Many vowels have merged before /r/. However, the vowels have not merged in the English of all speakers. For many, though, the distinction between lax and tense vowels is neutralized before the /r/. Let us consider a few examples.
The words
let and late have lax and tense vowels. However, it is also true that for most English speakers, the vowel of
late is a diphthong. For many speakers,
ferry and
fairy are identical. For these speakers, the lax and tense vowels have merged and they only produce the lax vowel before /r/.
The distinction between lax and tense is also present in
sit and
seat. However, in
mirror and
nearer, most speakers only have the tense vowel. This is another example of a vowel merger.
The words
pull and
pool also have a tense-lax distinction. However, in the words
poor and
tour the distinction is neutralized. Here only the tense vowel occurs.
In the words
bat and
bought the distinction is between front and back. Nevertheless, in the words
heart and
cart the distinction is neutralized. Speakers use a back vowel.
The words
hurry and
furry have the same vowel in the English of many speakers. For those who do not, the vowels differ not only in vowel height but also in backness. For speakers who exhibit a merger,
hurry has a high back lax vowel and
furry has a low mid central vowel. Most speakers have neutralized the distinction and have a central vowel in both words.
In the English of many speakers, vowels have merged before /r/. This can be viewed as a form of neutralization. This merger is especially common in North America, particularly in Canada.
