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When is an /r/ not an /r/?

Phoneme and variations: notes on the phonetics, further to Michael Bulley's 2014 English Today article ‘W(h)ither the /r/ in Britain?’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2016

Keith Davidson
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Extract

These notes are largely based on Lodge (2009), and the IPA transcriptions on Wells (2000).

Michael Bulley has singled out for discussion one variant in the articulation of the /r/ phoneme in British English which he characterises as ‘w-for-r’, ‘close to /w/, but distinct from it’ (Bulley, 2014: 46). The focus is on /r/ in syllable-initial position, including /r/ in initial consonant clusters. He describes this particular, not to say singular, variant as ‘/w/-like’, which begs a number of questions.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Today , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , September 2016 , pp. 28 - 29
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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References

Bulley, M. 2014. ‘W(h)ither the /r/ in Britain?’ English Today 30(4), 46–50.Google Scholar
Lodge, K. 2009. A Critical Introduction to Phonetics, London: Continuum International Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Wells, J. J. 2000. Longman Pronouncing Dictionary, 2nd edn. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.Google Scholar