Query Details
| Query Subject: |
Onset [r] Deletion in English
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| Author: | Nancy Hall | |
| Submitter Email: | click here to access email | |
| Linguistic LingField(s): |
Phonology
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| Query: |
Some English words are occasionally pronounced with deletion of an onset
[r]. Examples include the following (thanks to Maria Gouskova and Linda Hall for pointing some of these out): February -> Febuary (this is pretty much standard) veterinarian -> vetinarian Tristram Shandy -> Tristam Shandy respiratory -> respitory spectrogram -> spectogram secretary -> secetary extraordinary -> extodinary (Fiona Apple sings this in ''Extraordinary Machine'') [A blogging Apple fan comments on this last one, ``For some reason I really like her pronunciation of Extraordinary. It becomes ''extordinary'' because no one on the planet can sing Extraordinary, it's a terrible word.'' (http://www.diaryofaband.com/2005/05/051005.html)] Although this deletion seems to be sporadic, the examples above share certain traits, suggesting there is a phonological basis for the deletion. For example, each word contains more than one onset [r], and the [r] that deletes is in a complex onset in a non-initial syllable. Usually it's unstressed, and usually it precedes the other [r]. I would be grateful to anyone who can point out 1) any published or unpublished work on onset [r] deletion; 2) any other examples of onset [r] deletion that you may have noticed (whether or not they are similar to the examples above). I will post a summary if there is sufficient interest. --Nancy Hall |
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| LL Issue: | 17.2084 | |
| Date posted: | 18-Jul-2006 | |
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