syllable.
Hear It: Track 19.
Look at these words with ‘R’ in the middle and listen to our New Standard English Accent speakers say them:
Very Sorry Harry Worry Spirit Courage
See It:
The syllables are clearly separated. The vowel before the ‘R’ must be kept absolutely clean of any influence from the ‘R’ that follows it!
Ve–ry So–rry Ha–rry Wo–rry Spi–rit Cou–rage
Feel It:
If your own accent is Rhotic, you may make your ‘R’ part of the first syllable, resulting in the ‘R’ merging with the preceding vowel. The two syllables seem to glide into one another, like this:
Ver–y Sorr–y Harr–y Worr–y Spir–it Cour–age
Speak the example words yourself slowly and carefully, feeling the separation of the syllables, keeping the ‘R’ clear of the preceding vowel and using the ‘R’ to bounce into the following syllable.
Ve–ry So–rry Ha–rry Wo–rry Spi–rit Cou–rage
The linking bounce
Hear It: Track 20.
Listen to this NSEA speaker. They are using the ‘R’ as a linking bounce.
| Car | Cah ralahm |
| More | Maw rovuh |
| Here | Hea rI am |
When an ‘R’ ends a word a Non-Rhotic speaker won’t say it because it’s not followed by a spoken vowel:
Car More Here
However, if the next word starts with a vowel…then the ‘R’ has its job back!
The Non-Rhotic speaker ‘links’ the two words with the ‘R’. (Watch out! This won’t happen if the speaker breaks the flow or breathes between the words!)
Cah ralahm Maw rovuh Hea rI am
TOP TIP
Non-Rhotics Beware!
Other Non-Rhotic accents may have this feature, but the ‘R’ used may be a lot stronger and more noticeable. Remember, in a NSEA this ‘R’ is extremely light.
Rhotics Beware!
You may enjoy dropping your ‘Rs’ so much that you lose the authenticity that this linking bounce can give.
Feel It:
First say the word on its own without the ‘R’:
Car More Here
Now put the words together using a very soft ‘R’ to start the following word without breaking the flow:
Cah ralahm Maw rovuh Hea rI am
Now practise with this little phrase. We have marked the linking bounces:
John tipped watuh rinto the plants, maw rover Wilbuh rand Linda didn’t!
The intrusive bounce
And here’s the final and somewhat cheeky little bounce…
On Planet Non-Rhotic, just because there’s no ‘R’ written, it doesn’t mean you can’t do one. Some Non-Rhotics just hate having two vowel sounds next to each other. They feel they just have to insert a consonant to help with the flow! For some Non-Rhotic speakers, it can feel entirely natural to insert an ‘R’ to make a cheeky little bounce from one vowel to another!
Edda and Jan = ‘Edda rand Jan’.
This is often referred to as an intrusive ‘R’, because the sound of an ‘R’ intrudes where there is no written ‘R’. But remember, it only ever happens when speech is rapid and flowing!
Although it is a natural feature of many Non-Rhotic accents, when it comes to New Standard English Accent there are issues.
In a New Standard English Accent the intrusive bounce is:
Often used between words, after the commA and THOUGHT vowels. When this happens it should be extremely light and gentle and almost imperceptible.
India rand China Linda ris Draw rout
Not used in the middle of words with the THOUGHT vowel (though in many regional accents it is!):
Pawing Drawing
If you are naturally Rhotic this feature may feel bizarre, and, as it was traditionally frowned upon by elocution teachers in the past, feel free not to use it at all!
If you are naturally Non-Rhotic, however (e.g. London, Manchester, Boston, New York City), you may need to fight powerful urges to use your heavyweight intrusive bounces everywhere! Practise eradicating them completely in the middle of words such as PAWING and DRAWING, then soften those heavy ones between words.
When it comes to knowing when the New Standard English Accent uses an R remember:
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Only say an ‘R’ if the next sound is a vowel: Hero Very Married |
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Never say an ‘R’ if the next sound is a consonant or if it ends a word: Cargo Park Car Here |
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Remember your linking bounces: Cah ralahm Maw rovuh Hea rI am |
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Never use an intrusive bounce in the middle of a word: Drawing Pawing |
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Keep the intrusive bounces light and gentle between words: Edda rand Jan Law rand order |