Friday, September 16, 2022

Intervocalic Derhoticization in African American English

Many varieties of English are non-rhotic. This means that the /r/ is deleted or replaced with a schwa. However, this only occurs in the syllable coda.  In African American English, the deletion of the /r/ can also occur intervocalically.

The following words can be pronounced without an /r/ in African American English:

arrow
carrot
cherry
error
hurry
parent
spirit
squirrel
story
tomorrow

Many varieties of English delete the /r/ in the syllable coda. However, in African American English, deletion of the /r/ is also possible between vowels. In words such as error, deletion can occur both intervocalically and word-finally. The rule of intervocalic derhoticization distinguishes African American English from other varieties of English.

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