varieties of /r/

[student2010]

I want to consult about the different varieties of english /r/ in RP, I am not sure if flap, linking and intrusive /r/ are related to the 8 variations of this phoneme (AR, AIR,EAR, ER, IRE, OR, RL and PREVOCALIC /r/). Thank you.

 

[BobK]

I want to consult about the different varieties of english /r/ in RP, I am not sure if flap, linking and intrusive /r/ are related to the 8 variations of this phoneme (AR, AIR,EAR, ER, IRE, OR, RL and PREVOCALIC /r/). Thank you.

I have no idea what your question means. There is no /r/ in what I think you mean by 'AR', though it is latent - becoming real when used pre-vocalically. But a speaker doesn't use a special sort of /r/ in this case; s/he uses whatever kind of /r/ is normal for that speaker - sometimes flapped, sometimes rolled, more often some kind of frictionless continuant (but the choice has no effect on meaning).

The so-called 'intrusive R' is not something you should try to emulate - it's the use of /r/ to stand in for another consonant that is not sounded - as often happens with current discussion items like 'law and order' (wrongly pronounced /'lɔ:rǝnɔ:dǝ/, as if it was Mr Norder's daughter Laura).

But what does your list of 'phonemes' mean: EAR as in near (/ɪǝ/)? As in bear (/eǝ/)? As in earth (ɜ:/)? As in heart (/a:/)? As in rearrange (i:ǝ)? ... (There are probably a few more: the book that I am honestly going to write real soon now will list them all!) But I find it impossible to discuss phonetics without using the IPA.

b