In English, many vowel shifts affect only vowels followed by /r/ in rhotic dialects, or vowels that were historically followed by /r/ that has been elided in non-rhotic dialects. Most of them involve the merging of vowel distinctions and so fewer vowel phonemes occur before /r/ than in other positions of a word.

Overview

In rhotic dialects, /r/ is pronounced in most cases. In General American English (GA), /r/ is pronounced as an approximant [ɹ] or [ɻ] in most positions, but after some vowels, it is pronounced as r-coloring. In Scottish English, /r/ is traditionally pronounced as a flap [ɾ] or trill [r], and there are no r-colored vowels.

In non-rhotic dialects like Received Pronunciation (RP), historic /r/ is elided at the end of a syllable, and if the preceding vowel is stressed, it undergoes compensatory lengthening or breaking (diphthongization). Thus, words that historically had /r/ often have long vowels or centering diphthongs ending in a schwa /ə/, or a diphthong followed by a schwa.

  • earth: GA [ɝθ], RP [ɜːθ]
  • here: GA [ˈhɪɚ], RP [ˈhɪə]
  • fire: GA [ˈfaɪɚ], RP [ˈfaɪə]

In most English dialects, there are vowel shifts that affect only vowels before /r/ or vowels that were historically followed by /r/. Vowel shifts before historical /r/ fall into two categories: mergers and splits. Mergers are more common and so most English dialects have fewer vowel distinctions before historical /r/ than in other positions of a word.

In many North American dialects, there are ten or eleven stressed monophthongs; only five or six vowel (rarely seven) contrasts are possible before a preconsonantal and word-final /r/ (beer, bear, burr, bar, bore, bor, boor). Often, more contrasts exist if /r/ appears between vowels of different syllables. In some American dialects and in most native English dialects outside North America, for example, mirror and nearer do not rhyme, and some or all of marry, merry, and Mary are pronounced distinctly. (In North America, those distinctions are most likely to occur in New York City, Philadelphia, some of Eastern New England (including Boston), and in conservative Southern accents.) In many dialects, however, the number of contrasts in that position tends to be reduced, and the tendency seems to be towards further reduction. The difference in how the reductions have been manifested represents one of the greatest sources of cross-dialect variation.

Non-rhotic accents in many cases show mergers in the same positions as rhotic accents even though there is often no /r/ phoneme present. That results partly from mergers that occurred before the /r/ was lost and partly from later mergers of the centering diphthongs and long vowels that resulted from the loss of /r/.

The phenomenon that occurs in many dialects of the United States is one of tense–lax neutralization[1] in which the normal English distinction between tense and lax vowels is eliminated.

In some cases, the quality of a vowel before /r/ is different from the quality of the vowel elsewhere. For example, in some dialects of American English, the quality of the vowel in more typically does not occur except before /r/, and it is somewhere in between the vowels of maw and mow. It is similar to the vowel of the latter word but without the glide.

It is important to note, however, that different mergers occur in different dialects. Generally, these correlate to accents with rhotic vowels, as opposed to non-rhoticity (as in most of British English) or fully pronounced /r/ (as in Scottish English).

Mergers before intervocalic R

Most North American English dialects merge the lax vowels with the tense vowels before /r/ and so "marry" and "merry" have the same vowel as "mare," "mirror" has the same vowel as "mere," "forest" has the same vowel as the stressed form of "for," and "hurry" has the same vowel as "stir" as well as that found in the second syllable of "letter". The mergers are typically resisted by non-rhotic North Americans and are largely absent in areas of the United States that are historically largely nonrhotic.

Hurryfurry merger

The hurryfurry merger occurs when the vowel /ʌ/ before intervocalic /r/ is merged with /ɜ/. That is particularly a feature in many dialects of North American English but not New York City English, Mid-Atlantic American English, older Southern American English, some speakers of Eastern New England English,[2] and speakers of Southeastern New England English. Speakers with the merger pronounce hurry to rhyme with furry and turret to rhyme with stir it.

To occur, the merger requires the nurse mergers to be in full effect, which is the case outside the British Isles. In Scotland, hurry /ˈhʌre/ is a perfect rhyme of furry /ˈfʌre/, but there is no merger since the vowel /ɜ/ has never developed because of the lack of nurse mergers. That means that STRUT, DRESS and KIT can all occur before both intervocalic and coda /r/ and so fur, fern, and fir have distinct vowels: /fʌr, fɛrn, fɪr/.

Dialects in England, Wales, and most others outside North America maintain the distinction between both sounds and so hurry and furry do not rhyme.[2] However, in dialects without the foot-strut split, hurry has an entirely different vowel: /ˈhʊri/ (in a number of those dialects, a square-nurse merger is in effect instead).

General American has a three-way merger between the first vowels in hurry and furry and the unstressed vowel in letters. In Received Pronunciation, all of them have different sounds (/ʌ/, /ɜː/ and /ə/, respectively), and some minimal pairs exist between unstressed /ɜː/ and /ə/, such as foreword /ˈfɔːwɜːd/ vs. forward /ˈfɔːwəd/. In General American, they collapse to [ˈfɔrwɚd], but in phonemic transcription, they can still be differentiated as /ˈfɔrwɜrd/ and /ˈfɔrwərd/ to facilitate comparisons with other accents. General American also often lacks a proper opposition between /ʌ/ and /ə/, which makes minimal pairs such as unorthodoxy and an orthodoxy variably homophonous as /ənˈɔrθədɑksi/.[3] See the strut–comma merger for more information.

In New Zealand English, there is a consistent contrast between hurry and furry, but the unstressed /ə/ is lengthened to /ɜː/ (phonetically [ɵː]) in many positions, particularly in formal or slow speech and especially when it is spelled er. Thus, boarded and bordered might be distinguished as /ˈbɔːdəd/ and /ˈbɔːdɜːd/, which is homophonous in Australian English as /ˈbɔːdəd/ and distinguished in Received Pronunciation as /ˈbɔːdɪd/ and /ˈbɔːdəd/, based on the length and the rounding of /ɜː/. The shift was caused by a complete phonemic merger of /ɪ/ and /ə/, a weak vowel merger that was generalized to all environments.[4]

hurry-furry merger homophones
/ʌr/ /ʊr/ /ɜr/ IPA
currier courier /ˈkɜriər/
furrier (n.) Fourier furrier (adj.) /ˈfɜriər/

Marymarrymerry merger

One notable merger of vowels before /r/ is the Marymarrymerry merger,[5] a merging of the vowels /æ/ (as in the name Carrie or the word marry) and /ɛ/ (as in Kerry or merry) with the historical /eɪ/ (as in Cary or Mary) whenever they are realized before intervocalic /r/. No contrast exists before a final or preconsonantal /r/, where /æ/ merged with /ɑ/ and /ɛ/ with /ɜ/ (see nurse mergers) centuries ago.[6] The merger is fairly widespread and is complete or nearly complete in most varieties of North American English,[sample 1] but it is rare in other varieties of English. The following variants are common in North America:

  • The full Marymarrymerry merger (also known, in this context, as the three-way merger) is found throughout much of the United States (particularly the Western and Central United States) and in all of Canada except Montreal. This is found in about 57% of American English speakers, according to a 2003 dialect survey.[5] The merger is highlighted in the song Merry Go 'Round, whose central wordplay revolves around "Mary", "marry", and "merry" having the exact same pronunciation in the singer's accent.
  • No merger, also known as a three-way contrast, exists in North America primarily in the Northeastern United States and is most clearly documented in the accents of Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City, Rhode Island, and Boston. In the Philadelphia accent, the three-way contrast is preserved, but merry tends to be merged with Murray (see merryMurray merger below). The three-way contrast is found in about 17% of American English speakers overall.[5][7][sample 2]
  • The Marymarry merger is found alone with 16% of American English speakers overall, with the highest concentration in New England, especially New Hampshire.[5]
  • The Marymerry merger is found alone among 9% of American English speakers overall, concentrated in the American South, especially Louisiana where it is the most common variant,[8] and the Southern part of the Mid-Atlantic region.[5][9]It is also found among Anglophones in Montreal.
  • The merry–marry merger is found alone rarely, with about 1% of American English speakers.

In accents without the merger, Mary has the a sound of mare, marry has the "short a" sound of mat, and merry has the "short e" sound of met. In modern Received Pronunciation, they are pronounced as [ˈmɛːɹi], [ˈmaɹi], and [ˈmɛɹi]; in Australian English, as [ˈmeːɹiː], [ˈmæɹiː ~ ˈmaɹiː], and [ˈmeɹiː]; in New York City English, as [ˈmeɹi⁓ˈmɛəɹi], [ˈmæɹi], and [ˈmɛɹi]; and in Philadelphia English, the same as New York City except merry is [ˈmɛɹi⁓ˈmʌɹi]. There is plenty of variance in the distribution of the merger, with expatriate communities of those speakers being formed all over the country.

The Marymerry merger is possible in New Zealand, and the quality of the merged vowel is then [] (similar to KIT in General American). However, in New Zealand, the vowel in Mary often merges with the NEAR vowel /iə/ instead (see near–square merger), which before intervocalic /r/ may then merge with /iː/ and so Mary (phonemically /ˈmeəriː/) can be [ˈmiəɹiː] or [ˈmiːɹiː] instead. In all of those cases, there is a clear distinction between Mary and merry (regardless of how both are pronounced) and marry /ˈmɛriː/ (with the TRAP vowel) on the other.[10]

marry-merry-Mary merger homophones
/ær/ /ɛər/ /ɛr/ IPA Notes
- AaronErinˈɛrənwith weak-vowel merger
apparel -a periləˈpɛrəlwith weak-vowel merger
arable airableerrableˈɛrəbəl
- airererrorˈɛrə(r)
barrel -berylˈbɛrəlwith weak-vowel merger before /l/
barrier -burierˈbɛriə(r)
Barry -berryˈbɛri
Barry -buryˈbɛri
Carrie Cary1Kerryˈkɛri
carry Cary1Kerryˈkɛri
- charycherryˈtʃɛri
- dairyDerryˈdɛri
- fairyferryˈfɛri
Farrell -feralˈfɛrəlwith weak-vowel merger before /l/
farrier -ferrierˈfɛriə(r)
harrowing -heroinˈhɛroʊɪnwith G-dropping
harrowing -heroineˈhɛroʊɪnwith G-dropping
Harry hairy-ˈhɛri
- haringherringˈhɛrɪŋ
Harold -heraldˈhɛrəld
marry Marymerryˈmɛri
parish -perishˈpɛrɪʃ
parry -Perryˈpɛri
farrow Pharaoh-ˈfɛroʊ
- scaryskerryˈskɛri
- TaraTerraˈtɛrə
- Taraterrorˈtɛrənon-rhotic
tarry -Terryˈtɛri
tarrier -terrierˈtɛriə(r)
- tearableterribleˈtɛrəbəlwith weak-vowel merger before /b/
- tearerterrorˈtɛrə(r)
- varyveryˈvɛri
- warywherryˈwɛriwith wine-whine merger

MerryMurray merger

The merryMurray merger is a merger of /ɛ/ and /ʌ/ before /r/, with the resulting vowel being [ʌ]. It is common in the Philadelphia accent,[11] which does not usually have the marrymerry merger; its "short a" /æ/, as in marry and its SQUARE vowel /e/ remain distinct unmerged classes before /r/.[12] Therefore, merry and Murray are both pronounced as [ˈmʌri], but marry [ˈmæri] and Mary [ˈmeri] are distinct from this merged pair (and each other).

merry-Murray merger homophones
/ɛr/ /ʌr/ IPA Notes
ferrierfurrier (n.)ˈfʌriər
Kerrycurryˈkʌri
merryMurrayˈmʌri
skerryscurryˈskʌri

Mirrornearer and /ʊr/–/uːr/ mergers

The mergers of /ɪr/ and /iːr/ (as in mirror and nearer, or Sirius and serious, respectively) and /ʊr/–/uːr/ occur in North American English as a part of pre-/r/ laxing, together with Mary–merry merger and the horse–hoarse merger. The phonetic outcome of the first merger is either a lax vowel [ɪ], or a somewhat raised vowel that approaches the monophthongal allophone of FLEECE: [i̞], often diphthongal as [ɪə ~ iə]. In the case of the /ʊr/–/uːr/ merger, it tends to approach the monophthongal variant of GOOSE: [ʊ̝].[13]

The mirrornearer merger is absent from traditional, local, or non-standard accents of the Southern and Eastern United States, where nearer is pronounced with a tense monophthong [i] or a centering diphthong [iə ~ ɪə] (phonemicized as /i/ or /ɪə/, depending on whether the accent is rhotic or not), whereas mirror has a lax monophthong [ɪ].[14]

In the case of the first merger, only a handful of minimal pairs (e.g. cirrusserous and Siriusserious) illustrate the contrast, in addition to morphologically distinct pairs (e.g. spiritspear it), all of which are rendered homophonous by the merger. Indeed, the number of the words containing /ɪr/ is itself low. No minimal pairs exist for the /ʊr/–/uːr/ merger, due to the extreme scarcity of the /ʊr/ sequence in dialects of English with the foot–strut split. Furthermore, the hurry–furry merger that occurs in most varieties of North American English results in a merger of /ʌr/ with /ɜr/, removing almost any trace of the historical FOOT vowel in this position. Instead, it is a simple replacement of one phoneme with another, so that the word tour /tʊr/ is perceived to contain the FOOT vowel, rather than the GOOSE vowel. However, this change may not hold where morpheme boundaries apply; allowing a qualitative distinction to be maintained between the stressed vowels in tourist /ˈtʊrəst/ (a fairly close back monophthong of variable height) on the one hand, and two-wrist /ˈturɪst/ (a fully close monophthong in free variation with a narrow closing diphthong) on the other (cf. traditional RP /ˈtʊərɪst, ˈtuːrɪst/). The same applies to the mirrornearer merger, which laxes the vowel in clearing /ˈklɪrɪŋ/ but not in key ring /ˈkirɪŋ/, cf. RP /ˈklɪərɪŋ, ˈkiːrɪŋ/. Certain words are pronounced as if they contained a morpheme boundary before /r/, notably hero /ˈhiroʊ/ and zero /ˈziroʊ/.[15]

Some words originally containing the /uːr/ sequence are merged with either FORCE (see cure–force merger) or, more rarely, NURSE (see cure–nurse merger) instead of FOOT + /r/.[16]

The mirrornearer and /ʊr/–/uːr/ mergers are not to be confused with the fleecenear and goosecure mergers that occur in some non-rhotic dialects before a sounded /r/ and which do not involve the lax vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/.

Merger of /ɒr/ and /ɔr/ between vowels

Words with a stressed /ɒ/ before intervocalic /r/ in Received Pronunciation are treated differently in different varieties of North American English. As shown in the table below, in Canadian English, all of them are pronounced with [-ɔr-], as in cord. In the accents of Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and the Carolinas (and traditionally throughout the whole South), those words are pronounced by some with [-ɑr-], as in card and so merge with historic prevocalic /ɑr/ in words like starry. In New York City, Long Island, and the nearby parts of New Jersey, those words are pronounced with [ɒr] like in Received Pronunciation. However, the sound is met with change to /ɑr/ and so still merges with the historic prevocalic /ɑr/ in starry.[17]

On the other hand, the traditional Eastern New England accents (especially around Boston), the words are pronounced with [-ɒr-], but the cot–caught merger still applies elsewhere. In that regard, it is the same as Canadian /ɒ/, rather than Received Pronunciation /ɒ/. Most of the rest of the United States (marked "General American" in the table), however, has a distinctive mixed system. Most words are pronounced as in Canada, the five words in the left-hand column are typically pronounced with [-ɑr-], all common words ending in an unstressed full vowel.[18]

In accents with the horse–hoarse merger, /ɔr/ also includes the historic /oʊr/ in words such as glory and force. When an accent also features the cot–caught merger, /ɔr/ is typically analyzed as /oʊr/ to avoid postulating a separate /ɔ/ phoneme that occurs only before /r/. Therefore, both cord and glory are considered to contain the /oʊ/ phoneme in California, Canada, and elsewhere. Therefore, in accents with the horse–hoarse merger, /kɔrd/ and /koʊrd/ are different analyses of the same word cord, and there may be little to no difference in the realization of the vowel.

In the varieties of Scottish English with the cot-caught merger, the vowel is pronounced towards the [ɔ] of caught and north. It remains distinct from the [o] of force and goat because of the lack of the horse-hoarse merger.

Distribution of /ɒr/ and prevocalic /ɔːr/ by dialect
Received
Pronunciation
General
American
Metropolitan New
York
, Philadelphia,
some Southern US,
some New England
Canada
Only borrow, sorrow, sorry, (to)morrow /ɒr/ /ɑːr/ /ɒr/ or /ɑːr/ /ɔːr/
Forest, Florida, historic, moral, porridge, etc. /ɔːr/
Forum, memorial, oral, storage, story, etc. /ɔːr/ /ɔːr/

Even in the American East Coast without the split (Boston, New York City, Rhode Island, Philadelphia and some of the coastal South), some of the words in the original short-o class often show influence from other American dialects and end up with [-ɔr-] anyway. For instance, some speakers from the Northeast pronounce Florida, orange, and horrible with [-ɑr-] but foreign and origin with [-ɔr-]. The list of words affected differs from dialect to dialect and occasionally from speaker to speaker, which is an example of sound change by lexical diffusion.

Merged homophones
/ɒr/ /ˈɔːr/ /ɑːr/ IPA Notes
coral choral ˈkɔːrəl in General American and Canadian English
coral Carl ˈkɑːrəl In rhotic Northeastern American dialects with the vile-vial and father–bother mergers.
moral marl ˈmɑːrəl In rhotic Northeastern American dialects with the vile-vial and father–bother mergers.

Mergers before historic postvocalic R

/awr/–/awər/ merger

The Middle English merger of the vowels with the spellings our and ower affects all modern varieties of English and causes words like sour and hour, which originally had one syllable, to have two syllables and so to rhyme with power. In accents that lack the merger, sour has one syllable, and power has two syllables. Similar mergers also occur in which hire gains a syllable and so makes it pronounced like higher, and coir gains a syllable and so makes it pronounced like coyer.[19]

Card–cord merger

The cardcord merger, or start-north merger, is a merger of Early Modern English [ɑr] with [ɒr], which results in the homophony of pairs like card/cord, barn/born and far/for. It is roughly similar to the father–bother merger but before r. The merger is found in some Caribbean English accents, in some West Country accents in England, and in some accents of Southern American English.[20][21] Areas of the United States in which the merger is most common include Central Texas, Utah, and St. Louis, but it is not dominant anywhere and is rapidly disappearing.[22] Rhotic dialects with the cardcord merger are some of the only ones without the horse–hoarse merger; this correlation is well-documented in the United States.[22]

start-north merger homophones
/ɑːr/ /ɒr/ IPA Notes
arcorcˈɑːrk
areorˈɑːr
arkorcˈɑːrk
barkborkˈbɑːrk
barnbornˈbɑːrn
carcorˈkɑːr
cardchordˈkɑːrd
cardcordˈkɑːrd
carncornˈkɑːrn
carniecornyˈkɑːrni
darkdorkˈdɑːrk
darndornˈdɑːrn
farforˈfɑːr
farmformˈfɑːrm
fartyfortyˈfɑːrti
lardlordˈlɑːrd
martMortˈmɑːrt
MartyMortyˈmɑːrti
sparksporkˈspɑːrk
starkstorkˈstɑːrk
tartorˈtɑːr
tarttortˈtɑːrt

Cure–north merger

In Modern English, the reflexes of Early Modern English /uːr/ and /iur/ are highly susceptible to phonemic mergers with other vowels. Words belonging to that class are most commonly spelled with oor, our, ure, or eur. Examples include poor, tour, cure, Europe (words such as moor ultimately from Old English ō words). Wells refers to the class as the cure words after the keyword of the lexical set to which he assigns them.

In traditional Received Pronunciation and General American, cure words are pronounced with Received Pronunciation /ʊə/ (/ʊər/ before a vowel) and General American /ʊr/.[23] However, those pronunciations are being replaced by other pronunciations in many accents.

In Southern England, cure words are often pronounced with /ɔː/ and so moor is often pronounced /mɔː/, tour /tɔː/, and poor /pɔː/.[24] The traditional form is much more common in Northern England. A similar merger is encountered in many varieties of American English, whose prevailing pronunciations are [oə] and [or][ɔr], depending on whether or not the accent is rhotic.[25][26] For many speakers of American English, the historical /iur/ merges with /ɜr/ after palatal consonants, as in "cure," "sure," "pure," and "mature", and merges with /ɔr/ in other environments such as in "poor" and "moor."[27]

In Australian and New Zealand English, the centering diphthong /ʊə/ has practically disappeared and is replaced in some words by /ʉːə/ (a sequence of two separate monophthongs) and in others by /oː/ (a long monophthong).[28] The outcome that occurs in a particular word is not always predictable although, for example, pure, cure, and tour rhyme with fewer and have /ʉːə/, and poor, moor, and sure rhyme with for and paw and have /oː/.

Cure–north merger homophones
/ʊə/ /ɔː/ IPA Notes
boorboarˈbɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
boorBoerˈbɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
boorboreˈbɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
gourdgaudˈɡɔːdNon-rhotic.
gourdgoredˈɡɔː(r)dWith horsehoarse merger.
lurelawˈlɔːNon-rhotic with yod-dropping.
lureloreˈlɔː(r)With horse–hoarse merger and yod-dropping.
luredlaudˈlɔːdNon-rhotic with yod-dropping.
luredlawedˈlɔːdNon-rhotic with yod-dropping.
luredlordˈlɔː(r)dWith yod-dropping.
moormawˈmɔːNon-rhotic.
moormoreˈmɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
poorpawˈpɔːNon-rhotic.
poorporeˈpɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
poorpourˈpɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
sureshawˈʃɔːNon-rhotic.
sureshoreˈʃɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
tourtawˈtɔːNon-rhotic.
tourtorˈtɔː(r)
tourtoreˈtɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
touredtowardˈtɔːdNon-rhotic with horsehoarse merger.
youryawˈjɔːNon-rhotic.
youryoreˈjɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.
you'reyawˈjɔːNon-rhotic.
you'reyoreˈjɔː(r)With horsehoarse merger.

Cure–nurse merger

In East Anglia, a cure–nurse merger in which words like fury merge to the sound of furry [ɜː] is common, especially after palatal and palatoalveolar consonants and so sure is often pronounced [ʃɜː], which is also a common single-word merger in American English in which the word sure is often /ʃɜr/. Also, yod-dropping may apply, which yields pronunciations such as [pɜː] for pure. Other pronunciations in the accents that merge cure and fir include /pjɜː(r)/ pure, /ˈk(j)ɜːriəs/ curious, /ˈb(j)ɜːroʊ/ bureau and /ˈm(j)ɜːrəl/ mural.[29]

Cure–nurse merger homophones
/jʊə(r)/ /ɜː(r)/ IPA Notes
curecurˈkɜː(r)with yod-dropping
curecurrˈkɜː(r)
curedcurdˈkɜː(r)d
curedcurredˈkɜː(r)d
furyfurryˈfɜːri
pureperˈpɜː(r)
purepurrˈpɜː(r)

/ajər//ɑr/ merger

Varieties of Southern American English, Midland American English and High Tider English may merge words like fire and far or tired and tarred towards of the second words: /ɑr/. That results in a tiretar merger, but tower is kept distinct.[30]

/ajə//awə//ɑː/ merger

Some accents of southern British English, including many types of Received Pronunciation and in Norwich, have mergers of the vowels in words like tire, tar (which already merged with /ɑː/, as in palm), and tower. Thus, the triphthong /awə/ of tower merges with the /ajə/ of tire (both surface as diphthongal [ɑə]) or with the /ɑː/ of tar. Some speakers merge all three sounds and so tower, tire, and tar are all pronounced [tɑː].[31]

Merger homophones
/awə/ /ajə/ /ɑː/ IPA
Bauerbuyerbarˈbɑː
coward-cardˈkɑːd
cower-carˈkɑː
cowered-cardˈkɑːd
-firefarˈfɑː
flourflyer-ˈflɑː
flowerflyer-ˈflɑː
hourireareˈɑː
hourireR/arˈɑː
Howardhiredhardˈhɑːd
-miremarˈmɑː
ourireareˈɑː
ourireR; arˈɑː
powerpyreparˈpɑː
soursire-ˈsɑː
scour-scarˈskɑː
showershire-ˈʃɑː
showered-shardˈʃɑːd
-spiresparˈspɑː
towertiretarˈtɑː
towertyretarˈtɑː

Horse–hoarse merger

The horsehoarse merger, or north–force merger, is the merger of the vowels /ɔː/ and /oʊ/ before historic /r/, which makes word pairs like horsehoarse, forfour, warwore, oroar, morningmourning pronounced the same. Historically, the NORTH class belonged to the /ɒ/ phoneme (as in contemporary Received Pronunciation lot), but the FORCE class was /oː/ (as in Scottish English go), which is similar to the contrast between the short lax /ɔ/ and the long tense /oː/ in German.

The merger now occurs in most varieties of English. Accents that have resisted the merger include most Scottish and Caribbean accents as well as some African American, Southern American, Indian, Irish, older Maine, South Wales (excluding Cardiff), and West Midlands accents.[32][33]

In the non-rhotic British accents that make the distinction, NORTH is typically merged with THOUGHT, while the sound of FORCE varies. The areas of Wales that make the distinction merge it with the monophthongal variety of GOAT: /ˈfoːs/ (those accents lack the toe–tow merger), but in the West Midlands, it corresponds to GOAT + COMMA: /ˈfʌʊəs/ or a separate /oə/ phoneme: /ˈfoəs/. The words belonging to each set vary to an extent region to region, for example from Port Talbot tend to use FORCE, instead of the traditional NORTH, in forceps, fortress, important and importance.[34][35]

The distinction was once present in the speech of southern England, the NORTH vowel being sounded as /ɔː/ and the FORCE vowel as the centring diphthong /ɔə/.[36] For many speakers, however, as noted by Henry Sweet, this contrast had by 1890 become constricted to word-final positions if the following word began with a consonant (so 'horse' and 'hoarse' had thus become homophonous, but not 'morceau' and 'more so').[37] In his 1918 Outline of English Phonetics, Daniel Jones described the distinction as optional, but he still considered it to be frequently heard in 1962;[38][39] the two vowels are differentiated in the first (1884–1928) and second (1989) editions of the Oxford English Dictionary with the caveat that in most varieties of southern British pronunciation the two had become identical;[40][41] no distinction is drawn in the third edition,[42] as well as in most modern British dictionaries (Chambers being a notable exception). John C. Wells wrote in 2002 that the distinction had become obsolete in RP.[36]

In the United States, the merger is now widespread everywhere but is quite recent in some parts of the country. For example, fieldwork performed in the 1930s by Kurath and McDavid shows the contrast to be robustly present in the speech of the entire Atlantic coast, as well as Vermont, northern and western New York State, Virginia, central and southern West Virginia, and North Carolina[43] .[22] However, by the 1990s, surveys showed those areas had completely or almost completely undergone the merger.[44] Even in areas in which the distinction is still made, the acoustic difference between the [ɔɹ] of horse and the [oɹ] of hoarse was found to be rather small for many speakers.[22] Some American speakers retain the original length distinction but merge the quality. Therefore, hoarse [hɔːrs] is pronounced longer than horse [hɔrs].[45]

In the 2006 study, most white participants in only these American cities still resisted the merger: Wilmington, North Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; and Portland, Maine.[46] A 2013 study of Portland, however, found the merger to have been established "at all age levels".[47] In the 2006 study, even St. Louis, Missouri, which traditionally maintained the horsehoarse distinction so strongly that it instead merged card and cord, showed that only 50% of the participants still maintained the distinction. The same pattern (a horsehoarse distinction and a cardcord merger) also exists in a minority of speakers in Texas and Utah. New Orleans prominently shows much variability regarding the merger, including some speakers with no merger at all. Black Americans are rapidly undergoing the merger but are also less likely to do so than white Americans, with a little over half of the 2006 study's black participants maintaining the distinction nationwide.[48]

In some Indian, Welsh, and Southern American dialects, the distinction between north and force may be maintained through the presence or absence of /r/, with horse being /hɔːs/ and hoarse being /hɔːrs/.[49]

The two groups of words merged by the rule are called the lexical sets north (including horse) and force (including hoarse) by Wells (1982).

In dialects that maintain the distinction between the two phonemes, North is indicated almost exclusively by the spellings or, aur and ar (when preceded by /w/), while Force is generally indicated by the spellings oar, ore, our, and sometimes also oor (as in floor, door), though this last spelling is more commonly associated with Cure.

However, force can also sometimes occur in words with the or spelling. This is usually in one or more of the following circumstances:

  • When the vowel immediately follows a labial consonant, /m p b f v w (ʍ)/, as force itself.
  • In past participles in -orn with corresponding past tense forms are in -ore, as in torn, or words made from ones with the force vowel.
  • When the /r/ is followed by a vowel within the same morpheme, as in words like glory and flora.

However it does not occur in all words that fit the above criteria. The following table lists some words irregularly with the Force sound, rather than North, with the cases that make them so and regular North words by comparison. Note that in non-standard accents many words can shift their pronunciation without changing diaphonemes due to lexical diffusion.

Irregular Force words
Force class North class Variable Type
afford, borne, divorce, Borneo, deport, export, fjord, force, ford, forge, fort, forth, import, porcelain, porch, pork, port, portal, portend, portent, porter, portrait, proportion, report, sport, support, report border, born, California, cavort, cyborg, for, forceps, forfeit, fork, form, fortify, fortunate, fortune, fortress, forty, forward, importunate, Morgan, morgue, Mormon, morning, morph, morpheme, morphine, morse, morsel, mortal, mortar, porn, porpoise, quart, reform, remorse, spork, sward, swarm, swarthy, war, warble, ward, warden, wardrobe, warlock, warm, warmth, warn, warp, Warsaw, wart important[lower-alpha 1] after labial consonant
shorn, sworn, torn, worn born, forty derived from Force word
adorable, angora, aurora, borax, boron, censorious, choral, Dora, euphoria, fedora, flora, floral, gloria, glorious, glory, gory, Gregorian, historian, laborious, memorial, meritorious, moratorium, moron, Nora, notorious, oral, pictorial, porous, pretorian, stentorian, story, thorax, thorium, torus, Tory, uxorious, Victoria(n) aura, aural, Laura, Taurus followed by vowel within the same morpheme
horde, sword sui generis
north–force merger homophones
FORCE /oə/ NORTH /ɔː/ IPA Notes
boarboorˈbɔː(r)with cure–force merger
boardbaudˈbɔːdnon-rhotic
boardbawdˈbɔːdnon-rhotic
boarderborderˈbɔː(r)də(r)
Boerboorˈbɔː(r)with cure–force merger
boreboorˈbɔː(r)with cure–force merger
boredbaudˈbɔːdnon-rhotic
boredbawdˈbɔːdnon-rhotic
bornebawnˈbɔːnnon-rhotic
bornebornˈbɔː(r)n
Bournebawnˈbɔːnnon-rhotic
Bournebornˈbɔː(r)n
boursebossˈbɔːsnon-rhotic with lot-cloth split
corecawˈkɔːnon-rhotic
coredcawedˈkɔːdnon-rhotic
coredchordˈkɔː(r)d
coredcordˈkɔː(r)d
corescauseˈkɔːznon-rhotic
corpscawˈkɔːnon-rhotic
courtcaughtˈkɔːtnon-rhotic
doordawˈdɔːnon-rhotic
floorflawˈflɔːnon-rhotic
foreforˈfɔː(r)
fortfoughtˈfɔːtnon-rhotic
fourforˈfɔː(r)
goredgaudˈɡɔːdnon-rhotic
hoarsehorseˈhɔː(r)s
hoarsehoss[51]ˈhɔːsnon-rhotic with lot-cloth split
lorelawˈlɔːnon-rhotic
moremawˈmɔːnon-rhotic
mourningmorningˈmɔː(r)nɪŋ
oaraweˈɔːnon-rhotic
oarorˈɔː(r)
oreaweˈɔːnon-rhotic
oreorˈɔː(r)
oralauralˈɔːrəl
porepawˈpɔːnon-rhotic
porespauseˈpɔːznon-rhotic
pourpawˈpɔːnon-rhotic
roarrawˈrɔːnon-rhotic
shoreshawˈʃɔːnon-rhotic
shornSeanˈʃɔːnnon-rhotic
shornShawnˈʃɔːnnon-rhotic
soarsawˈsɔːnon-rhotic
soaredsawedˈsɔːdnon-rhotic
soresawˈsɔːnon-rhotic
sourcesauceˈsɔːsnon-rhotic
swordsawedˈsɔːdnon-rhotic
toretawˈtɔːnon-rhotic
toretorˈtɔː(r)
torusTaurusˈtɔːrəs
worewarˈwɔː(r)
wornwarnˈwɔː(r)n
yoreyawˈjɔːnon-rhotic

Near–square merger

The near–square merger or cheerchair merger is the merger of the Early Modern English sequences /iːr/ and /ɛːr/, as well as the /eːr/ between them, and is found in some accents of Modern English. Many speakers in New Zealand[52][53][54] merge them towards the NEAR vowel, but some speakers in East Anglia and South Carolina merge them towards the SQUARE vowel.[55] The merger is widespread in Caribbean English, including Jamaican English.

Near–square merger homophones
/ɪə(r)/ /eə(r)/ IPA Notes
beardBairdˈbɪə(r)d
beardbaredˈbɪə(r)d
beerbareˈbɪə(r)
beerbearˈbɪə(r)
cheerchairˈtʃɪə(r)
clearClaireˈklɪə(r)
deardareˈdɪə(r)
deerdareˈdɪə(r)
earairˈɪə(r)
earereˈɪə(r)
earheirˈɪə(r)
fearfairˈfɪə(r)
fearfareˈfɪə(r)
fleerflairˈflɪə(r)
fleerflareˈflɪə(r)
hearhairˈhɪə(r)
hearhareˈhɪə(r)
herehairˈhɪə(r)
herehareˈhɪə(r)
leerlairˈlɪə(r)
leeredlairdˈlɪə(r)d
meremareˈmɪə(r)
nearnareˈnɪə(r)
peerpairˈpɪə(r)
peerpareˈpɪə(r)
peerpearˈpɪə(r)
pierpairˈpɪə(r)
pierpareˈpɪə(r)
pierpearˈpɪə(r)
rearrareˈrɪə(r)
shearshareˈʃɪə(r)
sheershareˈʃɪə(r)
sneersnareˈsnɪə(r)
spearspareˈspɪə(r)
tear (weep)tareˈtɪə(r)
tear (weep)tear (rip)ˈtɪə(r)
tiertareˈtɪə(r)
tiertear (rip)ˈtɪə(r)
wearywaryˈwɪəri
weirwareˈwɪə(r)
weirwearˈwɪə(r)
we'rewareˈwɪə(r)
we'rewearˈwɪə(r)

Nurse mergers

Common in a vast majority of modern English dialects worldwide is the merger of as many as five Early Modern English vowels (/ɛ/, /ɛː/, /ə/, /ɪ/, and /ʊ/) into /ɜ/ when followed by an /r/ before a consonant or at the end of a syllable. Thus, the vowels in words like fir, fur, and fern are the same in almost all modern accents of English. John C. Wells briefly calls it the NURSE merger.[56] When another vowel follows these are often distinct; contrast the vowels in merry, hurry, weary, mirror, and furry. However, most of those vowels maintain distinction from each other by with different vowels listed. See the marry-merry-Mary merger, mirror-nearer merger, and hurry-furry merger for details. The major exceptions to most of the Nurse mergers are Scottish English and older Irish English, which also do not have mergers of vowels before /r/ following another vowel. What Scottish and older Irish English have in common is rhoticity without r-colored vowels; meaning /r/ used syllable-finally.

Words and names with historic /ɛːr/ are spelled <ear> as in earn, earth or pearl and include the function words her and were, in <are>, <air>, <eir>, <ayer> which did stayed distinct (see both the meet-meat and pane-pain mergers). The relevant words and names with historic /ɛr/ are <er> in a stressed syllable, historic /ʊr/ are spelled as a stressed <ur>, <or> , <our>, and /ɪr/ is any <ir> or <yr>. The diaphoneme /ər/ originates from unstressed vowels before /r/ and was not otherwise distinct.

Scottish English and rural Irish English dialects both use sequences of a vowel then /r/ not r-colored vowels, and both lack the foot-strut split; which result in comparable developments. However, the actual realizations of the retained Nurse vowels vary. Also, while most of Scottish English has some distinction, more prestigious/ younger Irish English realizes the Nurse merger as [ɝː]. The table below summarizes the overall differences:

Retained NURSE vowel table
EME diaphoneme Scottish English older and rural Irish English
/ɛr/
(spelled <er> or <ear>, like fern)
/ɛr/ or /er/
/ɛːr/
(spelled <are>, <air>, <ear>, like fare)
/ɪr/
(spelled <ir>, fir)
/ɪr/ (often /ər/) /ɛr/ or /er/
(however, /ʊr/ after labials, /t/, /d/, /t̪/, and /d̪/)
/ʊr/
(spelled <ur>, like fur)
/ʌr/ /ʊr/
/ər/
(unstressed, like letter)
/ər/ /ər/

In Scottish English, mid front /ɛːr/ and /ɛr/ are merged into /er/, paralleling the mid back vowel horse-hoarse merger, which Scottish English lacks. The vowel in fir /ɪr/ is usually distinct, but is liable to merge than /ər/ because their non-rhoticized equivalents /ɪ/ and /ə/ belong to the same phoneme; this parallels the hurry-furry merger. All EME /ʊ/ became /ʌ/, which included before /r/. The /ər/ (letter), /er/ (term) and /ʌr/ (fur) vowels are fully distinct from each other.

For rural and very conservative Irish English, /ɪr/ (in whirl) merges entirely with /ɛːr/ (in earl), sometimes merging again with /ɛr/. The merged /ɛːr/ merges again with /ʊr/ after labials and coronal plosives (including /θ/ and /ð/ becoming /t̪/ and /d̪/) in many common words, but this no longer productive.

Nurse merger homophones
*/ɛr/~/ər/ */eːr/ /ɪr/ /ʌr/ IPA Notes
Bern --burnˈbɜː(r)n
Bert --Burtˈbɜː(r)t
- -birdburredˈbɜː(r)d
Bertie -birdie-ˈbɜː(r)ɾiWith flapping.
berth -birth-ˈbɜː(r)θ
- earn-urnˈɜː(r)n
Ernest earnest--ˈɜː(r)nɪst
Ferd --furredˈfɜː(r)d
herd heard-Hurdˈhɜː(r)d
herl --hurlˈhɜː(r)l
- Hearst-hurstˈhɜː(r)st
- -firfurˈfɜː(r)
hertz; Hertz --hurtsˈhɜː(r)ts
kerb --curbˈkɜː(r)b
mer- -myrrhmurrˈmɜː(r)
- -mirkmurkˈmɜː(r)k
per --purrˈpɜː(r)
Perl pearl--ˈpɜː(r)l
tern --turnˈtɜː(r)n
were -whirr-ˈwɜː(r)With winewhine merger.
- -whirlwhorlˈwɜː(r)l
- -whirledworldˈwɜː(r)ldWith winewhine merger.

Nurse–near merger

Some older Southern American English varieties and some of England's West Country dialects have a partial merger of nurse-near. They generally pronounce near as /njɜr/, which rhymes near with a nurse word like sir or fur (compare general English realisations of cue and coo). Words such as beard are then pronounced as /bjɜrd/.[57] Usual word pairs like beer and burr are still distinguished as /bjɜr/ and /bɜr/. However, /j/ is dropped after a consonant cluster (as in queer) or a palato-alveolar consonant (as in cheer), likely because of phonotactic constraints, which then results in a merger with nurse: /kwɜr/, /tʃɜr/.

There is evidence that the African American Vernacular English in Memphis, Tennessee, merges both /ɪr/ and /ɛər/ with /ɜr/ and so here and hair are both pronounced the same as the strong pronunciation of her.[58]

Nurse–north merger

The nurse–north merger (words like perk being pronounced like pork) involves the merger of /ɜː/ with /ɔː/ and occurs in broadest Geordie.[59]

Some THOUGHT words (roughly those spelled with a) have a distinct [] vowel in broad Geordie.[60] Therefore, the merger involves only some of the words corresponding to historical /ɔː/ in Received Pronunciation.

Nurse–north merger homophones
/ɜː/ /ɔː/ IPA Notes
birdboardˈbɔːd
birdboredˈbɔːd
burnbornˈbɔːn
burnborneˈbɔːn
cursecoarseˈkɔːs
cursecourseˈkɔːs
erroarˈɔː
errorˈɔː
erroreˈɔː
firforˈfɔːThe weak form of for is distinct: /fə/
firforeˈfɔː
firfourˈfɔː
furforˈfɔːThe weak form of for is distinct: /fə/
furforeˈfɔː
furfourˈfɔː
heardhoardˈhɔːd
heardhordeˈhɔːd
herhoarˈhɔː
herwhoreˈhɔː
herdhoardˈhɔːd
herdhordeˈhɔːd
occura coreəˈkɔː
occura corpsəˈkɔː
occurreda chordəˈkɔːd
occurreda cordəˈkɔːd
occurredaccordəˈkɔːd
perkporkˈpɔːk
purrporeˈpɔː
purrpourˈpɔː
sirsoarˈsɔː
sirsoreˈsɔː
stirstoreˈstɔː
stirredstoredˈstɔːd
Turktorqueˈtɔːk
turntornˈtɔːn
werewarˈwɔː
wereworeˈwɔː
wordwardˈwɔːd
wormwarmˈwɔːm

Square–nurse merger

The square–nurse merger, or fairfur merger, is a merger of /ɛə/ with /ɜː/ (or /eɪr/ with /ɜːr/ in rhotic accents) that occurs in some accents like the Liverpool, the newer Dublin, and the Belfast accents.[61] The phonemes are merged to [ɛː] in Kingston-upon-Hull and Middlesbrough.[62][63][64]

Shorrocks reports that in the dialect of Bolton, Greater Manchester, the two sets are generally merged to /ɵ:/, but some NURSE words such as first have a short /ɵ/.[65]

Thorne (2003) reports that the square-nurse merger also occurs in Birmingham, remarking the merger as being "another principally northern characteristic". Interestingly enough, Tennant (1982) reports NURSE as being pronounced as /eə/ - which would lead SQUARE and NURSE as being pronounced the opposite way of their RP pronounciation.[66]

The merger is found in some varieties of African American Vernacular English and is pronounced IPA: [ɜɹ]: "A recent development reported for some AAE (in Memphis, but likely found elsewhere)."[67] This is exemplified in Chingy's song "Right Thurr", in which the merger is spelled in the title.

Labov (1994) also reports such a merger in some western parts of the United States "with a high degree of r constriction."

Square–nurse merger homophones
/ɛə(r)/ /ɜː(r)/ IPA Notes
airerrˈɜː(r)
Bairdbirdˈbɜː(r)d
Bairdburdˈbɜː(r)d
Bairdburredˈbɜː(r)d
bareburrˈbɜː(r)
baredbirdˈbɜː(r)d
baredburdˈbɜː(r)d
baredburredˈbɜː(r)d
bearburrˈbɜː(r)
Blairblurˈblɜː(r)
blareblurˈblɜː(r)
cairnkernˈkɜː(r)n
carecurˈkɜː(r)
carecurrˈkɜː(r)
caredcurdˈkɜː(r)d
caredcurredˈkɜː(r)d
caredKurdˈkɜː(r)d
chairchirrˈtʃɜː(r)
ereerrˈɜː(r)
fairfirˈfɜː(r)
fairfurˈfɜː(r)
fairyfurryˈfɜːri
farefirˈfɜː(r)
farefurˈfɜː(r)
hairherˈhɜː(r)
hairedheardˈhɜː(r)d
hairedherdˈhɜː(r)d
hareherˈhɜː(r)
heirerrˈɜː(r)
pairperˈpɜː(r)
pairpurrˈpɜː(r)
pareperˈpɜː(r)
parepurrˈpɜː(r)
pearperˈpɜː(r)
pearpurrˈpɜː(r)
sharesureˈʃɜː(r)with curefir merger
sparespurˈspɜː(r)
stairstirˈstɜː(r)
starestirˈstɜː(r)
warewhirˈwɜː(r)with winewhine merger
warewereˈwɜː(r)
wearwhirˈwɜː(r)with winewhine merger
wearwereˈwɜː(r)
wherewereˈwɜː(r)with winewhine merger
wherewhirˈhwɜː(r)

See also

Sound samples

  1. "Sample of a speaker with the Marymarrymerry merger Text: "Mary, dear, make me merry; say you'll marry me". alt-usage-english.org. Archived from the original on 2005-09-30. Retrieved 2005-05-22.
  2. "Sample of a speaker with the three-way distinction". alt-usage-english.org. Archived from the original on 2005-09-30. Retrieved 2005-05-22.

Notes

  1. Traditionally North in General American; usually Force in other accents[50]

References

  1. Wells (1982), pp. 479–485.
  2. 1 2 Wells (1982), pp. 201–2, 244.
  3. Wells (1982:132, 480–481)
  4. Bauer & Warren (2004), pp. 582, 585, 587–588, 591.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dialect Survey Question 15: How do you pronounce Mary/merry/marry?". Archived from the original on November 25, 2006.
  6. Wells (1982), pp. 199–203, 211–12, 480–82.
  7. Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 56
  8. "Dialect Survey Results: LOUISIANA". Archived from [/http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/state_LA.html the original] on September 9, 2006. Retrieved September 16, 2023. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 54, 56.
  10. Bauer & Warren (2004), pp. 582–583, 588, 592.
  11. Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 54, 238.
  12. Matthew J. Gordon (2004). Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider (ed.). A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology. De Gruyter. pp. 290, 292.
  13. Wells (1982), pp. 153–54, 162–63, 242–43, 479, 481, 484.
  14. Wells (1982), p. 481.
  15. Wells (1982), pp. 138, 153–54, 162–63, 201, 244, 480–82.
  16. Wells (1982), pp. 162–64, 484.
  17. Labov, William (2006). The Social Stratification of English in New York City (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 29.
  18. Shitara (1993).
  19. "Guide to Pronunciation" (PDF). Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2015.
  20. Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 51–53.
  21. Wells (1982), pp. 158, 160, 347, 483, 548, 576–77, 582, 587.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 51.
  23. "Cure (AmE)". Merriam-Webster."Cure (AmE)". Dictionary.com.
  24. Wells (1982), pp. 56, 65–66, 164, 237, 287–88.
  25. Kenyon (1951), pp. 233–34.
  26. Wells (1982), p. 549.
  27. "Guide to Pronunciation" (PDF). Merriam-Webster.com.
  28. "Distinctive Features: Australian English". Macquarie University. Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. See also Macquarie University Dictionary and other dictionaries of Australian English.
  29. Hammond (1999), p. 52.
  30. Kurath & McDavid (1961), p. 122.
  31. Wells (1982), pp. 238–42, 286, 292–93, 339.
  32. "Chapter 8: Nearly completed mergers". Macquarie University. Archived from the original on July 19, 2006.
  33. Wells (1982), pp. 159–61, 234–36, 287, 408, 421, 483, 549–50, 557, 579, 626.
  34. Coupland & Thomas (1990), pp. 95, 122–123, 133–134, 137–138, 156–157.
  35. Clark (2004), pp. 138, 153.
  36. 1 2 "Wells: Whatever happened to Received Pronunciation?". www.phon.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  37. Henry Sweet (1890). A Primer of Spoken English. New York Public Library. Clarendon press. p. 11.
  38. Jones, Daniel (1922). An outline of English phonetics ... with 131 illustrations. Cornell University Library. New York, G. E. Stechert & Co. p. 83.
  39. Jones, Daniel (1962). An Outline Of English Phonetics (9th ed.). W. Heffer and Sons Ltd. pp. 115–116.
  40. "O". The Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. VII. 1913.
  41. The Oxford English Dictionary (PDF). Oxford University Press. 1989. pp. xxxiv.
  42. OED entries for horse and hoarse
  43. Kurath & McDavid (1961), map 44
  44. Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), map 8.2
  45. Wells (1982), p. 483.
  46. Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), p. 52.
  47. Ryland, Alison (2013). "A Phonetic Exploration of the English of Portland, Maine". Swarthmore College. p. 26.
  48. Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006), pp. 299, 301.
  49. Domange, Raphaël (2023). "The vowels of Delhi English : Three studies in sociophonetics". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  50. Wells, John C. (1982). Accents of English: An Introduction. p. 160. ISBN 0-521-29719-2.
  51. hoss, Dictionary.com
  52. Bauer et al. (2007), p. 98.
  53. Bauer & Warren (2004), p. 592.
  54. Hay, Maclagan & Gordon (2008), pp. 39–41.
  55. Wells (1982), pp. 338, 512, 547, 557, 608.
  56. Wells (1982), pp. 200, 405.
  57. Kurath & McDavid (1961), pp. 117–18 and maps 33–36.
  58. "Child Phonology Laboratory". Archived from the original on April 15, 2005.
  59. Wells (1982:374)
  60. Wells (1982), pp. 360, 375.
  61. Wells (1982), pp. 372, 421, 444.
  62. Handbook of Varieties of English, p. 125, Walter de Gruyter, 2004
  63. Williams and Kerswill in Urban Voices, Arnold, London, 1999, p. 146
  64. Williams and Kerswill in Urban Voices, Arnold, London, 1999, p. 143
  65. Shorrocks, Graham (1998). A Grammar of the Dialect of the Bolton Area. Pt. 1: Phonology. Bamberger Beiträge zur englischen Sprachwissenschaft; Bd. 41. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. ISBN 3-631-33066-9.
  66. Urzula, Clark (2013). West Midlands English: Birmingham and the Black Country.
  67. Thomas, Erik (2007). "Phonological and Phonetic Characteristics of African American Vernacular English." Language and Linguistics Compass 1/5. North Carolina State University. p. 466.

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