poor-er

Status
Not open for further replies.

Verona_82

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Ukraine
Hello,

I'm wondering how British and American speakers pronounce the comparative of 'poor', poorer. Do you pronounce it as
[pʊə.ə] or
[pʊərə]?
I've always pronounced the 'r' sound in the comparative, is it incorrect?

Thank you!
 

thatone

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
Non rhotic accents generally use a linking r between two consecutive vowels (sometimes even an intrusive r, i.e. when there's no r in the world but it is pronounced anyway), therefore the r of "poor" would usually be pronounced in both American and British English. A transcription that would fit both varieties would be /pʊ(ə)ɹə(ɹ), pɔ-/.
 
Last edited:

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
JC Wells notes that in BrE some 74% of native speakers pronounce the first vowel/diphthong as /ɔ:/, 24% as /ʊə/

Wells, JC (2008) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd edn), Harlow: PearsonLongman
 

Verona_82

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Ukraine
Thank you, but do the Britons pronounce the comparative also without the 'r' sound?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top