Rhotic and Non-rhotic Accents

Rhotic And Non-rhotic Accents

English pronunciation can be divided into two main accent groups: a rhotic ( /ˈroʊtɨk/, sometimes /ˈrɒtɨk/) speaker pronounces a rhotic consonant in words like hard and butter; a non-rhotic speaker does not. That is, rhotic speakers pronounce /ɹ/ (English R) in nearly all positions of a word, while non-rhotic speakers pronounce /ɹ/ 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 /bʌtə/ to a rhotic speaker. Non-rhoticity is featured in many accents in England (including "Received Pronunciation"), Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, small pockets in India and surrounding areas, the New England region of the United States, notably Boston, among others, and can be a feature in small pockets in Atlantic Canada, particularly Lunenburg English.

In linguistic terms, non-rhotic accents are said to exclude the sound from the syllable coda before a consonant or prosodic break. This is commonly (if misleadingly) referred to as "post-vocalic R".