R-Controlled Vowels

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R-Controlled Vowels

Syllabic Vowel-r

The vowel /ɚ/ sound is one of the 14 vowel sounds in American English (or one of the 15 vowel sounds in English)

When a vowel is followed by an "r", it makes a special sound. These are called r-controlled vowels, or r-colored vowels and the sound is /ɚ/.

The sound of syllabic or vowel-r, /ɚ/, is third highest in general usage among the fifteen vowel sounds in English.

r-controlled Vowel: schwa + [r] = /ɚ/

The r-controlled Vowel is a sound with schwa /ə/ and /r/ sound next to each other to form the /ɚ/ sound.

The syllabic [r]: Because the schwa + [r] has no discernible vowel sound, it is considered a syllabic consonant. Syllabic consonants include a vowel in the spelling, even though that vowel is not pronounced. When learning about r-controlled vowels, syllable stress is important because any unstressed syllable containing an [r] may be pronounced as /ə+r/, no matter which vowel is included in the spelling.

The American English r-controlled vowels

American English has four widely recognized r-controlled-vowels: schwa+r, ar sound, or sound, and air sound. These sounds deserve special attention from any learner striving for American pronunciation. This is due to the fact that American English pronunciation is rhotic, meaning that the r sound is pronounced during r-controlled vowels, even if the following sound is a consonant sound. This is in contrast to British Received Pronunciation.

r-controlled vowel Key Words:

schwa + [r] /ɚ/: stir - the back of the tongue is bunched high so the sides of the tongue touch the back side teeth (same as the r sound)
[ar] sound /ɑr/: star - the tongue is set low, inside the bottom teeth, then the sound moves into an r sound
[or] sound /ɔr/: store - the tongue is pushed back and held middle-low, then the sound moves into an r sound
[air] sound /ɛr/: stair - the tongue is slightly rounded upward in the middle of the mouth, then the sound moves into an r sound

The schwa+r pronunciation is unique in that it includes no vowel sound (it sounds identical to an r sound when spoken in isolation); however, it retains the vowel-like quality of being syllabic, forcing a syllable to occur. The three remaining r-controlled vowels are combinations of a vowel sound plus the r sound.

Complicating the pronunciation of r-controlled vowels is the fact that there are two options available for pronouncing the r portion of each sound:

- the bunched method, in which the sides of the back of the tongue are raised
- the tip-up method, in which the tip of the tongue is raised and curled back behind the tooth ridge

Since either option will produce an acceptable and correct sound, non-native speakers should experiment with both options to discover which is personally easier.

The following are major spelling patterns with percentage for frequency of occurrence:

/ɚ/
Group 1: er+(consonant)  her (40%)
Group 2: ir+(consonant)  sir (13%)
Group 3: or+(consonant)  world (7%)
Group 4: ur+(consonant)  fur (26%)

The "er", "ir", "or" and "ur" make a /ɚ/ sound.

PART 1: Major Spelling Patterns with the /ɚ/ sound by vowel:

Aa

/ɚ/
Group 1: a silent+r+(consonant)   altar, backward

Ee

/ɚ/
Group 1: e silent+r+(consonant)   her
Group 2: ea silent+r+consonant  earn, heard
(In this group 2, the "ea" is silent and only the /ɚ/ is pronounced before the following consonant. The consonant is obligatory in this pattern)
Group 3: e+r+e silent (exception)   were

Ii

/ɚ/
Group 1: i silent+r+(consonant)  sir
Group 2: ie silent+r+(consonant)  soldier

Oo

/ɚ/
Group 1: o silent+r+(consonant)  world

Uu

/ɚ/
Group 1: u silent+r+(consonant)   fur, nurse
Group 2: u silent+r+e silent    treasure, sure, picture, injure
(This group 2 of words have an unaccented syllable "ure"; the "u" is silent and the preceding consonant is palatalized before the vowel /ɚ/ sound with the /ʒ/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /ʤ/ sounds.

PART 2: The sound /ɚ/ following other vowels:

The pronunciation of vowels in combination with the vowel-r sound, /ɚ/, varies among speakers of English.

Following vowel sounds in combination with vowel-r by vowel:

Aa

/ɑɚ/
Group 1: ar   park
Group 2: ar+ge   large
Group 3: ar+e silent   are

/eɚ/
Group 1: air   pair
Group 2: ar+e silent   share
Group 3: ar+(r)   marry

/oɚ/
Group 1: ar   war

Ee

/eɚ/
Group 1: er+e silent   there
Group 2: eir   their
Group 3: er+(r)   very
Group 4: ear   wear

/iɚ/
Group 1: ear   ear
Group 2: er+e silent   here
Group 3: eer   beer

Ii

/ɑɚ/
Group 1: o+ir   noir, menoir
(This group spelled with "oir" is pronounced /wɑɚ/, the "o" is /w/ and the "ir" is /ɑɚ/)

Oo

/oɚ/
Group 1: or+e silent   more
Group 2: or+(consonant)   form
Group 3: our   four

/uɚ/
Group 1: oor   poor
Group 2: our   tour
Group 3: or+e silent   more
Group 4: or   story

Uu

/jɚ/
Group 1: ure   cure
(This group spelled with "ure" are preceded by /j/ sound called palatalization of the consonant, for the combined pronunciation of /jɚ/)

/juɚ/
Group 1: ur   fury
(This group spelled with "ur" are preceded by /j/ sound called palatalization of the consonant, for the combined pronunciation of /juɚ/)

Following Diphthongs sounds in combination with vowel-r by vowel:

The diphthongs preceded the vowel-r change the pronunciation to a palatal sound called palatalization:

The diphthong 13. /aɪ/ change to /aj/
The diphthong 14. /aʊ/ change to /aw/
The diphthong 15. /oɪ/ change to /oj/


Aa

None.

Ee

/ajɚ/ (13. /aɪ/ + 12. /ɚ/)
Group 1: er   buyer
(In this group the palatal sound /aj/ precedes the sound /ɚ/ for the combined pronunciation of /ajɚ/)

Ii

/ajɚ/ (13. /aɪ/ + 12. /ɚ/)
Group 1: ire   hire
Group 2: iar   friar
Group 3: ir   choir
(In this group the palatal sound /aj/ precedes the sound /ɚ/ for the combined pronunciation of /ajɚ/)

Oo

/awɚ/ (14. /aʊ/ + 12. /ɚ/)
Group 1: our   flour
Group 2: ower   power
(In this group the sound /aw/ precedes the sound /ɚ/ for the combined pronunciation of /awɚ/)

/ojɚ/ (15. /oɪ/ + 12. /ɚ/)
Group 1: oyer   coyer, employer
(In this group the sound /oj/ precedes the sound /ɚ/ for the combined pronunciation of /ojɚ/)

Uu

None.

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Note:

Rhotic and non-rhotic accents:

English pronunciation can be divided into two main accent groups:
- Rhotic speakers pronounce the letterr after vowels in in all positions, including after a vowel in words like world.
- Non-Rhotic speakers do not pronounce the letterr after vowels in words like world. They do pronounce it before a vowel.

A rhotic speaker pronounces a rhotic consonant in words like hard /ˈhɑɚd/, water /ˈwɑ:tɚ/, and butter /ˈbʌtɚ/; a non-rhotic speaker does not. That is, rhotic speakers pronounce /r/ (English R) in nearly all positions of a word, while non-rhotic speakers pronounce /r/ only if it is followed by a vowel sound in the same phrase or prosodic unit (see "linking and intrusive R"). Therefore, when pronounced by a non-rhotic speaker, the word butter would sound like butta /ˈbʌtə/ to a rhotic speaker. Non-rhoticity is featured in many accents in England, Australia, and the North Eastern region of the USA, among others.

What is transcribed as "r" in reality represents several distinct sounds:

1- Before a stressed vowel /r/ denotes a continuant produced with the tongue tip slightly behind the teethridge. This sound is usually voiceless when it follows a voiceless stop, as in pray, tree, and cram.

2- In Received Pronunciation "r" is sometimes pronounced as a flap /ɾ/ in the same contexts in which /t/ and /d/ occur as flaps in American English. Occasionally the flap may be heard after consonants, as in bright and grow.

3- In some dialects, especially those of the southeastern U.S., eastern New England, and New York City, "r" is not pronounced or is pronounced as /ɚ/ after a vowel in the same syllable. Such dialects are often referred
to as r-dropping dialects. This term is somewhat misleading, since speakers of such dialects will often pronounce an "r" in certain situations where speakers of non r-dropping dialects will not have an "r".

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